The Cake and Bake Show took place at London Earls Court this weekend. With show tickets long sold out, January sale style queues of enthusiastic baking fans staked their place to get inside.
Billed as the first live event dedicated to cakes, breads and the art of baking, visitors were surprised to find more than a sprinkling of sugarcraft brands dominating the exhibition stands. As well as the demos people go to these shows for the shopping. Purchasing opportunities for bread and pastry makers proved far fewer than for piping bag princesses and cupcake connoisseurs.
On paper, The Cake and Bake Show should be a more mainstream day out than the longer established “Cake International” sugarcraft show. Headline acts of Great British Bake Off judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood were supported by names including Baking Mad’s Eric Lanlard, pastry guru Richard Bertinet and Fabulous Baker Brothers’ Tom Herbert.
Baking and cake decoration are two different disciplines, you’d not expect to attend a knitting fair and discover it full of specialist embroidery. Amidst the sugary backdrop there were also some sticky organisational situations arising.
The Cake and Bake Show Facebook wall tells a tale of frustrated exhibition goers queuing thirty minutes or more to spend their dough at limited selection of food sellers (and indeed a penny in the ladies).
Others who had paid money on “classes” were disappointed to discover they’d signed up to seated demonstrations that were just as easily watched for free by people standing behind. People bagged seats 90 minutes in advance for the slot to watch Mary Berry. Many left earlier than planned with legs crossed and stomachs rumbling.
Like Westfield on a Saturday in December, getting everything you wanted out of The Cake and Bake Show was possible but exhausting. Earls Court 2 is a hideous venue (soon due to be knocked down) and the exhibition hall was laid out in a baffling triangular layout. Difficult to navigate, many stalls were easily missed. Pinch points felt like Holborn tube station on a Monday morning.
The Cake and Bake Show will return in Manchester, April 2013. Follow my tips below to be prepared.
How to survive The Cake and Bake Show:
- Wear thin layers of clothing as if shopping in the sales.
- Keep your hands free by carrying a light weight ruck sack. I recommend the ultralight foldaway rucksack by Flylites.
- Withdraw cash from an ATM before you get anywhere near the venue. Many stalls may not take card payments below a certain spend.
- Fill your tum and empty your bladder before going inside. Take your own water bottle but don’t drink it until you’re about to leave.
- Research the programme in advance and decide which sessions you’d most like to see. Coincide waiting for these to start with eating your packed lunch.
- Avoid weighing yourself down with purchases too early. Scout around deciding what you’ll come back and buy later. Don’t be someone lugging around a giant plastic cupcake box unless you’re on your way to the exit.
- Haggle stall holders for better prices, especially if you’re buying any items in bulk towards the end of the show.
If the above sounds like too much hard work, you could always Skyplus reruns of the Bake Off, stock up on Fiona Cairns cookies, Paul Hollywood breads and Mich Turner cakes from Waitrose then surround yourself on the sofa with books, magazines and the Squires catalogue. Oh hello, that’s how I spend most of my time anyway…
Did you go the The Cake and Bake show? How was it for you?
Read more about some of my favourite cake decorating exhibitions at:
It’s really interesting to what others thought of the show – can easily see how some people would not enjoy the show (queues and lack of food aside) just because of the strong emphasis on sugarcraft. I mentioned it in my post, but I think I was lucky that I went at the right time (crowd wasn’t too bad at all, and it was in between mealtimes), and have a keen interest in decorating anyway.
I’ve since heard that catering/toilets are usually the responsibility of the venue, as opposed to the organisers of the event. Not sure how true it is, but if that’s the case a new venue might be better for future shows…
For me, it was far from perfect, but I still enjoyed it and learnt a lot. Hoping things get better for future shows – bringing in more general baking stalls would be a good start methinks. 🙂
Hear, hear. I was there on Saturday and agree with all of your advice. An amazing adventure ( I travelled down from Sunderland) but a tad disappointing for all of the above reasons. Your blog is fair and concise, and well put. Well done.
Totally agree with you. I expected it to be busy, which it was (and the amount of people on the tube with large bags heading out of Earl’s Court station prepared me) but I thought that there was way too much sugarcraft and not enough baking. I was hoping to have been inspired by some new baking trend or piece of equipment but I wasn’t and it was just very same same. I also bought tickets (for both me and my mum) for three class rooms and we were quite miffed that people on the sides could actually watch and see better than us (as we were stuck at the back). Hopefully it will improve year on year!