Hello All,

I recently have started an interest with cake making. I have been making cakes for friends and family and have received many compliments on my cakes. I am not very experienced I have pretty much taught myself. I really enjoy doing this it is a big stress reliever for me and now I am wondering how someone with no background in culinary can get a job as a cake decorator. Please let me know if anybody has any insight on this.

Okay so you say "I really enjoy doing this it is a big stress reliever for me" ...if you start doing it professionally it will quite likely become stressfull, and you will lose what you loved about it in the first place. Loving it as a hobby doesn't automatically mean it'd be a good job for you. Since you say you're only just getting interested in it I would suggest you just stick with it as a hobby for now, get more experienced, accumulate a 'portfolio' of your cakes - then decide where you want to take it.

This is something I want to know too. I have done a few cakes for friends/family and trust me I get so stressed and I know that's how it will be (my mini kitchen doesn't help either or not having central air! =/) anyways. I know this is something I want to to do for a living and I'm just not sure how to go about it. I've made several cakes but I just really started doing this in April.

Great question! Glad you asked I was thinking of asking myself. [=

There are a lot of self-taught cake decorators without a background in culinary. Just keep applying for the position you want until you get it. Many bakeries will hire for temporary positions during peak holiday seasonseven if it doesn't last, at least it counts as experience on your resume for your next application or interview. I say go for it and get that jobyou'll never regret the experience that you'll gain from working in a bakery. Good luck to you!

Well, if you're looking for a job with SOMEONE ELSE, as mentioned, just keep applying! Take pictures of your work to bakeries, grocery stores, walmart, ANYWHERE that makes cake. Working at a grocery store type of bakery will teach you how to get fast at doing a lot of things, but it may not further your detailed skills as much. You'll need to do that on your own.

If you are looking to start your own business, read as much as you can in the business section here. You are going to find virtually limitless information. Do heed the advice that turning this fun hobby into a career may possibly ressult in you wishing you had never seen a cake in your life. Not 100% guaranteed, but possible. It hasn't done that to me since I live in a state where, by sheer grace, there are very few restrictions on home based business in this area, so I've always been my own boss at this, and don't have to do what someone else tells me, except to an extent the customer, of course!

Listen to people's advice, and for certain, read up on rules in your area if you're going to start it from home. There are people here that can tell you first hand what it's like to lose everything you own because you did L'il Timmy's birthday cake and L'il Timmy's BFF's mom didn't like the cut of your britches (and fancies herself a cake decorator, much better than YOU of course) and turned you in to the 'proper authorities'. Sometimes people here may come across as being overly strict about following rules, but they are trying to save you from some serious trouble. Obviously if you're lucky enough to live in an area that is not so tightly regulated, GO WILD LADY!

Best of luck to all endeavoring to take on the cake world... we need all the new talent we can get because you never know what you can learn from somone you thought had 'less experience' than you. Sometimes it blows your mind!

Keep practicing. When you get so good that people won't leave you alone with their cake orders, then you know you've "arrived". Join a local cake group (ICES), keep an open mind, read every cake magazine you can get your hands on and purchase instructional cake DVD's

I was/am in the same boat as you I love to bake and decorate cakes and cupcakes but don't have a culianry background just home taught (Thank you CakeCentral and YouTube). But I knew that this is something I want to do so I just kept look for a shop that wasn't looking for alot of experience or was willing to train and when I found one I put together what I call my "CupCake Resume" it has a collage of pictures from some of the things that I have done that I felt were good examples of what I could do, and stapled it to my regular resume. My first interview she loved me and what I had done but went with someone who had bakery experience, I was completly brokenhearted. (How the heck am I supposed to get experience if no one will hire me?) Anyway the same lady called me 3 weeks later and asked if I was still intrested and that she had a part time position available. (By then I had found a job in my "real field" but told her I would do whatever it took to work there and I do...there are days between the two I work 14+ hours a day). I love working in the bakery it is the hardest I have worked in my life but I love it. Yes there are times it's stressful but IMO it is soo worth it. I have learned so much from working there and have been able to bring some of my ideas and talent to the bakery. I am still only part time but slowly moving up. Anyways my point is just keep looking and trying and while you are keep practicing your talent/skills. GOOD LUCK