Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Talented baker Rachel is a real rising star
Cake designer nominated for top award
A talented young Coatbridge baker’s burgeoning reputation has risen even higher after she was shortlisted for the Scottish Wedding Awards.
Delighted Rachel Agnew, 23, launched Cute Cakes by Rachel three years ago, and said it was “amazing” to be nominated in the cake designer of the year category at next week’s prestigious awards ceremony.
Rachel’s impressive creations and imaginative style have proved a recipe for success since she opened her bespoke business in Kirkwood, and winning the top award would be the icing on the cake of her meteoric rise.
She said: “Finding out I was in the final of the competition was amazing. It’s the first time I’ve been entered into these awards and I didn’t even know I was nominated!”
The Monklands cake designer is no stranger to success, after being crowned specialised retailer of the year at the Lanarkshire business awards last May.
Rachel explained: “That was great. When I had to get people to vote for me, I put it on my Facebook page and my customers were all so happy to do it.
“The best business in Coatbridge was based on customer feedback, and that was really nice.”
The scale of Rachel’s success has taken her by surprise, with demand for her birthday cakes, bridal creations and cupcakes soaring.
She honed her skills at her Blairhill home and turned her hobby into a fulltime venture after leaving St Ambrose High in 2014.
Her passion for baking, which was inspired by her late grandmother Amy Bain, went on to include impressive cake decorating skills which were self taught.
Rachel explained: “I started making cakes when I was 15, mainly for family parties, and people said, ‘you should sell these’.
“I then started a Facebook page and it all took off from there.
“It’s all word of mouth and people telling others where they got their cakes.
“At the start I was in school and I created the cakes at home.
“I used to bake with my gran; it’s her that got me into it when I was younger.
“I got accepted at Dundee University to do a business course, but I decided it wasn’t for me.
“I worked on my business for two years from my mum and dad’s kitchen before opening my own shop.”
The Scottish Wedding Awards take place on February 25 in Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.