This Goa getaway has folks flying in from Dubai just to bake!

 Close to a hundred baking enthusiasts from as far as Delhi and Dubai will fly to Goa for Cake Me Away 2017, a getaway with international gurus of pastry
This Goa getaway has folks flying in from Dubai just to bake!

Most folks go to Goa to party, these ladies head there to bake! Close to a hundred baking enthusiasts from all over the country have signed up for Cake Me Away 2017, an annual getaway organised by Mumbai-based Knead It, for its third year running. Picking up steam since their first event in 2015, the organisation that is co-run by long-time baker Gina Maya Iyer and husband Ram Iyer has gathered so many followers that Gina tells us there are participants flying in from as far as Dubai, Muscat and even China for the three-day intensive event. Also, for the first time since its inception, she shares, “We have masterclasses with experts like Robert Haynes, the godfather of sugar floristry from London, Candace Chand who specialises in wedding cakes from Canada and Kim Wiltjer, an airbrush artiste from Denmark.”


This is apart from the 18 demos by prolific names in pastry in India, five other masterclasses and a Very Berry Baking Competition to kick off the line-up. At this point, we’re debating whether this categorises as baking party or bootcamp. But that probably depends on how much you love your oven mitts. Here’s a slice of what’s in store — complex French entremet techniques, multimedia tiered cakes, model-ling with chocolate and an intricate masterclass on ‘wiring and veining wafer paper flowers’ from Chennai’s Maaria Kulsum. Interestingly enough, the idea for this convention came to Gina over lunch with friends, when somebody brought up in conversation a bunch of foreigners going on a cruise to bake. “So I thought, why not go to Goa and do it? And without giving it too much thought, I put up a post on one of our baking groups on Facebook,” she recalls. Twenty minutes later, she found over a hundred comments asking when it was happening. 

Gina and Ram Iyer, organisers of the event
Gina and Ram Iyer, organisers of the event


And it’s a good thing she did something about it or we wouldn’t have access to  talent like Candace, one of the most sought-after names at the convention. Interestingly, Candace let’s on that much of her cake design comes from the psyche of the Indian fashion world. “My cakes are known for their ethereal luxe looks with an interesting blend of modern and embellished design,” she says. 

Sugar artist Candace Chand
Sugar artist Candace Chand


As for her much-awaited masterclass, she shares, “I’m going to be teaching various textures on a four-tiered wedding cake as well as simplified techniques for beginners and advanced bakers to get that wow factor in less time.” 

On between September 14 and 17. Last date for registration is August 20. At the Caravela Beach Resort. Registration: Rs 24,500 for resident aparticipants and Rs 14,000 for non-residents. Details: 9987065672
 

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