Company Freshers Week Event

Our cupcake decorating workshop was the perfect activity for Capgemini's fresher week entertainment. The new recruits had been working hard getting to know the ins and outs of the company operations. So they were well and truly ready to have a few drinks and unwind whilst learning a fun new skill at this company event. They really enjoyed the cake making workshop and were thrilled with their results. We covered everything that we would do in a beginners cupcake decorating class. They soon got the hang of the buttercream piping techniques. As you can see they had really bonded over the buttercream and delicious cakes. They were soon laughing and giggling like old friends whilst enjoying a couple of drinks. It was a really fun team event and a lovely way to welcome the new recruits. I'm sure doing such a fun networking event really helped the new freshers settle into the company quickly and easy. 

KPMG Team Building Events London

Having worked with KPMG many times over the years it’s always a pleasure to hear from them. In the past we’ve created cake making networking and client events for them. This was more of an intimate company event as it was really an opportunity for this department to have fun and do some team bonding. The serious surroundings of the boardroom did nothing to get in the way of the fun and games of the cake decorating activity. The cake making workshop got off to a cracking start with all attendees concentrating deeply on my cake decorating demonstration. A certain amount of friendly competition arose once we got to the ‘speed cupcake decorating element’ although I am pleased to say that on this occasion there wasn’t any sabotage involved! At the end of the 2hr session all the participants were thrilled with their beautiful creations and took them home to share with their friends and family. Although the KPMG headquarters are pretty much as far away from our HQ as it’s possible to be whilst still in London, it was well worth the visit. Apart from getting the opportunity to meet a lovely group of people and teach them some cake making skills, I felt very privileged to have these stunning views across the docklands as our backdrop.

Great British Bake Off Worldwide- Conference Activity

Having always fancied myself appearing on 'The Great British Bake Off' (judge not contestant please!) I was very happy to be invited to by BBC Worldwide to present an element of 'The great Global Bake Off'. I was asked to host the 'Technical Challenge' for the producers of the GBBO equivalents worldwide. It was their conference activity and a great way to unwind after a busy day at the networking event. They were a creative bunch and when it came to cake making the were not happy to simply stick with what I asked them to do. So they went 'off piste' with their cake decorating and made some truly original cupcake masterpieces. I think the squid might have been my favourite. There were also some very characterful Santas (one of them looked like Billy Bot Thornton in 'Bad Santa'). And I rather liked the snowman wearing a cowboy hat.The activity proved to be a great ice breaking client event. And really helped with the team building on each table. There was some friendly competitiveness between the different countries. It was all in the spirit of fun. Especially as there was no official prize winner.  On stage with the sofa at my disposal I came over 'So Graham Norton' and couldn't resist inviting some of the creators of the most original cupcake content up to have a chat about the inspiration behind the way they decorated their cake creations. It was a real pleasure meeting such charming people and working with the BBC Worldwide team to help create a truly fantastic event.

Christmas Press Event

When Stylist Magazine approached me about creating a biscuit decorating workshop for their collaboration with Pinterest I was only too happy to help. As we do so many cake making events it's nice to get the chance to work on something a bit different. The theme was neon. I have to say that this was great news for me as I find traditional green and red can look a bit dull and traditional. I baked a classic vanilla biscuit dough. I then used a variety of 'Christmas Bauble' cutters to create interesting shapes. I have been wanting to experiment with cake lace for a while so I thought this was a great opportunity to work with it. I used Katie Sue designs and mixture in a variety of colours. I also made lots of cute little cherubs out of fondant icing. I went for lime green, yellow, pink & purple. This worked really well and created texture as well as looking good. The participants used scissors to cut out the premade lace fit onto the shapes and then piped on icing and added the cherubs and rose garlands. The group were thrilled with the end results and amazed by what they had achieved in the hour long workshop. Everyone got to take home 8 biscuit baubles to hang from their Christmas Tree. If they made it that far before being eaten!

We love it when companies ask us to create a unique workshop to fit their needs. We have done these for product launches and brand launches, blogger events and press days. Not only is it a fun way to entertain your employees, guests or clients, but it also leads to great social media activity as everyone is so excited to share their baking creations with friends and family. Whether it is a conference, client event, networking event or just an  opportunity to treat your staff to a fun filled workshop, our tailor made workshops will tick all the boxes. 

Brand Activation For PlayStation

I had so much fun preparing for this cake making event. When I was asked if I could make edible lego bricks for this PlayStation bloggers event I jumped at the chance. Fondant icing is basically edible plastacine for grown ups. There is not a lot you can't do with it and there are a huge variety of molds available. I spent a few nights in front of the telly happily playing and creating a lot of bricks in different primary colours. As we thought that this brand launch would appeal mainly to boys we made sure there were plenty of football decorations and loads of blue icing. In fact we ended up with lots of girls and event more mums getting involved. The mums were particularly thrilled with the cake decorating as they didn't all want to spend the day playing computer games. As a result I met lot's of lovely new blogger mums whom I'm looking forward to checking out on social media.  It really was a great product launch, as well as the cake making and cupcake decorating, there was yummy food by Pear Drop catering, fun arts and crafts, colourful golf and PlayStation games obvs. I had an interesting chat with Ellie from Scummy Mummy's (who I am a big fan of) about my one and only gaming experience. It was many years ago when I got my daughter (now grown up) a copy of a game called Jak & Daxter. I become obsessed. I could barely leave the house until I'd completed all the levels. I vowed never to play again..... She is a gaming journo and it turned out she had helped come up with the name and written the journal for J & D! She then told me that the new 'Crash Bandicoot' game, being launched at the event was made by the same people. I looked across the room and even from a distance I could see that it had the same appealing visuals. I tore my eyes away and reminded myself of the vow I'd made many years earlier. The trouble with those PlayStation games is they are just so damn addictive! I really enjoyed making the edible PlayStation logos for the kids to colour in. My job is basically creating an environment for both adults and children to play. I think we all need more of that in our life! My little girls came for the last hour of the event and had a fab time going home with fabulous Tote bags that they'd decorated themselves. We all agreed it had been a really lovely event.

