As a business owner I have a responsibility to regularly evaluate my business to see what I can do to make my product and the way I run my business as sustainable as possible.
So what am I doing to work on my sustainability?
1. REDUCING CAKE WASTE
Chatting through details of your day helps me advise on how many guests you need to cater for. Generally speaking, catering for 80% of your guests means there’s plenty of cake for those who would like some, while reducing the amount of cake left at the end of evening. We also talk about the size of your cake slices. Elegant wedding cake portions typically suit an evening cake cutting, whilst coffee slices are double the size. A lovely serving if you were to have the cake as your dessert.
If you do find there’s leftover cake, don’t fret! Serve the leftover cake in take away boxes as your guests are leaving. A delish going home treat! And don’t forget your cake freezes beautifully. As it’s already portioned for you, slices can be taken out the freezer whenever you fancy a piece. Just leave it to come to room temperature, and enjoy!
If you fancy mixing up tradition, why not try serving your cake earlier the day with your welcome drinks, and bring out any leftover cake with food served later in the evening; helping reduce any cake waste and offering cake twice in one day…happy days!
2. DUMMY (POLYSTYRENE) CAKES
Dummy cake tiers are made from polystyrene, are not recyclable, not good for the environment, and inevitably get thrown away after the wedding day. So why are they used?
They’re useful to create portfolio pieces for photoshoots, open days and events where cake won’t be served at all, and the designs can be shown again and again at various occasions. It’s important to me that I wash and reuse these dummy cakes as many times as possible to get full use out of them, but they’re a great way of showing you what’s possible for your cake without baking it for real and then for it all to go to waste.
For weddings, polystyrene tiers give the illusion of taller cakes, and do tend to get thrown away after the celebration. I reduce this waste by no longer offering polystyrene tiers for wedding cakes. I’m a big believer that cake is for eating, enjoying, and sharing with loved ones to celebrate special occasions.
If you have a more intimate gathering planned, feel confident and assured that small cakes can be stunning and have real impact just as taller cakes do.
3. SPECIAL KEEPSAKES
Sugar flowers are very special edible decorative elements. They’re handmade petal by petal, they’re a work of art that create a real wow moment for you and your guests. Another important and wonderful fact about sugar flowers, is that with the correct care they last forever! So don’t throw them away! Enjoy them as a keepsake, a special token from your day.
4. LOCAL INGREDIENTS
The majority of the beautiful ingredients I use to bake your wedding cake are sourced from my local farm shop. Other ingredients like the couverture chocolate I use, sources 100% sustainable cocoa, and for every pack of chocolate purchased a part is reinvested in the farmers and their communities. Every ingredient is carefully considered for quality, taste, and sustainability.
MY KEY SUGGESTIONS TO COUPLES
A couple of points which I hope will be helpful for you.
1. Keep it local. Finding suppliers that are local to your venue whilst matching your ‘ethos’, will be more cost effective for you, your supplier will be using fewer emissions travelling to your wedding, and they’re more likely to be familiar with your venue.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask. Chat to perspective suppliers and ask what measures they take in making their business and their product more sustainable. And when it comes to your day, they’ll be able to advise you on how you can make your order a greener one and reduce waste.
There’s still more to improve on, and I’m regularly questioning my methods, and looking at ways to improve the sustainability of my business and my product. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please do get in touch!
Clare x