Drew Farley doesn't just bake cakes, he turns them into bona fide pieces of artwork.
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Mr Farley's journey to wedding cake designer began nearly a decade ago, when he first started working in the kitchen of Lolli Redini.
"While I was there, I really gravitated towards the pastry and desert section," he said.
"From that, I got really interested in creativity and using unconventional desert decorating styles. That transformed into a side business that has taken over my life."
About four-and-a-half years ago, he began his own venture - Cakes by Drew - and admitted it was "terrifying" at first.
"It was never my intention to start my own business," he said.
"I had taken time off from work to study business management and was doing cakes to get a bit of an income while that was happening. That really took off and so I started applying my degree in real life."
It wasn't all smooth sailing though.
Having started up his business just before the Covid outbreak at the beginning of 2020, Mr Farley quickly found himself with some tough choices to make.
"That was a real interesting learning curve and tested my management skills."
But since the return of big events, his business has come back with a force.
"We're still playing catch-up with a lot of people and I'm doing multiple weddings every week," Mr Farley said.
"I'm just living the life."
Now, the whole country will get to see how talented the businessman is after he was named a finalist for Australasian Buttercream Artist of the Year.
"I wasn't fully aware of what the award was, but having since been nominated I've done a bit of research and found it's this big, national industry association that runs an international cake show," he said.
"The awards are even called the Cake Oscars."
Asked what he thinks has made him stand out to so many people, Mr Farley pointed to his love of creativity.
"Using buttercream and colours and forms that aren't typically what you'd see in a cake, that's what I'm passionate about," he said.
"I'm always looking for something that's a little bit different. Using buttercream and manipulating that into forms and styles that you wouldn't see in a conventional way is what I love. I really try to think of the cake as a 3D canvas where I'm using my palette knife and paintbrush techniques to create an image on a cake."
With the awards night to be held in Brisbane on Saturday, April 15, Mr Farley won't be able to make the event in person. While he is ever-hopeful to bring home first prize, the knowledge that he is on the right path to success is all the thanks he needs.
"I want the cakes to be a real reflection of people's individual personalities, but also as a couple coming together," he said.
"To get the feedback that they're happy with it is always exciting and relieving."
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