Debbie Goard

Featuring Debbie Goard First published in May 2017, page 92 to 94

An interview with cake artist Debbie Goard.

We simply couldn't publish a food- themed issue without sitting down with the queen of fauxfoodherself, Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes. As one of the world's most amazing cake artists, Debbie spoke to us about staying true to her craft, the notion of fame in the cake world, and what inspires herto create realistic sculpted pieces. You're 100% self-taught.

What style of cakes did you start out making?

I really never knew I had an interest in cake decorating. apart from watching my mom make simple kitchen cakes, my only decorated cake prior to professional experience was in grade 5. We had a project about Victorian architecture and i had the idea of doing mine in cake. I remember being quite pleased with it until a classmate accidentally stuck their knee onto it! Fast forward many years and I was working as a freelance artist, doing portraits and mural commissions.

The income wasn't steady so I secured a job at a bakery/ deli. The decorator there was set to retire so the boss asked if I'd like to try cakes. I watched her for a week then made and sold

my first cake. I can't even imagine what it looked like now. Thankfully there were no camera phones then. These were basic buttercream cakes, but even from my early days I was experimenting with more intricate work, like lots of hand drawing and a few crude sculptures. You're a published author, and have appeared on television programs such as Food Network Challenge, yet we don't see a lot of you in the media.

Do you enjoy the notion of ‘fame’, or do you prefer to focus on your cakes?

That is true and I think it's because I don't participate much in cake related events and groups. While I'm certainly [not] alone as a cake sculptor, there are very few who focus exclusively on sculpted cakes so not a lot is relevant to what I'm doing. As for the general public I've enjoyed an enormous amount of press. My cakes have been in magazines and newspapers, literally all over the world.

I've had quite a few cakes go viral, as well, which always brings about a flurry of press interest. I've been approached by dozens of production companies but I never put too much stock in it. As a person who works alone, it's hard to make interesting TV in this drama-focused landscape. I'm open to possibilities, however. I'm currently under a development contract for a major network but, again, not holding my breath.

It's really not important to me to be ‘famous’. My focus has always been to do my best for my customers, to always try to be improving, and to hopefully keep making enough money to be self-employed.

Was it a tough decision to solely focus on sculpted cakes?

Not for me. My boyfriend and I used to have actual arguments about this. He insisted I should do any and every cake request that came my way, but I knew that if I wanted to stand out in this overcrowded field I needed to focus on what I did best.Obviously I won that argument and I do enjoy bringing this up to him on occasion! Every cake you create is designed specifically for your client.

Tell us about your design process. Most customers come to me with a very loose idea of what they want. I then set out researching. When I'm making any cake, I try to avoid even seeing other cakes in that theme. I prefer to work using real images of the items I am replicating. I work with reference objects whenever possible. I'll experiment with new techniques if a particular aspect of the design is challenging.

Finally, I pull all of these elements together when doing the final assembly. I'm fortunate that, generally, my customers trust me and prefer to be surprised. This allows me to have the freedom to make changes and/ or additions whenever inspiration strike. You've become well-known for creating faux food cakes.

Are these the types of cakes you love to create the most?

I do love them and certainly get a lot of orders for them. They're fun to make and fun for the customers, too.

Who doesn't love food?

I often play around with scale, too – a giant, yet realistic version of some food is a great conversation piece. You've created cakes for a huge range of corporate clients, including Google, Yahoo, Nissan and Playstation.

What cakes stand out in your mind?

As much I complain about cars (because they are VERY hard!) I was really excited about the first cake I made for Nissan. When you've spent literally 12 hours staring at a cake it's hard to appreciate your work. When I came into my kitchen the next morning for delivery, even I was surprised at how much it looked like a giant toy car. They loved it too, so it was a great experience.

Have you had any cake disasters?

O.M.G. Many! In the early days of Debbie Does Cakes I worked almost exclusively with buttercream. I learned quickly that buttercream iced sculpted cakes and Bay Area traffic were a bad combination. I had a lot of hairline fractures. It was simply unacceptable so I made the transition to fondant. Since then, I've had very few issues.

Do you experiment with current cake trends, or do you solely prefer to work on realistic-looking pieces?

I don't follow trends at all. There are so many cake businesses in my area who offer these things and can do a great job, so I always refer this work out. Believe me, I do get the requests for them, though.

Where do you see your business in five years?

That's a great question, and one that I don't have a clear answer to. So much changes all the time for my business, unexpected things like the book, for instance. I've been extremely fortunate to have opportunities come to me rather than having to seek them out. All I can say is I am open to whatever my business may evolve into, hopefully that's doing fewer customer cakes and more chances to focus on more projects like the book. Earning a living, one cake at a time, I think we can all agree, is challenging.

Do you have any plans to teach overseas?

I've taught only a few classes and that really comes down to scheduling. As a person whose business is customer cakes, it's tough to find a swath of time that isn't spoken for with orders. But, I'm not ruling it out.

Is there anyone you would love to work with?

I've never taken a class because I am wary of losing my personal style. We have all seen protéegés whose work is indistinguishable from their tutors. That said, Mike McCarey has so much structural knowledge to impart, that working with him would be an invaluable experience.

What tools could you not live without?

I love my airbrush so much I always have a few spares on hand. I am currently using the Iwata Eclipse

Hp-cs.

Are there cakes you're dying to make but haven't yet had the opportunity?

Always! i have a long list on my phone of things I want to cake or maybe just elements I want to try. When I get the chance to finally make one of these I put a checkmark beside it. The checked items outweigh the unchecked ones, but a few still elude me. I'd love to make a realistic flamingo. Incredibly, you create every cake on your own.

Is it important to you that you are responsible for every aspect of each cake you design?

I do confer with my boyfriend who is an industrial designer re: structural advice, because it's great to make a cake in your studio but ultimately it needs to travel to the client and survive delivery. I've learned so much about general construction from him. In general, I have pretty specific ideas about how I want things to look, [so] I think it would be hard to cede control to another person. Business wise, it would be beneficial to have a staff but my artist vs. businessperson are always in conflict over this.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to develop a niche for their cake business?

Be consistent! It's not an easy path because the general public only knows ‘cake'.If you have the word cake in your business they assume you can do any and every kind of cake. It's been a lot of educating my clients. If you decide to focus on just one thing, you'll be able to really hone your unique skill set. It can be tempting to take on other projects, but resist the urge, or if you need to take on a random project, don't post it. You need to have a consistent message to customers about what you offer.