Best in Show Sugar Art exhibit, by Eileen Scriven (left), and Flowers and Foliage Arrangement winner, by Bernadette Douglas (right)
Did I visit the flower arranging competition by mistake?
What do Pinocchio, a Chinese Temple with Kung Fu Fighters, a Farmyard, and a Vase of Carnations, Rosebuds and Baby’s Breath have in common?
Not much you might think!
But if you visit the cake decorating at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, or – to call it by its correct name – the Sugar Art Competition, you will discover that all the above are incredible cakes decorated with sugar icing.
Best In Show winner, Bernadette Douglas, entered five categories and came away with five Winner ribbons, an outstanding achievement which also saw her win the Most Successful Exhibitor Award. Her winning Special Occasion cake (above left) had the most extraordinarily precise sections of vertical filagree icing, which made it a standout with the judges.
Show visitors were overheard arguing about whether Bernadette Douglas’s winning entry in the arrangement flowers and foliage category (above right) was actually a flower arrangement or an iced cake. Her incredible representation of the frilled petals of carnations and the intricacy of the baby’s breath led to many family debates, with viewers refusing to believe they were not real flowers in a vase.
Fortunately, the competition has categories for novice cake decorators, and those under 20, so there is an opportunity for those inspired by the magnificent display to try their hand and enter their attempts at sugar art in next year’s competition.
