Queen of Cakes
Waterfront Magazine meets Peggy Porschen, the cake designer whose cakes have graced celebrity weddings, parties and the pages of American Vogue
her team of pastry chefs and sugar craft artists have been responsible for designing cookies and cakes for a plethora of celebrities, Royals and members of high society, including Sir Elton John. So, how has Peggy forged this blossoming career with such a devoted and prestigious client base? Well, according to Peggy, it all started during her childhood. “I was always given a fabulous cake every year on my birthday as a child growing up in Germany, which is a nation that loves its cake,” she recalls. “It was always the highlight of the day for me and even then I was incredibly passionate about both the taste and the look. When I was 14, I decided to make my own and it really just started from there”. Even now, Peggy is still inspired by her childhood, specifi cally the Christmas biscuits that she would bake with her mother each year. “It’s one of my fondest memories,” she explains, “Every year I now include the very same traditional German Christmas biscuits in my Parlour collection. T ey are wonderfully festive and even just the smell of them baking conjures warm nostalgic memories for me!”
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waterfrontmagazines.co.uk
eggy Porschen is not only an incredible designer but a bespoke cake company, founded in 2003 and based in London. It is headed, of course, by Peggy herself along with her husband Bryn Morrow, who acts as Managing Director. Peggy and
Peggy moved from her home in Germany in 1998 to study at the
internationally renowned cookery school, Le Cordon Bleu. After successfully completing the ‘Grand Diploma of Cuisine & Patisserie’, Peggy worked as a pastry chef at London’s Lanesborough Hotel and for celebrated caterer Rhubarb Food Design before moving on to German master-baker Gerhard Jenne, for whom she worked as a cake decorator. It was in 2003 that Peggy decided to set up her business, initially from her home. Explaining her decision to go it alone, she explains, “After working for a number of diff erent companies, I was personally commissioned by Elton John to create 550 individually handcrafted chocolate Faberge eggs for his White Tie and Tiara Ball. T is was the turning point that inspired me to set up business on my own”. T is decision turned out to be very fruitful for Peggy as the business
grew and grew. In 2010, she opened the Peggy Porschen Parlour, which is also home to her Bridal Boutique; a service available to clients on an appointment only basis. T e Parlour, infl uenced by a mix of European/ French style patisserie with a ‘New England Touch’, is a treasure trove of pretty cupcakes and intricately decorated delicacies. Peggy’s pride in the parlour is evident when she discusses her ambitions, explaining, “T e aim was for the Parlour not to be a version of someone else’s but for it to
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