Team Building Events

t was a great idea of Michelle's to surprise everyone with our cake making team building event. The responses we got when each participant walked into the room where varied and some of the expressions were priceless. The head of the engineering department looked pretty indignant when he realised he had to wear a cupcake apron. Initially he only wanted to use the blue buttercream icing. It didn't take him long to lose his preconceptions and throw himself into the task at hand. As you can see he ended up having a great time, embracing the pink icing, sprinkling glitter and even posing for a photo in his apron. There was a great since of camaraderie amongst the participants and a huge amount of laughter. This is a group of people who clearly enjoy each others company. They were also very attentive and concentrated on the piping techniques demonstrated. This meant they got some great results with their cake decorating. The 'speed cupcake decorating' element was really popular although some of the guys got rather carried away with the icing. They seemed to take the attitude that the more buttercream icing the better the cake would look.  They couldn't have been more wrong! In the end the prize of my bestselling recipe book was won by a very happy Michelle. Her cupcake was beautiful. Neatly piped with a great design and just enough buttercream! You can see why these cake making workshops work so well for networking and client events. They are such good ice breakers and bonding experiences. Everyone has fun whilst learning a new skill. And they get to take their cupcakes home with them. The funniest moment for me was when Theresa, the head of housekeeping, went to leave. She had put on her coat and bag when I pointed out that she was about to walk off wearing one of my aprons! You would think that she would be extra careful regarding this kind of behaviour what with the number of people that leave with towelling dressing gowns in their luggage!

Expedia Team Event

When Expedia asked us to do this event we were only too happy to help. We get lots of requests for conference activities, team building and client events. This one was a bit different. Although all twelve of the attendees for our cake making, team bonding event worked in the same department, they weren't all in the same country. initially I found this surprising but seeing as Expedia are a worldwide travel company it did make sense. What's great is that they get together in one of the four different countries 4 times a year to do a team bonding event which is where we came in. Cake decorating is a great activity to do in order to get to know each other better. It's a really good ice breaker as there are so many opportunities to have a real laugh with each other. The speed cupcake decorating element is was very popular and led to mild hysterics as you can see! We really enjoyed hosting Expedia's fun filled cake decorating workshop and look forward to doing another with them. Perhaps tropical themed biscuit decorating would be appropriate....

Team Building Event with TK Max

This was a really entertaining and effective team event. The participants created their own 'Ultimate Cupcake' from a variety of different flavoured cakes, fillings and icings. Then they tasted them and picked the best to represent each of their teams. After naming the cupcake they had to brainstorm a brand including shops, packaging, pitch and slogan. The winning cupcake was delicious. It was a banana cake filled with peanut butter and topped with chocolate buttercream. They named it 'Chunky Monkey'. This was their leaping off point for the brand. This was their pitch- 'Man cakes, not fairy cakes. Cakes for men, real men. Men with beards.' Their concept was a chain of shops looking like caves with vines and monkeys hanging from the ceiling. The customers would be served by men in loincloths with, you guessed it, beards! The whole room was in hysterics by the end and there was no doubt that they would take home the prize. They got a copy of my recipe book as well as a Cookie Girl branded cake decorating kit each. If you want to do a similar event then call us on- 020 3573 9135

Unilever Cake Class Client Event

This was an event that we hosted for Unilever and their clients. As you can see they found it a huge amount of fun and a really bonding experience. They loved the fact that we organised the whole event for them. This meant that the could have their drinks, cake workshop and supper all at the same venue (the fabulous Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden). We provided everything that was required for the event, leaving them free to relax, chat and get to know each other better. They were thrilled with how much they accomplished with their piping and decorating. Plus they all went away with boxes of their lovingly created cupcakes. The memories of the event will stay with them long after the cakes have been demolished and they will be able to test out their new found skills every time they have an office bake sale.

If you would like to experience one of our workshops or for us to create something bespoke for you then do let us now- info@cookiegirl.co.uk.

German Biscuit Baking Event

Here are some pictures of the four day event that I hosted on behalf of my lovely German clients- Estrel Berlin, The Ellington Hotel, AXICA, Regent Hotel and Conference & Touring Berlin.

They invited their events company clients to learn how to bake and decorate a variety of delicious, traditional German biscuits using Berlin landmark cookie cutters. they then had great fun piping on icing and decorating with gold sprinkles.

The whole event was deliciously catered for by Salt & Dry. They also made sure that everyone was kept well lubricated with lashings of bubbly. The whole event was brilliantly managed by our lovely German clients with a wonderfully informal atmosphere which ensured a fun filled few hours for everyone involved.