How is life in LA? Can you tell us a bit about where you live and work, and what you are planning to achieve here with The Caker?

Life in LA was really wonderful for a time; we had a cool mix of enjoying nature and busy city life, all the while working hard to build a career in a new place. But a few things happened along the way - wildfires, police brutality and riots, the election and of course Covid. We had to pivot to be able to survive in this new climate where everything felt uncertain and uncomfortable, and we did just that but it hasn't always been easy. I live in a really cute little casita in Echo Park. I love my house, which made quarantining a lot easier and it's handy because my office and kitchen space is just down the road, so I walk to work most days.

My goal with The Caker is to make great cake accessible to people across the globe - that's why I write recipes, publish books and have a line of luxury baking kits, to supplement my cakeries. My move to the USA was with the intention of being able to achieve this on a much larger scale than I'm able to achieve in NZ. I plan to continue carving out a niche for my cake kits in the US market, and eventually become a household name!

You are now working alongside your sister Anouk. How has she invigorated The Caker?

Yes Anouk has been by my side at The Caker for 5 years now. We are like yin and yang, we make a pretty magical team. Our different skill sets and different minds complement each other well and between the two of us we can take on most challenges that are thrown in our direction. Anouk is the most intelligent person I know, she's very practical, pragmatic and thinks systematically while I'm bit more all over the place, creative, and always working on a million things - we balance each other out. The beautiful thing about working with your sister is the level of trust and reliance you have in each other.