Sweet success for inaugural Midlands Cake Picnic
The event brought together cake lovers, home bakers and established businesses for a relaxed afternoon at Mount Verde, Hilton.
The first Midlands Cake Picnic drew more than 200 people to Mount Verde Estate in Hilton on Saturday, giving local bakers a chance to showcase their creations while visitors spent the afternoon outdoors, sampling cakes and meeting fellow enthusiasts.
The event brought together cake lovers, home bakers and established businesses for a relaxed afternoon celebrating community, creativity and conversation.
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Despite uncertainty over whether the concept would resonate with people, Mount Verde marketing manager and the brain behind the idea, Deirdre Kallmeyer-Mooljee, said the response exceeded expectations.
“I didn’t know if this would work, but the feedback has been incredibly positive,” she said.
Kallmeyer-Mooljee said the event highlighted how many people had rediscovered baking during the Covid-19 pandemic, with what started as lockdown hobbies evolving into successful side businesses.
“During Covid we returned to the kitchen and baked banana bread,” she said with a laugh.
She said one of the aims of the picnic was to give smaller baking businesses the chance to stand alongside more established names.
The youngest entrant was 18-year-old Sinawo Ngidi of Bloom and Baked, who showcased gourmet cupcakes, fudgy brownies and mini vanilla sponge cakes alongside experienced bakers from across the Midlands.
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Beyond celebrating baking talent, Kallmeyer-Mooljee said the event was designed to encourage people to slow down and reconnect with one another.
“I think people enjoyed feeling the sun on their faces. The equestrian centre is so beautiful, and so far from Hilton and Pietermaritzburg that it makes you forget your worries,” she said.
The community got together, put down their headphones, and sat with a bunch of strangers on a hay bale and just be.
While there was no formal competition between exhibitors, Kallmeyer-Mooljee admitted there was a touch of friendly rivalry as bakers proudly presented their creations to visitors and judges.
Awards were presented across seven categories, with Midlands Fable Eatery’s Lebogang Ntsimane claiming two titles for the best chocolate cake and the best fruit or vegetable-inspired cake.
Other winners included Zodwa Ndlovu of Your Good Cakes, Pauline Pitman of The Nuttmill, Marezelda Breedt of Cake Matters KZN, Shanice Francis of Queens Cakes and Desire van Zijl of The BoM.
One of the day’s most meaningful entries came from members of the Pietermaritzburg homeless community, who baked a cake in honour of the Life Boat Resource Centre, highlighting the organisation’s work supporting people experiencing homelessness.
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The inaugural event was made possible by the support of the official sponsor, Reallist, Mount Verde Estate’s exclusive in-house sales agency, whose backing helped create a platform celebrating local entrepreneurship and the Midlands’ growing baking community.
Following the success of the first Midlands Cake Picnic, organisers are already hopeful it will become a regular fixture on the local calendar, bringing people together one slice of cake at a time.
