There’s a wall of fame inside Atlantis The Royal’s Little Venice Cake Company. Adorned with photographs of cakes founder Mich Turner has created for the British Royal Family, it represents a drop in the ocean of the brand’s celebrity reach.
From Madonna to Pierce Brosnan, Queen Elizabeth to Paul McCartney, Turner’s client list reads like a who’s who of A-list society.
Now, the ‘Queen of Couture Cakes’ is bringing her distinctive touch to Dubai, with the opening of an exclusive atelier inside the city’s most anticipated new hotel.
Amid the excitement of Atlantis The Royal’s Grand Reveal weekend, Turner sat down with Gault&Millau UAE to discuss sugarwork, showstoppers and her sense for business…
You’ve been in Dubai for two weeks prior to this opening. What have you been working on?
“I might look a vision of pink today, but prior to this, it’s been full head-to-toe chef whites for the last two weeks. Since arriving in Dubai, I’ve been non-stop getting the atelier ready to open, making our showpiece cake for the Grand Reveal as well as our cakes that are all on display – decorated cakes as well as the ones that we’re serving in the atelier. We have seven new cakes that are on show here, and each one is handcrafted and hand decorated to bring that touch of British royal red carpet glamour, married with couture fashion to the world of cake.”
You started baking as a teenager. Where did that love of baking stem from and how do you feel about it now?
“I think, when you work and create anything with your hands, the endorphins that are released bring happiness and a sense of wellbeing. You feel great, you want to do more and for me, that’s what cake making and baking and decorating has always been for me. And while other chefs are creating food that fuels, that’s sustenance, with cake, you’re putting on the make-up. It’s your favorite party dress. It’s for happy occasions. So you are bringing pleasure into people’s lives and, for me, that’s always been a joy.
“I spent four years in a lab coat becoming a qualified food scientist, so I also understand the technical side of working with ingredients, how to get the best out of the physical chemistry of food. But that’s then uninhibited by my creative explosion, which is constantly fueled by fashion and couture style, jewellery, nature, architecture, all of these elements that come together to inspire new designs and marry the most indulgent cakes with the most beautiful artistry.”
What can customers visiting the atelier’s private consultation room expect from the experience of working with the team here?
“The service and the experience that Little Venice Cake Company will offer in Dubai is threefold. We have our everyday cakes that will be available every day, ready to take away for you to enjoy at home. We then have our curated selection of signature cakes that you’ll be able to order and customise with 48 hours notice – here, we’ve thought about the different celebrations, the flavours and the profiles to ensure that we offer something for everyone. And then we have our couture service, where come to the Royal consultation room and enjoy the couture cake tasting plate to see how all the flavour options marry together, so that as we are designing your cake and we’re talking through all the details, you can start building up the flavors of the cakes that will actually be served. So guests are being invited into the inner sanctum, which hopefully instills the credibility and the authenticity of our brand, our prestige and our heritage.”
How much are you tweaking the offering to suit the local market here?
“I think a lot of what I do is a process of evolution rather than revolution. When you have a core bank of beautiful bases, buttercreams and textures, you can adapt and evolve to find what will be appropriate for the palate in the region, the clientele, the climate. And that’s very much true to Little Venice Cake Company. I mean the four main flavours we have here are lemon, vanilla, chocolate and carrot – our LVCC for Little Venice Cake Company. But when we’re working bespoke with clients, that we can go to that next level and create bespoke flavors as well.”
You’ve baked for the British Royal Family and countless celebrities. What are your most memorable jobs?
“There have been several pinch me moments throughout the career. I think the first high profile client we had was Madonna – we made her wedding cake when she married Guy Richie in Skibo. I can still remember delivering the cake to Skibo with a police escort, having been diverted to an RAF base! I also created Paul McCartney’s wedding cake and I remember asking his personal assistant how she found me and she said: ‘I’ve phoned every single five-star London hotel and every single one recommended you.’ And I think that’s the power of word of mouth, to show we must be doing something right. Pierce Brosnan has probably has been one of our strongest advocates over the years – he’s the one who called me ‘the Mich-el-Anglo of cakes.’ I made his son’s Christening cake when he was a tiny wee baby so seeing their family grow and flourish and still having that connection will always be extremely special to me.”
You’ve won a lot of titles and awards for business as well as for your cakes, and you’re involved in a number of different organisations that support women in entrepreneurship. How important is that to you?
“Oh, hugely. I’m incredibly passionate of this particular brand that I head in the Little Venice Cake Company but I also have a number of other consultancies, offering my support as a qualified food scientist, or from 30-years experience of being a woman in business and an award-winning entrepreneur, retail expert, business expert. And I enjoy using those skills now to go and help others achieve the very best in their businesses. I do feel as though at the stage I’m at in my career, it’s important to be able to share knowledge, wisdom and experience – because there’s no fast track to experience and you can’t fake passion.”