Creating an award-winning cake isn’t all fun and games. For Ivan, the process took two full days of hard work and a whole lot of practice before that.
“I put a lot of work into the cake which was designed from scratch after some research,” said Ivan.
“The theme of the category was ‘The Fruit Belt’, in line with Shepparton’s focus on fruit growing, so I created a white chocolate mud cake that reflected fruits and climate change. Everything came together nicely as I was building it up. It all came down to practice and experience.”
Ivan worked in Toyota’s assembly department for 20 years but left his position because the factory closed. As a result, the 55-year-old chose to re-skill in an entirely new career path: baking.
“The course has improved my skills,” he said. “I was really unsure of my future direction when I first started, but I feel quite confident about the direction I’m taking now that I’ve completed the course.”
Ivan speaks highly of the level of support that Kangan Institute provided him with, noting that “even the equipment we used was good and it made me feel like a real baker.”
Having also won the second prize in the Pane di Casa category, Ivan says bread is his passion and hopes to join a bakery in the future.
