Just wondering what cake courses everyone thinks are good ones to do. I have never been to a course, everything i have learned has been from books or the internet.. I love the look of the planet cake courses.. has anyone attended any of these? Or does anyone have a suggestion on a good course to do? I live on the central coast so sydney and newcastle are close for me.
Thanks for any info
Rach

Any suggestions anyone???

I haven't been to a Planet Cake course but if I could afford it, I would definately have gone already. I have never heard anyone with a bad word to say about their courses - only fabulous feedback. I live in Brissie and the instructor I did a course with went to the Planet Cake courses and said they were so so good. I think if you can afford it, they are the best course to do. My sis and I are going to save up and do one!

I'm doing the full week foundation course in a couple of weeks with Planet Cake. I'm so excited! I could message you to tell you what it's like if you want...

But I've also done a basics, intermediate... and flower course with my local cake deco store... and even though, I now realise her work wasn't THAT great, I still learnt a lot. MUCH cheaper too. I think I paid 400 for 10 lessons. I think if you learn the basics from a pro, you can pick the rest up. I just LOVE how planet cake does their cakes and am eager to learn from them!

I did a one-day PC course in Nov. I had to beg, borrow and steal to get the funds together, but it was SOOO worth it. I'd do another one tomorrow if I had the money. I posted some pics in my photos of the cake in progress.

I also did an 8-week night class at a local adult ed centre on flowers. Like Bel_Anne, I now don't think my instructor was all that good, but I did learn a lot of the basic techniques. And $200 for 16hrs tuition isn't bad!

Bel_Anne, I'm so so envious of you doing the week-long course. I'd think about selling my firstborn to do that!! hahaha

Haha! Ya know I've been saving all my pennies for a while now. It's kind of pathetic because I have two little girls and never buy myself anything, really. But am happy to spend the 2G on this! I figure I forfit all the nice clothes and gain valuable training for my upcoming business... If I were to buy a franchise I'd be spending a lot more..... I can barely contain my excitement, haha.

Bel_Anne that is my dream to do the week course! i'd love for you to let me know how you went..I know that they have a very high reputation soo i can only imagine that the course will have so much valuable information! Thanks for the advice everyone.. Think ill save for the planet cake courses

I did a 12 month course at the Ryde Taffe,learnt a lot there,but maynot be there any more as it was just over 20 years ago.I had a very good teacher.

They do classes at Cake Decorating Central in Castle Hill and they look pretty good...you can see photos of the cakes they teach you on their website and they are really cheap compared to others.

Also, I bought Peggy Porschen's Cake Chic and it's really good!

Wildwolves...I am in Newcs and Cupids have regular courses that are cheap - about 7 - 8 2-hour classes for about $120. You are probably not in need of the beginner course, but they do all sorts of flowers, and will let you know in advance what they'll be doing in each course. Also, community colleges have cheaper courses, but I've not done any of those so can't give a personal recommendation.

I am also hoping to do the wonky cake course at PC...if anyone is interested in doing the same one sometime, let me know and we can do a Cake Central excursion!! I think its just a weekend course for about $400.

hey wildwolves;

Im on the coast as well. =) i know that central coast communtiy college and tuggerah lakes community college both run courses. they are both 125 for 7-8 classes as well. the tuggerah lakes looked very basic.. just learning about covering your cakes in fondant and buttercream etc.. then going onto piping in the advanced course.. i think the cc comuntiy college one looked a bit better; cant remember if they did sugarcraft tho? i dont know.. my brain ran away..=/

also; im guessing youve been at this much longer then me (brand newie here. lol) so i was wondering where you get your supplies from? i spent sunday trapsing up and down the coast looking for supplies! a nightmare with my 13 month old along for the ride! haha. and anyway, the best stocked place i found was spotlight.. and they had pretty much nothing. =( ive tried that caterers warehouse near bing lee before.. thought that would be good.. turned out to be more for chefs than pastry chefs.

good to see another coastie!

and evoir when do cupids run their courses? i found them on the net and was planning an expedition when i have some money saved. =)

They have them on all the time, probably a couple week sbreak between each one. I know they also will do a particular flower if one or more students ask for it to be instructed.

I also meant to mention, its a great idea to sign up with your local Cake Decorators Association or Guild...you usually have monthly meetings and free dems at each one.

Looking at Cupids website will give you a good idea of the sort of stuff they stock. Certainly not everything I buy is from there - but my consumables are bought from there (fondant etc). I've found Spotlight too expensive, though really useful for special trims/beading etc.

HTH!

- Eve

Sorry to jump in here.
noahsmummy, I've found online is the best way to find supplies. I have one (moderately-stocked but very over-priced) shop near me so online has been the best for me. Try cakedecoratingcentral (dot) com (dot) au

Evoir, I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure you can't just do the wonky course without doing the beginner ones with PC. I contacted them when I was signing up and it pretty much doesn't matter how much experience you've had, they just said it's too difficult to teach someone the more advanced cakes, who hasn't learnt the basics with them... Even if you have their book and use all their techniques anyway, haha. Such a bummer... Cause I didn't want to start with 101! You'd have to email them yourself though...

hey sugarandslice; thanks heaps for that, will check it out today! i did find a place last night that looked ok, www . earlcraftncake . com, its australian as well, but i dont know.. im so paranoid with shopping over the internet, even using paypal.. lol.. much prefer to be on the safe side and use sites that have recommendations. thanks again

Thanks for the tip about PC's wonky course. I'm disappointed as I don't think I could sit through a beginners course!

noahsmummy, they take orders over the phone too with credit card details, so you can find what you want on their website then phone them if you're not keen on using paypal. The other way you can pay for online purchases with them is to do a direct deposit into their bank account - very handy (and safe)

Evoir, give them a call and see if you can get an exemption. Once they see your cakes they'll probably realise it'd be silly for you to do a beginner's class.

