INTRO BY NICKY SUMMER: Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’, is a highly accomplished bespoke wedding cake designer and sugar artist who’s currently launching a complementary wedding gift range that incorporates a number of her own-label artisan foods. Ewa’s USP in the confectionary world is based on her Masters Degree in hotel management combined with corresponding luxury industry experience, equipping her with a unique insight into the world of high-end hospitality. Here we discuss Ewa’s lifelong love of home-baking since childhood, the inspiration she finds in her garden at home in Windsor, England, along with her intrinsic creative flair…
Ever since I was a little girl my favourite place in the house was the kitchen, so after a career break to start a family, I was delighted to turn my passion into a business with the launch of Sugar and Chic…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
NS: ”Ewa, tell me about your new product range – it sounds like the type of product that makes a great gift and Fortnum’s would like to stock…”
ES: ”It’s ‘quintessentially British’ and named the ’Sugar & Chic Garden Wedding Gift Collection’; it’s with immense pride that our signature style is now incorporated into this new range – which adds even more delight to any wedding day. The collection consists of my own recipes – made to order and not to found anywhere else – and includes several jam flavours, such as the rose petal and raspberry flavour option which was awarded in the Great Taste Awards (2022), sweet treats, plus cordials and syrups that are the perfect accompaniment to Champagne. All of my natural produce is organically home-grown, conscientiously cultivated and created with love!”
I have a deep love for nature and the outdoors so you’ll not be surprised to hear that my garden is a very special place to me; recently, over the months of lockdown, I channelled my creative energy into my garden, experimenting with the extraordinary taste and quality of home grown produce. From this, the ‘Sugar & Chic Garden Wedding Gift Collection’ was born – the range brings together incredible natural flavours and has achieved award recognition…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
NS: ”You have a strong background in hospitality and know the business from the inside out; who were the very first clients that you designed a cake for after setting up in business?”
ES: ”That was a couple who got married in a wonderful stately home in Suffolk; I have such fond memories of this occasion… I immediately fell in love with the experience of working with them, exploring their vision for their ‘big day’ and presenting inspiration to compliment it. I absolutely thrived on the energy and I’d found myself on my true path. Thanks to that first couple, I had an instant connection with the industry and I knew from that first moment that my passion had led me to a life-long career – and that process and feeling has not changed ever since…”
I’m so lucky to be based in such a beautiful and nature-rich location by the river Thames and National Trust nature reserves; I’m very grateful that through recommendation by those who have sampled my work, I’ve been able to expand from local beginnings to being commissioned by couples from across the country…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
NS: ”What’s the typical profile of your clients and how do they find you?”
ES: ”My typical client appreciates the good things in life and aspires to design the wedding of their dreams… often they have their own vision and they’re looking for somebody who can turn these existing ideas into the cake of their dreams, or they’re looking for a creative partner to explore what can be achieved. On occasion, this also includes international couples seeking a ’quintessentially British wedding’. Predominantly, clients make contact following recommendations from wedding planners and former clients; they can also view many of my creations on my website and via my Instagram account. Of course, pictures only convey the visual experience…to taste the amazing flavours we create and fully experience the process we’d go through together then they clearly need to get in touch personally and organise an appointment to discuss their concept…”
The many courses and qualifications I’ve taken over the years have given me a useful grounding, however I credit the real success to attention to detail and my sheer passion for my craft; I keep a laser sharp focus on the evolution of cake design, trends and flavours, recognising it’s important to keep innovating and learning…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
NS: ”What makes your ’Sugar & Chic’ cakes completely unique?”
ES: ”Listening to the couples I work with and providing ideas that complement their own – rather than trying to force fit some standard format on them – means I’ve never made two identical cakes. With ‘Sugar & Chic’ each couple is guaranteed a cake that’s truly bespoke to them, reflecting their own wedding vision and influenced by their own personal style…”
I’ve always been drawn to beauty and nature in all its forms; this is what the signature style of Sugar & Chic is based upon. Whilst I do provide cakes for a limited number of other special celebrations, I find the intense passion that goes into planning weddings aligns best with the Sugar and Chic style…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
NS: “What are the current most popular requests for cakes – regarding flavour, decor, style, etc?”
EW: ”This changes year by year, in accordance with the change of seasons and evolving trends. For example, winter wedding couples may lean towards the rich decadence of my Double Chocolate Truffle – a deliciously rich and moist chocolate sponge cake made with Belgian chocolate and filled with light chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream. Another popular winter selection is the Pecan Praline and Salted Caramel – a delicious and light pecan sponge cake filled with homemade dulce de leche Swiss meringue buttercream, crunchy pecan praline and homemade salted caramel. During the summer months, the most popular flavours range from Vanilla Buttermilk and Raspberry, Lemon Drizzle, to Pink Champagne and Peach. At quarterly intervals, I send samples of my signature range of flavours for couples to try at their leisure… In terms of decor, the ‘Sugar & Chic’ style is sleek…the epitome of elegance; I’m definitely inclined towards a clean, classic, ‘less is more’ decorative style. The ‘more’ is in the detail and intricate, handcrafted details, which include wafer-paper or sugar flowers, fresh blooms, and ornate hand painted designs. Much of my decor is flower-orientated therefore when I’m replicating flowers the challenge I set myself is to craft them to be as realistic as possible so as to keep the couple and their guests guessing as to which are real and which are not! Essentially, I’m led by the couples, connecting with their ideas and investing in dialogue to explore the creative opportunities…”
Every cake of ours is made to a bespoke specification with meticulous attention to detail and intricate design options; the price is tailored to the couples budget and the design. In the wedding business, there are many opportunities to work with fellow wedding creatives, which I absolutely love. It’s hard to beat the creative synergy that comes from being part of a team, working together to produce a beautiful holistic experience for a couple in love and the wedding guests. In addition to building meaningful connections, working with other creatives, such as wedding planners, photographers and florists definitely re-energises my own approach and the lens of style and design…”
Ewa Sparshott, founder of ’Sugar & Chic’
CONTACT: http://www.sugarandchic.co.uk
