The sweet taste of success

Australian cake decorator and tutor Serdar Yener visited Alexandra for the first time as guest demonstrator at the New Zealand Cake Decorators Guild national conference this month. He tells Rebecca Fox the best way to learn is one method at a time.

Seeing the look on people’s faces when he puts one of his decorated cakes on the table in front of them is what keeps Serdar Yener in the business.

"It’s the most motivating part of cake decorating."

Yener, who was born and grew up in Instanbul, Turkey, has been a pastry chef for more than four decades and now, at age 70, concentrates on teaching others his skills.

What was so special about pastry making was making something by hand and then presenting the surprise to people, he said.

"To see the surprise, the expression in their eyes and on their faces."

That is how he came to be visiting Alexandra this month — holding artistry demonstrations at the New Zealand Cake Decorators Guild national conference, which was hosted by the Central Otago Cake Decorating Club over three days earlier this month.

Yener, who has judged competitions around the world, showed guild members how to make his classic horse and carriage centrepiece in two hours.

"It’s a very romantic topper on a cake. It’s like a royal carriage pulled by four horses, each a different motion."

He believed enthusiasm was the key to learning and being successful at cake decorating. He said it was also helpful to choose someone whose work you admired and watch what and how they do it.

"It is like the oil for the machine. If you are enthusiastic you will learn."

It was important to learn basic methods and then build on those.

"Every time you learn one method you open the door to another method," he said.

For more than half a century Yener worked in major hotel pastry kitchens around the world, finally settling in Australia in 1992.

One of the attractions of working in pastry was the many materials available to create with. Chocolate alone had many variations, he said.

"It’s so versatile from its liquid form to its crystallised form — it’s a wonderful journey. You can pour it, coat things, cut it into pieces."

Yener was a proponent of pastillage, as it was versatile and dried quickly and rigidly, allowing for taller cakes. He had even developed his own product.

"Every material has its attitudes just like a person. So you have to know the person to deal with that."

Another material which had helped revolutionise cake decorating was isomalt, he said.

"We used to do normal sugar but it enables us to do more in shorter time."

While he has won many awards for his cake decorating over the years, he said he had not yet made his favourite cake. Although he did admit to having a soft spot for his signature galleon centrepiece.

Yener went on to open his own business in 1969 specialising in pastry and cakes for weddings and other special occasions. Since 2014 he had also been doing online tutorials on cake decorating.

"I plan the cake on paper. Then I line up all the actions, then I line up the actions, so each step is easier done."

Back then cake decorating was not recognised as a profession but that has changed, he said. "It’s become so international."