Thanks SugarandSlice - I may just do that! Its not something I can do in the very near future as I am tres busy atm, and would LOVE some time off, but I've got too much on! But I definitely would like to see PC in action. BTW, I LOVE your website...I am currently building mine (off and on for the last 12 months as time permits!) and noticed that your background flowers are the same as the ones on my cards and stationery! Its a beautiful design for a cake decorator's business, IMHO

So I guess you're a fan of Vistaprint too, Evoir!!

I did a term at a Community College which was basic but cheap and I learnt a few things.

I also did one of the demo courses at Planet Cake where you just watch rather than get to work on your own cake - lots cheaper and I learnt so much, also able to ask lots of questions afterwards. I would definitely recommend it if you can't afford the full classes (I'm in the saving up club too!)

They also have days where you can go in and talk to them and get your portfolio assessed, costs about $10 to book a spot - might be worth it so you can talk your way onto the topsy-turvy course!

Bunsen, so when you say they assess your portfolio, do you mean they critically appraise your work? Just to give you pointers etc?

This is the blurb from the website - its under OPen Day on the course list:

"Planet Cake is holding a series of information workshops to introduce new students to the joy of cake decorating and Planet Cakeâs teaching philosophy and school. We have split up our information workshops into 2 hours sessions to allow some hands-on activities â bookings are essential. This is an opportunity to view our facilities, see the cakes made by our Artists, bring your portfolio to be assessed by our Course Director and find out more about our courses and which workshops would best suit you. Students will be offered a brief introductory exercise into cake decorating and handling rolled fondant icing. This is a fun way to âtry before you buyâ we welcome new students (beginners + advanced), commercial cake decorators and anyone wishing to find out more about Planet Cake and our unique cake decorating workshops."

I'm assuming it means they assess what level you need to start their courses at.

Wish I read that before I booked my course! I haven't been doing this for long. Prob only a year, but I think I could have started higher than 101/102..... I should have emailed some of my stuff! The lady who replied simply said if you haven't done a course with us before, I recommend you start no higher than 102... I feel so jipped... Haha.. 2G's a lot of money to sit through so much stuff I already know!! I'm sure I'll love it anyway. And yeah, evoir, I just had a squiz at your cakes and they look awesome, so I'm sure they'll 'let' you do a wonky course..

Bel_Anne, I'm sure you'll have a great time and learn loads. I did the 102 without having done 101 first an if you'd asked me beforehand if I knew about the basics like torting, filling, ganaching, I would have said "yes". I was making OK cakes and had read and followed the PC book, looked at everything I could find online etc. However, just being there was so wonderful and I learned SO much more about the 'basics'. The instruction you'll get will be invaluable and even though you know a lot and are doing great cakes already, you won't feel like you've wasted your money - I guarantee it!!

I agree....I think you will love it, and gain a lot just from being there. In fact, whenever I have done a course, I find I always learn new stuff just from talking to the teachers and other cake decorators about different things! Even handy hints on where to buyn stuff, what customers want etc etc.

I hope after the course you come back on CC and tell us how it went and if you enjoyed it

I did the course! It was really, really good. Some stuff I already knew... and there was an entire 'master class' day devoted to baking and piping (basics) and making very easy animals, which I could have done without. But as far as their ganaching/fondant technique, it's improved the quality of my cakes in droves. My fondant always looked a bit shonky and I guess that's what I was hoping to improve. You learn all their little 'tricks' that they dont' put in the book (which I'm not allowed to repeat, haha). But the intensive week is equivilent to basics 101, 102, 103... yet it's actually cheaper (by a few hundred) to do them all separately. I probably could have started at 103 and still picked up all their tricks, so it's a bit annoying that they have so many 'stages' of their courses.. You pay more for the week because of the master class day, which as I said I didn't really need.. But I do recommend it! It's definitely the best course I've done.. I just kind of wish I used the 2G and started and 103, haha. I also took in some of my photos and asked if I was able to do a wonky course next and he basically said you have to go up through their classes... You can miss one or two, but you can't just skip to the wonky as it's 106 or 107. And a few ladies in my course had their own businesses - some for YEARS. It's a clever money making scheme on their part

Sorry this was a novel!

Bel_Anne I just had a look at your cakes and I think they are amazing. It's a shame they don't let you skip classes.

Thanks! Mine are OK.... but when you go to Planet Cake's website and see their creations, they put my cakes to shame, haha.

Still... the next course after the ones I did is just a three tiered round cake with flowers. So the only difference to what they've showed me already is drlling a hole through the boards and inserting a rod. Otherwise it's just going over the same stuff. I know how to ganache, fondant, decorate, make flowers. They really seem to draaaaaag their courses out. I think once you've done basics, and you've shown you can do what is required (i've done 3 tier cakes), you should be able to choose. To do all their courses would cost you nearly 15, 000. That's ridiculous... haha.

I agree, that is ridiculous. I'm prepared to experiment using various sources to get the results I want instead of paying $15000!!