Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Westminster Abbey burial for Hawking
Harry and Meghan choose former stallholder to make wedding cake
extremely proud to retain a ‘5’ Food Hygiene rating.
“As part of our most recent inspection we were advised by the Food Standards Agency to make structural changes to our ventilation system, which we are now in the process of doing.
“We’ve no doubt we will regain our ‘5’ rating with the full support of the Food Standards Agency, once these architectural developments have taken place. As ever, levels of hygiene across our business remain of upmost importance.”
Bride-to-be Meghan has gushed about Ms Ptak’s baking on her blog.
In a quote used for Ms Ptak’s book The Violet Bakery Cookbook, released in 2015, Meghan is quoted as saying: “Pastry chef Claire Ptak has hit the nail on the head with her London bakery serving up delightful treats that have garnered a cult following (in that ever so civilised British way) in the UK and beyond.”
Ms Ptak was born and raised in California. She worked as a pastry chef under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.
When she moved to London she worked at The Anchor and Hope, a pub in Southwark, and did an internship at St John and Moro, before starting her business on a market stall on Hackney’s Broadway Market.
Before opening Violet Cakes in 2010, she did her baking from home.
Ms Ptak, who also works as a food stylist and writer, said: “I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be chosen to make Prince Harry and Ms Markle’s wedding cake.”
Harry and Meghan said they are “very much looking forward to sharing this cake” with their guests on May 19 after their wedding at Windsor Castle, Berks.
At the 2011 nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, guests were wowed by a cake made up of tiers of fruit cake covered in white fondant and elaborate gum paste flowers.
Fruit cake is the traditional choice for royal weddings and was served at Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding. STEPHEN Hawking’s ashes are to be buried at Westminster Abbey alongside some of history’s greatest scientists.
His remains will be interred near Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin at a thanksgiving service later this year.
John Hall, the Dean of Westminster, said: “It is entirely fitting that his remains are to be buried near those of distinguished fellow scientists.”
The funeral of Professor Hawking, who died last week aged 76, is on Easter Saturday at Great St Mary’s church, Cambridge, near the college where he worked for 53 years, his family has announced.
His children Lucy, Robert and Tim said it was “the city he loved so much and which loved him”.