Chronicle Editor
Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Reporter
ABOUT a fortnight ago, social media sensation Mai TT (real name Felistas Murata)’s wedding cake set tongues wagging. The unique design was indeed a work of art. It was creativity at its best.
Hanging upside down on the roof for more than 10 hours, the piece of work was the centre of attraction at the event, it really stood out, even threatening to steal the shine from the bride.
Many might still be wondering who could be behind the luxurious blue and gold masterpiece? Well, you’d better grab your cup of tea as the cake fairy who was among those responsible for the making of the cake, shares her pixie adventures in the cake world. Kathy Mwanza, the brains behind Cake Fairy took us through her magical adventures.
“We were approached by Mai TT to design her wedding cake after she saw our work on Facebook. She left the design of the cake to the team as she didn’t have a particular cake design. She just wanted something wow. All we had was a guide of the blues and the gold which were her wedding colours.
“It took some time to plan, design, draft and sketch because we’d cancel and start afresh until we came up with a design that satisfied us and was fit for the bride,” said Mwanza.
As the strategist of the team, she said it was entirely up to her to come up with the design. Designing the cake, Mwanza said was fun and a learning curve as they partnered with other cake brands.
“Mai TT’s cake wasn’t designed by Cake Fairy alone, but by Team Beast. Team Beast is a group of three brands, Authenticake by Rumbidzai Zimondi Mudzingwa, Bridal Innovations by Indra Chinyerere and Cake Fairy led by myself,” she said.
Mwanza said Team Beast made its debut at the Zim Cake Decorators competition last year.
“In 2020, I took part in the Zim Cake decorating competition and I won. Last year, all winners were recalled to partake in a live cake competition, but we were requested to be in teams of at least three members. I then picked on Indra and Rumbidzai to be my team members.
“We also won the competition and that’s how Team Beast was born. Since then, we haven’t looked back, despite that they are both based in Harare and myself in Bulawayo.
“We’ve done a couple of collaborations although we’re different brands competing in the same market, but we’ve managed to come together to do some collaborations and Mai TT’s wedding cake was one of our major collaborations.
“We worked together, designed, decorated and delivered the cake together as a team. It was quite a heavy cake that weighed between 35 and 40 kilogrammes because it was a fruit and sponge cake,” said Mwanza.
She said they faced challenges in setting up the cake because they had underestimated the weight and height to the roof.
“The setup was something else because we had underestimated the weight and height of the roof. Luckily, we had enough resources to hang the cake and it stood on the roof for more than 10 hours. The cake was the centre of attraction in the room. The side cakes were also a different design from the norm which is what many people really loved.
“I can say that the cake was a hit and I’m proud to have represented Bulawayo in making that cake. The experience was fun and challenging and yes, I can do it all over again.”
Mwanza hailed the strength of teamwork citing that although she likes exploring alone, nothing beats collaboration.
She recalled the year 2016 when she decided to quit her 10-year full-time job to start the cake business. She was sceptical about the decision, but she had grown to love her new business which started as a hobby.
“Cake Fairy was established in 2016 and the shop was opened in 2018. We specialise in birthday, lobola, wedding and basically anytime occasion cakes.
This idea started when I became bored with my work. The thought of doing the same thing every day was draining. I used to work for an insurance company when I just got bored and decided to start the cake business. From there, we’ve grown from strength to strength.
“I started baking at a home level where I’d bake birthday cakes for family. I also baked for colleagues to taste. They loved my baking and advised me to put the price tag on my baking. I started selling the cakes and before I knew it, I was getting orders from people.
“Before I quit my job, I had to juggle between work and baking which was hectic. I had no time for family and friends as I’d get home and start baking, sleep up to 1am and then go to bed at 3am. I’d be up again finishing where I left off and at 7am, I’d be getting ready for work. I think for a greater part of my life, I had no life, I was a zombie,” she narrated.
The cake fairy said she wanted to leave her job for a standing business so she opened the confectionery shop in Bulawayo where she sells cake ingredients at the front and runs a bakery at the back. The one-stop ingredients shop was to assure her that if the cake business did not prosper, she would have something to fall back on.
Mwanza said she did not go to any art school to learn the skills that she shows off in her work.
“This is just a talent that I discovered, and just the thought that I can really design something and make it come to life fascinates me.
It’s fun being a creative, but it requires a lot of research and exposure and it also requires you to see what other people are doing and trying to merge it into what you do. So, I’m a creative, but I also research on other people’s pages, do classes and invest a lot of money in learning.
“I do original cakes which I call Cake Fairy originals. A client brings designs and we sit down, sketch, and customise them for the bride so I don’t copy other people’s work.
If you look at Mai TT’s cake, it was customised for her. It was a story of what she’s been through. She’s a person who’s full of drama, who likes attention and things that turn heads so that’s what we gave her. Our wedding cakes go along with the character of the bride.”
She said she once designed a cake that was tall and beautiful and it featured on My Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe as well as the late Sis Bee’s farewell cake.
“I also had the honour to design Sis Bee’s farewell cake. We knew her for the magic she did in the kitchen and the cake complemented the mouthwatering relish she cooked. Most of my cakes trend and this is how I get inquiries from people,” Mwanza said.
One of the most challenging cakes that Mwanza had to design was that of her daughter’s fourth birthday.
“She wanted a standing Pepper Pig cake. It was a challenge to get the Pepper pig to stand, but I really pulled it off.”
Cake Fairy has been doing quite well in the market and has managed to open branches in Gweru and Harare where it is operating as cake designs. — @SeehYvonne
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