The jardinière  cake is Francesca’s original art work based on elements from the Orchid Society of Great Britain‘s gold award winning display at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman. Eulophia guineensis is native flora of the Sultanate.  Also in the display was another impressive flower native to the Sultanate of Oman, a six foot tall Eulophia petersii. Hey it’s turning into Gardener’s World around here. The Orchid Society also won gold at Chelsea last year.

Our cake for the launch of the Oak Furniture Land Orpington branch was presented as a gift to the Orchid Society. It is made of carved sponge cake covered with sugarpaste, and is hand painted in edible dusts with another of the flowers from the gold winning garden, Cattleya Purpurata.  It is the handiwork of CakeBomber Francesca Pitcher of North Star Cakes.

Francesca said: “The cake jardinière was based on the designs of the Aesthetic movement of the Victorian Period, specifically the ornate and heavily stylised porcelain of that time. This type of jardinière was typically used to display rare botanical specimens of the day, so it fitted the brief perfectly.”

We think that the jardinière and the ‘planted’ orchids are very realistic. Great job Francesca!