They taught me how to mentor — and how to be a boss.
I was teaching cakes.
Meet some amazing ladies
We learnt together.
When Brogan & Ciara joined Pretty Gorgeous Cake Company, they came to learn cakes. At the same time, I was learning how to mentor, how to manage and how to bring out the best in someone. Ciara had the most amazing card writing background. Brogan had been a life guard and for a short while tried her hand at floristry.
These young ladies were funny, sharp, sassy, and truthfully incredibly dependable. Oh and they learned fast!
Ciara's designs were always edgy and different and eye catching. Brogan eventually ran the cake shop so well that I could leave the country to film television and know the business was safe in her hands.
Today Brogan runs her own cake business, Finest Layers.
And Ciara just opened her own shop Whisk Bakehouse.
Both ladies have created jobs for other people and are mentoring other people.
Why am I telling you this?
Because every young person who is sassy, sharp, and doesn't fit inside a box, isn't meant to fit inside the box.
No, they were meant to create new space, new concepts, new ideas for others to thrive in.
A FEW MOMENTS FROM THE JOURNEY
From the kitchen to extraordinary places.
 Setting up at Kensington Palace |  Ladies at work, my daughter watching |  At Royal Courts of Justice |  Brogan working on a Minion cake |
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WHY THIS FEELS PERSONAL
I didn't know why I understood these young ladies.
For years, I found myself drawn to teenagers who struggled in traditional education.
They were creative. Funny. Razor-sharp. Quick-thinking. Often misunderstood.
Earlier this year, I learnt that I have ADHD myself.
Suddenly, so much made sense. Perhaps that is why I recognised what other people sometimes missed: not a lack of ability, but a different kind of ability.
You do not need a diagnosis to apply. You simply need curiosity, commitment and a willingness to work.
School measures how well you fit the system. A kitchen can reveal how brilliantly you think.
NO DIAGNOSIS IS NEEDED TO APPLY
THE KITCHEN TABLE
Pull up a chair.
Some of the biggest changes in my life began around a kitchen table. Cakes were the excuse. Confidence, businesses and friendships were built there.
FOR NEURODIVERGENT YOUNG WOMEN · AGED 16+
We are looking for the
next teenager to discover and unleash their talent.
You may be diagnosed, waiting for an assessment, or simply know that classrooms never showed what you could do.
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Four places each year
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Nine months of practical training
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Professional cake artistry and production
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Pricing, marketing and customer service
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Support to begin your own business
FOR WOMEN REBUILDING INDEPENDENCE
A home-business pathway.
For women affected by coercive control who want to learn a practical skill and create income around children and family life.
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Flexible, practical learning
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Build confidence at your own pace
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Learn how to price and sell your work
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Create from home
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A route towards greater financial independence
THE WORK TOOK US EVERYWHERE
Including a 300-kilo cake bear.
Created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Bicester Village.
WHY NOW?
Life is better when we pass on what we know.
My cake business gave me confidence I did not know I needed. The girls who worked with me changed the business — and they changed me.
Now we want to pass that experience on: four young women each year, trained not simply to make cakes, but to build something of their own.
