SHE will forever be the woman who created an edible Jamie Dornan – aka Christian Grey – but Rosie Dummer, 'Cake Diva' of Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers, is helping Northern Ireland 'cakers' bake up a whole new image with the region's first Sugar Expo in March.
Rosie – erstwhile architect, helicopter pilot and army officer based in south Armagh – will be hosting the dedicated cake and sugarcraft event at the Hilton Belfast Templepatrick, which has been organised by local women Emma Stewart and Allesandra Williamson.
Tailored to suit the home baker right through to the seasoned professional, Emma and Allesandra promise the inaugural NISE will have something for everyone, from workshops to competitions and live demos (Molly Robins from Extreme Cake Makers is booked for one), as well as a vast array of exhibitors and sugary tools of the trade – all under one roof.
"I am so excited to be supporting this new show because, if successful, it will be a regular thing, which will just be wonderful for Northern Ireland," enthuses the effervescent Lancashire-based television presenter who "accidentally" wandered into caking after winning the 2012 Wedding Cake of the Year Award supported by Cake Masters magazine.
Since then, she has become a regular on TV and radio, presenting on BBC Radio Lancashire, fronting her own television show on The Craft Channel and working closely with the UK’s major trade shows, including Cake International and The Cake and Bake Show.
"It has been a bit of a jump, from architect to helicopter pilot to cake diva," she concedes, with a laugh, "but it came about the same way as most people – it's all about children and finding something that works around them.
"When you have children – and I have four – you take a break from your career and then you end up with a totally different career, so that's what happened to me. It was a hobby that turned into a bit more of a profession.
"I am a little competitive with myself; I made a birthday cake for one of my children and then I decided I would have to make the next one better and that was I started baking cakes."
One of her most famous, of Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey from the Fifty Shades films, appeared on the Graham Norton Show in 2015, with others ranging from a six-foot Grenadier Guard, created to mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, to yet another life-size Jamie – from West End show Everyone's Talking About Jamie.
The latter was suspended on to the Apollo stage in London in celebration of the show's first anniversary last November and what happened next will be revealed in the new series of Extreme Cake Makers, currently in filming.
With regards to the Northern Ireland Jamie, Rosie was commissioned to create "something entertaining and visually exciting" by the Cake International Baking Show and chose the Fifty Shades character because the premiere was scheduled for the same week as the show.
Consequently, she found herself in the audience of the Graham Norton Show when the real-life Jamie was one of Norton's guests and was shocked and slightly horrified to come face-to-face with his edible self.
"I think he found it a bit creepy and probably thought I was some sad, old fan," recalls Rosie. "He [Dornan] was definitely a bit shell-shocked, but Graham Norton found it amazing and proceeded to cut a bit out his stomach to eat."
And, while there won't be any tasty Jamie Dornans at the Belfast Sugar Expo, award-winning professional bakers Emma and Allesandra, are hoping that Rosie's presence will stimulate a similar type of buzz.
"I met Rosie about four years ago through the cake community and when I told her we were thinking of getting this show together, she was really excited for us," says Emma, who launched her Truly Scumptious Cakes business in Omagh seven years ago, specialising in top-of-the range wedding cakes.
"The response so far has been really good. We're trying to reach out to those who have a general hobby in caking as well as professionals, to show them there is a lot more they can do, whether in figure modelling, fantasy flowers or even airburshing and photography.
"Even if you're a hobbyist, you can stretch your skills and challenge yourself. There are 12 different competitions, many of which are open to people who haven't competed or done anything like this before. We have had quite a few entries from people outside Northern Ireland as well, with some people travelling from Dublin, the Isle of Man and France, so there is an international feel to the show already, which is great."
Like Rosie, Emma fell into 'caking' after baking a first birthday cake for her eldest son (now aged nine), progressing from themed superhero creations to a detailed scene from Alice and Wonderland which she designed as a surprise wedding cake for one of her old school friends who married in Kent last year.
"It was my most challenging cake yet," says the mother-of-two, whose background is in sports therapy. "I flew over to Kent, where I am originally from, with the cake, and it was a complete surprise for her. That was probably the most stressful thing – getting it to its destination without any mishaps. Cake transportation can be hazardous business.
"I love designing and baking exquisite cakes, but I won't put a knife through them and I don't eat cake myself which kind of throws people sometimes. I always say, my job is just to make them look pretty and other people can cut and eat them."
Co-organiser of the upcoming Belfast show, Allesandra Williamson's (Alico Crafts) love of specialist cakes also evolved out of a hobby, although she had always been interested in craft, having previously made cards and jewellery.
"Like many people, when I started to see what creative things you could do with cakes and the artistry you could put in them, I was quickly hooked," she says. "I very much hope this first Belfast Sugar Expo really puts Northern Ireland on the international cake map."
Allesandra, who won a bronze award for her 'Dreamcatcher' wedding cake in the Cake International event in Birmingham last November, believes there is an abundance of "unsung talent" in the region; talent which she hopes the expo will bring to wider attention.
It has been a busy few months for the Coleraine woman, as not long after the show she is due to tie the knot with fiance William Johnston from Ballymena.
"I'll be making a special cake, of course, and also a groom's cake, for our wedding at the end of March," she says. "It will be top secret until our big day, but I'll get this Expo over first and then get started on it. I have a few ideas to make it a cake to remember."
:: NI Sugar Expo takes place on March 9 and 10. Tickets available at nisufarexpo.com
