The Cake Eating Company

Where did you come up with the name "The Cake Eating Company"?

Food needs to feed the eye and the stomach, but the stomach more importantly! I wanted an individual name that when people said it they thought about what you will do when you buy something off me- Eat Cake!

What are five words that describe your work?

Sweet, creative, fun, delicious and patience

What was your favourite toy as a child... and now?

I loved boys toys- my favourite was my 'Tomy' trains. I played with them for HOURS. Now maybe my son? He is not a toy but he fits all the criteria! He makes me laugh and I play with him constantly!

What is making you happy right now?

Enjoying the moment. Making plans and dreaming big for the future but being content right now feels pretty good.

What did you dream about last night?

Running a revolution during the if/when nuclear war... We (some friends and myself) have been planning our underground resistance and I can't get it out of my head. I obsessively plan things and they kind of take over my life...even when they aren't real!

What is something that can always make you feel better?

Making dessert. About half way through I end up so absorbed in what I am doing I forget everything else. Then I get to eat it!

Do you do anything crazy to inspire creativity?

Sleep, hah. I have wicked dreams where crazy ideas come to me then I make it and it is always loved by everyone!

Were you popular in High School?

I wasn't popular or unpopular, just average I guess.

What is your favourite quote?

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”  Albert Einstein

What do you hope to be remembered for?

Being a good person. I think there is little more that I could wish for

My name is Jamie Prouting, 24. I am married with a seven month old boy and two adorably cheeky dogs. I have always been in the kitchen and have always enjoyed creating something delicious and beautiful, then eating it! 

After high school I did an exchange to Brazil and it was quite on the spur of the moment that I decided to enrol at Polytechnic in Christchurch to commence on my return.  From there I worked as a mains chef while I trained but soon realised that I loved ice cream too much not to be in the pastry kitchen. 

I was hired and trained by a Canadian pastry chef who had worked at some prestigious places over seas, she gave me a wonderful foundation training and taught me so much. I worked as a pastry chef and chocolatier for a year and a half then as a cake decorator for six months. 

After the earthquake the only pastry offers I had were out of town and I did not want to leave my husband so I returned to mains and worked as a Sous Chef then Head Chef until I became pregnant last year. Morning sickness does not agree with twelve hour shifts and LOTS of food. 

I started doing my cakes and desserts after the earthquake when I returned to mains to keep myself happy and still involved in desserts. I wanted to make cakes and desserts that used the best ingredients I could find. Unfortunately in New Zealand we seem to be sold an inferior product and told it is good a little too often. I wanted to make things that used real chocolate and butter, no mixes and no essences. 

I was in the process of looking for a premises of my own when I became pregnant and then decided to put it off again. When my baby was two weeks old my Nana died from Melanoma, four weeks later I was also diagnosed with Melanoma, I was told that I had a 20% chance that it had spread. I had two surgeries and spent Christmas wondering if it would be my last. After being told on December 29 (also my wedding anniversary) that my results were clear I decided that I could not mess around any longer and I would put my energy not only into being a mother but also doing the work that I love. If I die young I know that I will have left another tangible legacy for my son, also a delicious one!