Meet the king of wedding cakes

From coffins to Disney palaces, wedding cake makers June and Michael Gadd have seen it all over 35 years. CATHY SPENCER reports

King of cakes Michael Gadd stands back to admire his latest creation.

But this isn't just any cake, it is a Disney palace complete with turrets, white horses, carriage and Micky and Minnie Mouse.

"I have had my own business for 35 years and in that time have made around 350 wedding cakes a year," says Michael, 62, who runs Michael Gadd Special Cakes with his wife at their Dudley shop.

"I will never get sick of making cakes as each one is different."

Michael and June Gadd decided to set up their own shop 35 years ago as Michael was winning awards for his culinary skills.

"Everyone presumes it is me that does the decorating but I can't even make gravy," says June. "I manage the business side of it and Michael, who is a chef patissieur, does the baking and decorating.

"Michael was chef at the Park Hall Hotel in Wolverhampton when we met and the hotel was winning competitions thanks to his skills. I was the hotel's receptionist and one day in 1973 we went for a walk in West Park and decided to set up our own bakery."

Michael is a master craftsman and has won medals for his super centrepieces at Salon Culinaire Olympia show.

"For 30 years we have been based in the Dudley shop but for five years before that we were at the Fighting Cocks in Parkfields, Wolverhampton," says June.

"We decided to move to Dudley because we wanted to expand and we only had a tiny shop in Wolverhampton.

"We moved to our present building on Watson Green Road in Dudley, which was a bakery built in 1940. It took us three months to gut the property and do all the renovation work. We took out a £32,000 loan and just as we were about to buy it I became pregnant with our son Mick.

"We knew we wouldn't have enough money to do it up so the owner, Mrs Vanes, allowed us to rent the property for five years, renovate it and then buy it off her."

June says that having a shop which is not in a town centre can be difficult. "People have to go out of their way to find us," she says. "We don't get many timewasters, but to get customers to do out-of-town shopping is quite a challenge. We want people to be able to come in, browse the cakes and taste them. The taste is equally, if not more important, than how it looks.

"The cost of a three-tier cake ranges from around £375 to £650."

So, have cakes changed over the last 35 years? "Nowadays people like their cakes fairly simple and modern with flowers and ribbons," says Michael. "Theme cakes are also popular. One couple wanted a coffin as their wedding cake because they met at Gornal Wood Crematorium. Another couple had Grease! as their theme and so we did a 1950s car, one couple are into diving and so we had the bride and groom figurines dressed in snorkels."

June and Michael got married on June 21, 1975 and, of course, their wedding cake was very special. "We had our reception at the Goldthorne Hotel and our wedding cake was four tiers, hexagonal, white and finished with lilac," says June.

"However, I didn't get to see the cake before the wedding because Michael was working on eight wedding cakes at the same time. Most men just get to make one bride happy on her wedding day – Michael has made thousands smile."