- Professional baker Kaushalya Samaraweera on the current state of the industry and her recent achievements at Oman’s Cake Talks competition
Sri Lanka’s cake industry saw a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many turned to home-baking, but was severely affected by a shortage of ingredients and an increase in prices during the economic crisis that followed. While these have had an impact on cake makers, professional baker Kaushalya Samaraweera points out that what is causing greater harm to the industry is the lack of standards.
In conversation with The Daily Morning, Samaraweera explained that there are no controls in place to ensure high-quality products as well as experienced and qualified tutors. She also spoke about her recent achievements at Cake Talks Season Five, held in Oman from 5-7 October, where she won gold in the sugar flower arrangement category as well as the queen of the show category.
The following are excerpts from the interview:
How did you enter the cake industry?
I wasn’t someone who made cake before. I am an information technology (IT) graduate from the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). I obtained my degree in 2010 and joined Union Assurance as an IT manager for four years. After having my baby, I left this field. While at home, I started learning about cake making from R.L. Clement at the R.L. Clement Cake Decorating School. This was in 2015.
It was in 2017 that I first presented my own creation at one of his exhibitions. It was a birthday cake, and I won the award for best in the category for birthday cake. This was a joyful moment for me, because Clement’s exhibitions are among the largest in the country. So my very first cake winning in its competing category made me realise that I could continue in this line. Thereafter, I completed all courses offered by R.L. Clement Cake Decorating School that I hadn’t yet completed. This included the Five Star Sugar Artist programme offered by the Knightsbridge PME School of Cake Decorating, United Kingdom.
I presented my work at Clement’s exhibitions for three years and was awarded various trophies. These include a gold for sugar flower arrangements in 2017, a silver for sugar dolls in 2017, a gold for wedding cake structures in 2018, a silver for best in the show Silver in 2020, the Best in the Show Challenge Trophy in 2022, gold for Sugar Flower Queen in 2023, and a silver for Cake Queen 2023.
The ribbons I have received include third place for drop flower cake in 2017, a gold for sugar flower arrangements in 2017, first place for Wilton structures in 2017, and a gold for sugar flowers arrangements in 2022.
You were recently recognised at Cake Talks Season Five held in Oman. Tell us about how you got involved in this.
This competition is called Cake Talks and takes place in Muscat, Oman. It’s an international competition. This is the first international competition I have taken part in. Within Sri Lanka, I have taken part in all the shows held by Clement, so I took part in my first international competition under two categories: Queen of the Show and Sugar Flower Arrangements. I was able to win the gold under both categories.
The competition had 11 international judges from various countries. They were all world-renowned cake artists. They all complimented my creation, because I presented it under the theme of Vesak for the Queen of the Show category, and many learned about Sri Lanka through my cake. I believe this is a great advantage or boost to Sri Lanka.
What made you choose this particular theme?
The organisers had given us the theme of festivals around the world, and I selected Vesak, which is one of the most commemorated festivals in the country. My teacher Clement was always behind me in this, sharing ideas and suggestions. The technique I used was royal icing. Not everyone can do royal icing techniques. Even the international judges said that Clement is the signature in royal icing. Sri Lanka having that pride is something that must be mentioned, because Clement is a resource or treasure to this country.
What are the challenges involved in taking part in overseas competitions?
Royal icing is easily breakable, especially when transporting it abroad. It’s very difficult to carry and even the slightest movement can cause damage. I worked on the cake for two weeks at the place of a person I know personally. The flower arrangement, of course, I made here and carried it by hand. We all know that when something is put on the baggage conveyor belt, it gets thrown about and can be damaged.
It would be great if we have a better way of carrying items such as cake decorations safely when competing in international events. This is the biggest challenge we face, as we can’t transport these creations safely when we make them here – especially items made out of sugar, which are fragile.
What are your thoughts on winning both categories you competed under?
It’s a great honour, since this is the first international competition I have competed in. My teacher, Clement, had high expectations as he likes seeing us competing internationally and has faith that having studied here, we will definitely do well overseas. On the other hand, the judges, seeing my work, would praise it and say things like “I can’t believe my eyes” and comment on how talented Sri Lankans are.
And it is true, Sri Lankans are extremely talented, but we have limited facilities and resources. Overseas, people have the facilities and resources, but lack talent. We get invitations to conduct classes, so there is a lot to be proud of, having studied an art like this in a country like Sri Lanka, with minimal resources, and being able to take the name of our country to the global stage.
What can you tell us about your own venture, Sweet of K Cakes?
I accept orders for cakes, but I also have my own cake institute as well. We offer various courses through it, under various categories. We also hold annual exhibitions, giving our students the maximum.
The craft of cake making in Sri Lanka has been completely destroyed. Not just cake, I believe this applies across industries, as there are no standards. There is no control. Even a person who learns cake making from YouTube is a week later holding a cake class. Cake classes are mushrooming, but teaching shouldn’t be treated this way. You shouldn’t charge people when you can’t give them anything of value.
