Anyone Here Doing The Pme Diploma At Knightsbridge In May?!
Decorating By Hollybello Updated 4 Nov 2013 , 8:46pm by lieblk
AHello.
I have just enrolled at the knights bridge pme school of cake decorating to do the professional diplomas this may. I am not doing the intensive course but will be doing them weekly for 5 weeks. I am doing all three modules at the same time so should be challenging!
I was wondering if anyone else on here will be attending the same course? Or f anyone else has previously done it and have some tips would love to hear about it!
Hi Hollybello
I completed the PME Diploma course at a Cook School in Ireland 2012 ( Brennan's in Cork) I did the modules one at a time, - over 15 weeks. However there were a few students in the Sugar Paste class who did ALL 3 modules that same week. They found it a huge challenge, but very rewarding - the main incentive being the PME Master's Certificate in Cake Decorating Award, which would enhance their career/business prospects - on successful completion of the modules: Royal Icing, Sugar Paste and Sugar Flowers. I admired them for their courage, commitment and determination to succeed!
I have been making cakes for family and friends over the years - as a hobby. However with more time on my hands on retirement, I decided to pursue the PME course to learn new techniques. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. My username picture (Kate's Christening Cake) was the cake presented for assessment of Sugar Paste module. Most of the cakes in my photo albums I made since I finished the course.
If you want to do the whole course in a week then go for it!
- Time Mangement is a key factor - practice and preparation between classes is a must!
- Do as much foilage and flower fillers at home as is possible, for Sugar Flowers Presentation
- Try a get a list of Materials and Tools required in advance, and buy what you need only
- Have a read through the module booklets in advance of the classes
- If you have some previous hands-on experience, you will be able to pace yourself easier.
- I found watching tutorials on U-Tube very helpful
- Use Cake Central as a platform for knowledge, help and support ( I got to hear about CC while I was on the course)
I wish you every success with the course - go follow your dream!!!
Margaret393
AWow Margaret that was very helpful and your cakes are beautiful. I think I explained what I am doing incorrectly. I am doing the modules weekly for 5 weeks so Thursday royal icing, Friday sugar flowers and Saturday sugar paste for 5 weeks. I thinki will find the piping one hardest.
I live close to the school so I drove up there at the weekend and omg the shop was amazing and had a chat to some of the staff and they were so lovely. I have my equipment lists already, most of it I already have but I have ordered most of what I need already so I can get familiar with them before the course.
I am! I'm doing the 5 week saturday course in sugarpaste. I work full time in the week though so I can only do the saturday one till the rest fall on saturdays. Theres a fair few blogs from people that have been on the courses, if you type in PME course review into Google, a load come up. =]
AHi yes it is in Enfield and I'm from Harlow so it's not far at all for me!
How exciting Gemmal I'm sure I will meet you there! Are you local to Enfield?
Cool! I didn't even know they did courses there! Might take a look into the royal icing one!!
I used to live in Enfield (before they were based there, though). Now, I'm in Ilford and they USED to be, literally, five minutes from me... now it's a 20 minute drive. :D
AIt's about 20 mins for me too but I can take all the back roads through Waltham abbey to get there so should miss a bulk of the traffic :).
Gemmal how are you getting on with your equipment list, do you have everything yet? Have any of you visited the shop? I went last sat to find out where it was and omg I never seen a shop like it! I get most my stuff from hobby craft or online. The shop had soooo much I didn't know where to look first! They also give a 10% discount for people booked on a course :) not much but every little helps lol
I've never been there actually, I can't wait to actually visit the shop! They used to be run from where they manufacture the stuff in Harrow which is less than 5 mins in a car from me! I haven't braved the North Circular/A406 across London yet hence why I haven't visited yet :( I have quite a few things anyway but still have a few things to get. I have to say my new tilting turntable scares the bejeebus out of me! I haven't even braved using it yet! Theres a few of the cutters and spacers I need to get. Do you know when the 10% off starts? Is it just when the course is on or before? I have an excuse to do a 'find the place' run at some point so seems only fair I buy some stuff! It's like Graceland!
AWell I introduced myself to the ladies in the shop and they said i could have discount now also gave me a free catalogue which is HUGE! Some of the stuff is more expensive however there was loads of stuff reduced and some things really really cheap because boxes were dented etc. I didn't buy too much as needed to sort through what I already had. Iv already got a lot of the stuff too but as in doing all three courses together I have a lot more to get so trying to pace myself :)
My tilting turn table arrived today, can't wait to try it!
Oh well in that case... ROAD TRIP! and discounts you say...
On the PME shop site the stuff is pretty pricey but I suppose its a case of you get what you pay for and PME is meant to be top notch. I bought the basketweave rolling pin we need on ebay (not branded) for about a fiver and its not exactly the best quality but I suppose it will do for now, as long as it does somewhere near the job I can invest in a better one if I ever need it outside of class. Thanks Hollybello! Roll on May :D
AIv ordered quite alot online too, I have even got a lot of the official pme stuff cheap off eBay including my turntable. the thing I'm most confused with is the piping tips. I have a few odd wilton tips but no way near what we need for the course so I want to get a set. The list they have given us has the codes for pme ones but I have looked at the pme tip set and its so expensive and they are not all in there however wilton has a deluxe tip set which is half the price but I have no idea how the pme codes correspond to wilton codes! Emailed the shop as think wilton ones must be ok as owned by pme but not had reply yet.
Ah that's why I'm grateful to be doing the sugarpaste course first, I'm awful at all types of piping and the piping tips are another language completely. As far as I've heard they are just numbered differently. Good luck! Piping always seemed the most technical and expensive thing about cake decorating.
Definitely buy the PME tips. I would search online as several sites may offer the tips cheaper. You will see a difference when using PME tips vs Wilton tips. The Wilton tips cause the RI to curl and you will notice a seam. The PME tips have no curl and show no imperfections in your string work. If you buy the Wilton tips make sure you clean them and dry them right away as they do discolor. The PME tips do not discolor and look flawless as the day you bought them.
Hope this helps!
AThank you that really helps, I will invest in the pme tips if its worth it, I have found a cheap seller online so will buy a few at a time :)
No problem! Enjoy! I love mine and seriously find any reason to use them. Cakes, cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, and my newest craz Temari Balls!
Hi Ladies
I live very near the PME shop and school and have been there frequently. A lot of their stock is very expensive-you can get much cheaper elsewhere. But.....you do get some bargains there as a lot of stuff that is used in the classrooms gets sold off cheap after. They have also usually got a large stock of tips and are very helpful in helping you find the ones you need.
People travel from all over the world to their courses so they have a bit of a captive audience to buy things from the shop.
It is on a trading estate so not easy to get to by public transport. The nearest hotel I can think of is a Travel Lodge that is less than a 10 minute drive away or short taxi ride.
Hola Daisytam, Si, voy a HACER El curso en noviembre. Yo vivo en España. Que va a HACER?
Hola Kathy, vas al Curso? Nos vemos en dos weeks ....
Saludos cordiales
Jaque
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