I had a client who hosted a diamond-encrusted themed event at the Victoria & Albert Museum; that was fabulously over-the-top and simply jaw-dropping…”
Domino Purchas, Domino Purchas Cakes
Domino Purchas is the Hampshire based owner of Domino Purchas Cakes and has created cakes for events all over the UK, with a focus on London and the Home Counties; she appeared on ‘Bake Off: The Professionals’, was nominated for the ‘BrideLuxe’ Awards 2022, produced the memorable 100th birthday cake for Captain Tom and regularly designs cakes for Hollywood A-listers. Here we discuss Domino’s background in cake design, the challenges faced in their production and the high points of her career so far:
NS: “First, out of curiosity, in real life I only know one other person with your very unusual name; what inspired your parents to call you Domino?”
DP: “My unusual name comes from my wonderful eccentric parents – obviously – before I was born, they’d met a rather enchanting Italian woman who went by the name Domino and they also loved the James Bond character in author Ian Fleming’s ‘Thunderball’…”
NS: “On the subject of your artistry; how did you get started baking cakes and what inspired you to do so?”
DP: “I’ve always had a passion for baking since I could hold a spoon; it all started in my grandmother’s kitchen in West Sussex – we always baked together. Her love for food has stuck with me throughout life; I actually trained and worked as a graphic designer before my love of baking pulled me back to use these skills in the kitchen. I have a wonderful team that works with me at Domino Purchas Cakes and we all have our own set of ‘killer’ skills. However, my right-hand-woman is Jess Corbett; she’s great under pressure and, most importantly, we have a real laugh when working together…”
NS: “To date, what would you say has been your most challenging project?”
DP: “There have been so many challenges – from creating life-size tigers and zebras through to producing a very grand cake that was used in a light display for an event at the Victoria & Albert Museum. However, I think the most challenging was a snooker table for the Hearn family, the sports moguls, which included every piece of sports equipment under the sun made out of cake, plus a life size 1980’s television. It took eight strong men to lift the cake – thankfully a few of them are heavyweight boxers…”
NS: “Style and taste are something that people often have a very particular preference for; what are the most-requested cake ingredients and formats?”
DP: “When I first started out, the requests for weddings were mainly for traditional fruit cakes; now, my clients prefer a choice within the same cake, especially when a bride and groom each have their personal favourites. Typically, I’ll now produce three or more different tiers in various flavours – in order of popularity these are lemon, red velvet and carrot…”
NS: “I’ve always wondered how cake designers successfully transport their gorgeous cakes to the event venue without damaging it; how’s it done?”
DP: “Eek! This is by far the most stressful part of my job – and after producing more than one thousand cakes, we’ve learned from our mistakes. The first rule is to always box individual tiers and to never attempt to transport a multi-level cake; we always build them at the actual venue…”
I appeared on ‘Bake Off: The Professionals’; unfortunately it was filmed during the very peak of Covid lockdown, so I wasn’t able to practice baking any of the pieces with my partner beforehand, so we were somewhat ‘flying blind’. The TV production involved very long days – up at 5am, and baking and filming through until 9pm. We didn’t win, but getting a high-five from Benoir for several of our desserts and cakes was amazing; contestants have to push themselves to the absolute limits, so it’s a great experience…”
Domino Purchas, Domino Purchas Cakes
NS: “Who are the clients who most stand out in your mind from all the projects you’ve completed?”
DP: “I’ve been very fortunate to build great relationships with wonderful event companies like Quintessentially, Somerset White, Atom Events, Blue Strawberry, Rhubarb and Alison Price – to name just few. It would be unprofessional of me to name individuals, however, over the years I’ve made cakes for half a dozen Hollywood A-listers, best-selling authors, members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and – perhaps the most humbling – making Captain Tom’s 100th birthday cake…”
I was nominated in ‘The BrideLuxe Awards’ 2022; it was a huge honour to be listed up there with the very best…”
Domino Purchas, Domino Purchas Cakes
WEBSITE: http://www.dominopurchas.com