Rachael Smith, Birmingham UK – CakeFlix Master
Hi, I’m Rachael, I’m an over thinker, a self doubter and a serial procrastinator but I’ve just passed the CakeFlix Master Foundation Course. If I can do it with all of those issues whilst homeschooling two kids and sharing my dining room work space with a hubby working from home then anyone can do it! 🙂
I’m one of those people, you know the ones, the ones that like to get tested.
What? Wait? REALLY? Surely no one likes to get tested?
Actually, yes I do, although probably not in the way you’re thinking (you’re all probably just thinking that I’m weird and you’re right).
I know, I know…….. tests are not for everyone. Many moons ago, I was an examination officer in a secondary school so I’ve definitely seen that most people don’t even like tests, the nerves, the sickness, the fearful facial expression when your mind goes blank mid test – been there, done that, got a whole range of T-shirts about it, see, I don’t always like THE test but I do like the result, it means I’ve remembered what I’ve been taught.
With CakeFlix Master Foundation, it’s a little different. I mean, you know that the course is about creating things that you already know you love making – right? And although you are being tested and you are being given a result, the assignment has no time restraint (apart from getting it all done in two years) so you can practise…… practise…….. practise, a lot. You can re-watch the video lesson – 17 times, hell, you can even work alongside the video if you can keep up with Paul because he does work fast, fast, fast! Once you’re done, you can then take 700 photos of your assignment and spend three weeks choosing which one to upload – even though 699 of them all look the same :-).
Do you know what all this means? It means that YOU are in control of your learning, you can go at your own pace, if you need to you can practise things that you’re not too sure about, and you can absolutely perfectly create something for an assignment first time – go you! There is no pressure, no worries, because if you don’t quite hit the assignment brief, Paul will send you an audio message, telling you where you went right and make suggestions on what to do to make it better. Plus, if you do perfectly create something for an assignment, you get an audio message from Paul, making your inner self do a little happy dance because someone outside your family thinks your work is great – and what’s not to love about that?
CakeFlix Master Foundation course takes you from the very beginning – baking, right through to producing a stunning wedding cake. It’s fun and informative and I would definitely recommend the course to anyone thinking of starting up a Cake business, brushing up on their skills or wishing to take the course as their Continued Professional Development. Well worth it!
I started decorating cakes almost 30 years ago and attended some in person classes to learn sugar flowers and royal icing. Since then I have only really made cakes for my children but have in the last few years branched out to create cakes for others. I really struggle to promote myself, to brag about my achievements and skills, I bet some of you are the same. I don’t have a huge portfolio to show so I pondered – how do you go about proving that you’re capable of creating fantastic edible pieces of art?? I don’t have any certificates from those courses 30 years ago and you certainly don’t get a certificate from every You Tube video you’ve watched, and for me, that’s where CakeFlix Master Foundation Course came in.
As an accredited, A level equivalent course, it sets a high standard, thereby proving to clients that you have achieved those standards because you have the certificate – with your name on – to prove it – yes!!
It is a huge commitment (as it should be – you wouldn’t expect anyone to get an A level just by completing a couple of days work!), and it can seem impossible to fit in around your already busy home/work life but the modules are broken down into sections that are further broken down into ‘Learn’, ‘Quiz’ and ‘Assignment’. It is completely up to you how you approach the module – I watched all the Learn videos first, fitting them in around ‘life’, hiding in a quiet corner of the house away from the kids and the dog – well, the dog was ok really, she doesn’t talk as much as the kids but she gave away my hiding spot so …………… The quizzes don’t take long to complete and you get instant results – brilliant. I then started on the assignments, vowing not to leave my arch nemesis until last (After a royal icing incident in 1992, that had to be resolved with a hammer and chisel, I have avoided covering large areas of edible goodies with it, I mean, it always looked ok but not everyone has a hammer and chisel knocking about on Christmas morning do they?).
Here’s a quick summary of my experience on each of the Modules…
Baking and Filling – the basics and a good excuse to eat cake – yum!
Sugarpaste/Fondant – The medium I work with the most, learnt a few new techniques and revisited some older ones – I do not miss Garrett frills people!!!
Cupcakes, Cookies and Cake pops – Well, this module was great, a little out of my comfort zone but I was glad to be given a reason to ‘have a go’. Forgot that cake pops are for people with huge amounts of patience and I mean HUGE amounts, my family are lucky they didn’t find cake pops thrown at the walls – they are however, really tasty and I ate most of them whilst hiding from the kids following four hours of homeschool…….. Oh and I found a new passion – I love sugar cookies, eating and decorating, and for now I’m happy to make them just for me – all for me – hello hiding cookies hahahahaha.
Sugar Flowers – Oh how I wish I was an expert in making these gorgeous flowers – well, any flower but following Paul’s instructions I can definitely produce some decent looking ones now!
Sugar models – My happy place – it was great to try new techniques and styles and when they are all displayed together, they look fab-u-lous!!
Royal Icing – Covering a fruit cake in Royal Icing is still my nemesis but Paul’s instructions were super helpful and I managed to do it – I swore a lot and I mean A LOT but my Dad’s been eating the cake and he hasn’t needed a hammer and chisel so it’s a win!!!
Novelty Cakes – This is my style and when you only make cakes for your kids – this is where you naturally end up, I loved every part of this module!! I’m now trying to persuade people to have the teddy bear, it’s brilliant 🙂
Wedding Cakes – I am so, so scared of wedding cakes but this design was stunning and quite possibly my favourite part of the course, I made it and it looked real pretty (so not me!). I’m still terrified to deliver something so big but I could hire someone else to do that while I hide with my cookies………
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