Paul started cake decorating from a very early age helping out his gran on a Saturday afternoon with the baking. At age 9 Paul and his gran came to an arrangement where gran would bake the cakes and Paul would decorate them and he´s never stopped since.
After leaving college he worked full-time at Oliphant´s bakery in Linlithgow then the age of 23 Paul opened his own his High Street shop in 2004. The cake business grew to 7 outlets with 35 staff, but Paul soon found that his passion was in teaching so sold the business in 2011.
Paul has taught all over the world including UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Monaco, Spain, Italy, India, Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. He has made cakes for the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Albert of Monaco, Barry Gibb and a long list of A listers! Paul is also the holder of the coveted Disciples D’ Escoffier award, which he received in Italy in 2008 for his dedication to sharing his cake skills.
Paul believes that learning is all about having fun in a caring and forgiving environment and the best reward is seeing the cakes people have made through his teaching. This is what inspired him to create Strathardle Lodge as a residential cake retreat in the Highlands of Perthshire.
Paul is lead tutor at CakeFlix, Caking all Over the World and CakeFlix Master (the first accredited online Cake Decorating Programme).