Interview with Ben, The BakeKing

20 December 2017

 

Can you tell me a little about how you spend your time before you created cakes? How did you get into cake making?

I was an apprentice tattooist. I had always done art since I was a kid and that took me to University to do fine art and graphic design. While I was doing that I was working as an apprentice tattoo artist and I believed that was going to be my career. It was a customer I was tattooing someone and it was her mum…she showed me this sugar paste figure she had made. It just looked like a toy to me. It would be the same with anything I see in art. You know when you’re abroad and you see a sand sculpture – I have to make one. If someone’s carved something out of a tree I have to have a go at it. That’s basically what happened there – it led me on to try it.

When I looked into it, it opened up this whole world – the things you can do with cake.

What inspires you?

I’m an artist, I have always wanted to create art. If I see a street sign, I might see a face in it, I see art everywhere. Now I’m in this industry I always think “how would I make that out of cake?” I really believe you can make anything out of cake. Just looking around – the world inspires me, other people, other artists. As the industry gets better, I have to get better and progress with it.

What’s the next big project for you?

I’ve got a big shark coming out of the water! I’m going to America for a few different reasons next year to teach classes.

I do commissions but I also do pieces that I just want to do, I do online videos.

The thing for me is the industry is lacking a person like me because I don’t suit it! A young (ish!) male, I’m straight, and I’m covered it tattoos. I’ve never had a background in cakes. I’m relatively normal as lads go. I’ve got an opportunity to say to normal lads “you can be interested in it” – it’s not for a certain type of person. People will watch the videos and enjoy them that don’t care about cakes. But they’ll appreciate the art work side of it.

What’s your fantasy commission?

The basic problem in this industry is time and money. You might get a commission that you absolutely love the idea of, but unfortunately you have to do it to a certain standard because you’re constrained by time and expenses. But if they weren’t in the picture, I would like to do a whole house! A Hansel and Gretel idea. I would like a whole year to do it, and I would make a whole house with a little old lady sat in a chair, and everything was made out of cake.

Cakes continue to be at the centre of celebrations. Why do you think they are so magical?

They have stood the test of time, they are the centre of a party, they have become a tradition. To keep that exciting and fresh, there’s people like me and the rest of the industry, experts that are making it more exciting. It’s only going to get more impressive. It’s locked in now, cakes aren’t going to go anywhere!

 

Extreme Cake Makers S2 will air on Channel 4 in early 2018