Someone who shows natural creative and artistic talent. If they possess that quality, they can learn the skills part. Above all, dependability, because it doesn't matter how good they are if they can't show up to do the work. (Sadly, this isn't usually known before hiring an employee.) All employers are looking for productive employees... production=profit. If you aren't fast, a true production bakery will train you how to be. You might not be timed to produce something for an interview, but they typically allow a certain amount of time per cake on production schedules during employment and you're expected to keep up. Periodical checks are done for each employee, but it's easy to "perform" as long as you're doing it "their" way as you were trained with their top of the line equipment. Speed, accuracy, and consistency are all considered when you're up for review or advancement.

I personally like to see any form of the work that decorator's have done; portfolio or link to online photos, but there are bakeries that don't care to look at what you've done, they just want to see what you can do for them. Don't be disappointed if they refuse to view your work.

You should mail your resume. The cover letter should be personalized to the owner/manager mentioning that you will follow up with a phone call in X number of days to answer any questions that they may have. (It's difficult to put together an impressive resume with no work experience in the field, but your past work history may be helpful to express that you were a dependable, loyal, fast-learning, hard-working, and dedicated leader in your work ethics with previous employers. If you don't already have your resume finished, look online for helpful tips.)

During your follow-up conversation, you might also mention that you have an available portfolio to view if there's a good time to make an appointment with the bakery manager for an interview.

Should you choose not to mail your resume, it wouldn't hurt to pop in and ask to fill out a job application, but I wouldn't expect to get an instant interview if the owner isn't available.