There should be proper standards. Approval to conduct cake classes should be given to people who have gained the necessary qualifications by following relevant courses. I propose that the Government introduce such standards if possible, as it could protect this craft.
How does the lack of standards and quality reflect on the industry as a whole?
It has had a significant adverse impact. We can’t learn cake making from online tutorials. If you want to tell someone you love them, telling them over the phone alone doesn’t have the same impact as you need to express your love, either through a gift or through touch. A cake is the same. There is a tactile element to it. When learning the craft, we need to see what our tutor is doing. We need to feel the different elements. We need to see how icing gets piped and the tutor needs to hold the student’s hand and show them. Online tutorials lack this and can’t give students this. You must have hands-on practice and hands-on experience.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was good that people learnt how to make cakes and showed interest in this craft. However, this alone isn’t enough to make a career out of it. We went through years of tough work studying this craft and developing our expertise before teaching students ourselves. We need to excel in the craft we learn before we impart our knowledge to another. We must have 100% confidence in our skills.
What does the cake industry in Sri Lanka look like at the moment? Is it at a favourable point in terms of pricing and access to ingredients?
No, it isn’t. If you take high-quality ingredients, they are extremely expensive in Sri Lanka. We make our icing using butter, but many cake makers don’t know the difference between butter and margarine or fat spread. Butter is a dairy product. Even frosting made out of fat spread is called butter icing. From that point itself, things are done wrong.
We only use high-quality ingredients in our cakes, and this is what I teach my students as well. A lot of people are profit-motivated and use egg powder, cheap fat spreads, etc. and this contributes to the downfall of the cake industry.
People are also not very creative today. Many are used to printing an image on cardboard and using it as a topper on the cake. This is how they show their creativity. The new generation and youth have the ability to create various things, but they too are pushed towards such tactics. The cake industry has fallen to this level, where cake making is about sticking a printed cardboard on a cake, and it’s disheartening to those of us who do make an effort.
What factors do you have to pay attention to when working in a warm climate like ours?
We need to make various preparations as Sri Lanka is a very warm country. When making a cake without the use of any chemicals and only butter icing, there is a high chance of the icing melting during transportation. We won’t have this problem when icing a cake in the morning or night, but when it is being transported in the afternoon, it is essential that we tell the customer how to carry the cake to the venue and explain why it is important to follow these instructions.
You can never carry a good cake in a bus. Store-bought cakes can even be carried in the bus because they use various ingredients to prevent melting. So there are these challenges to those who use the best and right ingredients, but with our experience, we must find solutions for these issues.
There were a few discussions recently about the possible harmful effects of various food dyes, flavours, and other additives. How important is it that cake makers pay attention to the ingredients they use?
We must be careful about such matters. I always tell my students that we should use colouring in a very limited quantity. Colouring and flavours in Sri Lanka lack quality. If you take overseas products, a strawberry flavour will contain real strawberry extract. In Sri Lanka, we only have artificial flavours. Even if you take something like vanilla, very few brands offer real vanilla extract. Most say on the label itself that it’s an artificial flavour. These can have an impact on our body and health.
We can’t tell everyone in Sri Lanka to go abroad and purchase their food colouring. Not everyone can afford to do this. However, what can be done is to minimise the use of artificial flavours and colours, and instead give your cakes a good look through your creativity as opposed to additional elements. We know that the ingredients available in Sri Lanka aren’t good, so we can limit their use.
Does the Sri Lankan customer appreciate hard work and effort when it comes to cakes?
We need to know to make a place for ourselves. Certain clothing stores, regardless of how expensive their items are, attract a certain clientele for the quality of the products. This applies to cakes as well. Some cake makers say that this cannot be done, as when they quote their rates, customers don’t come to them. However, despite the rate that I charge, I have customers who keep coming to me. They understand that I will deliver a product of a certain quality.
Once we build our identity, people will purchase our products regardless of how much we charge. We are thus able to maintain our quality. However, there are customers who opt for the cheaper products, but we can’t change their mindset, and there are sellers who cater to this crowd. There is nothing we can do about this, but once we establish our name in the industry, we won’t lose our customers.
Going forward, do you plan on participating in more international competitions?
Definitely. This is just the beginning. I would like to take Sri Lanka’s name forward through cake making, just like Clement, who has won many international competitions. I won’t stop here and will continue my work, showing the world who we are and what our skills are.
In Sri Lanka, we receive no recognition and we have no platform to showcase our talents, except Clement’s exhibitions, but we do have opportunities overseas.
I need to make a special note that I am relatively new to the cake industry, moving to this field from the IT industry. However, I did a lot of research on cake courses available in Sri Lanka and saw that most places don’t offer anything of value. So I would advise the young crowd to learn the right thing in the right way. I believe that in Sri Lanka, it is Clement who knows the most about cake and has the most experience. And I don’t think there are any other places that offer such good training.