Sudbury bakeshop recognized for its wedding cakes during the pandemic

For Justine Martin and Rob Burlington, winning an award for their bakeshop is just the icing on the cake. Photo Supplied

Sudbury -

For Justine Martin and Rob Burlington, winning an award for their bakeshop is just the icing on the cake.

“It was really nice to get back to serving our wedding community this year and it feels extra rewarding to be recognized during this time,” said Martin the bakeshop boss for Guilty Pleasures Bakeshop and Catering in Sudbury.

Before the pandemic, Martin said the bakeshop was doing about 100 weddings a year, but the number dropped to 30 a year later, and in 2021 the pair created cakes for about 80 weddings.

Even with less than normal production, the business is being recognized as the 2021 Global Round Winner of International Wedding Awards.

“It’s designed for cake makers specifically,” said Martin.  “So it recognizes distinguished cake artists across the globe.”

Winners are selected based on client reviews and wedding portfolios. Due to the pandemic, Martin said they were able to submit work from the last two years.

“It’s really great to hear from the community of the people we serve that,” said Burlington.

The business opened in 2018 in Sudbury’s downtown, however, the pair now works out of a private commercial kitchen in their own home, specializing in luxury wedding cakes.

“The vast majority of our wedding orders are completely custom, and that ranges from couples who want to work really closely with me to curate very specific designs to couples who want to just give creative freedom,” said Martin.

“They give us a little bit of information about their wedding vision and some insight what their flowers will be like, dress photos, and then let me run with that. They are my favourite weddings to work on because I find they really reflect the style of the bakery best.”

Martin said building wedding cakes gives her a chance to experiment and really get creative.

“And that also happens with flavours and components of the cake as well. It’s really fun to get a couple’s vision and incorporate the flavour along with the design,” said Burlington.

The pair said they don’t have any specific plans for the future, but know that they want to continue to serve the community the best way they can.