Cake designer moves to the North East

Feb 3 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A CAKE designer who created confections for Buckingham Palace garden parties and Royal Ascot has moved to the North East for love - and to make wedding cakes.

Bernadett Szucs and her Sunderland-born partner Richard Winfield met while working for catering companies in London and now run Newcastle-based Dreamworld Cakes together.

Ms Szucs is originally from Hungary, where she qualified as a pastry chef and moved to the UK in 2005 to build up her experience. She trained at London's exclusive Nadell Patisserie, which supplied cakes to high-profile events such as the Queen’s garden parties.

But after meeting Mr Winfield, the couple moved to his native North East and now concentrate on top-class wedding cakes, which are on display in a showroom adjoining their home in Westerhope.

Ms Szucs said: “We run the business from home but we have converted it into a showroom. The brides come in and the cakes are on display, it’s very girlie, it’s a nice environment.

“In London, it’s too busy to have a family, so we moved up here for family reasons and to be a bit more independent.

“London is busier but the North East is much nicer. In Hungary, I lived in a town like Newcastle – I prefer the North East to London.”

Despite the recession, Dreamworld Cakes managed to hold its own and Ms Szucs is confident that 2010 will be even better.

“In 2009, people still wanted their day to be perfect and came to us but 2010 will definitely be stronger. People have been saving for an extra year,” she said.

The business specialises in intricately-designed cakes which can take up to three days to put together.