Award-winning Cake decorator
“Cake decorating is often very challenging, it’s time consuming, and sometimes it’s frustrating, but when you finish a project/cake sit back and look at what you have achieved – you’ll find it hugely rewarding. ”
Students at Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine will have the privilege of cake decorating sessions with award-winner, Pam Alty.
“Cake decorating is often very challenging, it’s time consuming, and sometimes it’s frustrating,” she warns, but adds that “when you finish a project/cake sit back and look at what you have achieved – you’ll find it hugely rewarding”.
It was by a fortunate rejection that Pam found cake decorating – or rather it found her! She had enrolled at the Pietermaritzburg Technical College to study dressmaking. With that course being overbooked she was told she could do welding or cake decorating!
It was 1978 - the year of a life-changing experience.
The following year Pam accepted the challenge to teach the course at Pietermaritzburg Technical College and did so for more than 10 years. During that time, and since, she has been invited to enter competitions at International Sugar Craft exhibitions in Joburg Bloemfontein, Durban and Cape Town. On each of these occasions she has won her class. Several wins in The Cake of the Year competition at the Pietermaritzburg Garden Show are also on her list of accolades
Other noteworthy achievements include Fair Lady commissioning Pam to make and decorate nine cakes for functions at venues around South Africa to celebrate the magazine’s 21st birthday; and Cindy Nell being among the celebrities on Pam’s client list. When her wedding day was featured on Top Billing, so was Pam’s cake.
Pam’s advice to would be cake decorating is “a lot of patience and a little bit of sugar”.