Cynthia Stroud MBE
Jedidiah UK
At the start of Covid-19 lockdown, I felt strongly there was hunger behind some of the front doors around us.
The local schools provided the numbers of families they knew of who needed some help. Working with my neighbours, we provided food parcels to these 100 families, initially as a one-off.
Then we did it again, and again, and again with increasing numbers each week. It has become a regular thing, delivering thousands of meals and hopefully, making families feel less desperate. Read more
Pretty Gorgeous Cakes
I set up Cakes by Cynthia in 2009 so I could spend time at home with my son. My target was simple: to earn £500 a month from cakes working from home before the end of my maternity leave period. This sum was the difference between my take home pay and the child care costs I'd pay if I enrolled him in nursery. I'd learned baking from my mother in Nigeria as a 9 and half year old. My mum was a single mother in a very tough economic situation and she didn't have much money for days out; baking was what we did to relax and have fun. Till now, the smell of cakes baking in the oven will always remind me of happy moments. My initial target to earn £500 a month became a much bigger business than I ever foresaw or planned as I opened shops and employed staff. Leaving behind a corporate career, it has been dream come true to have the business grow and establish itself as the premier destination for wedding cakes in Hertfordshire, London, Essex, and Cambridgeshire with countless satisfied clients and over 3000 brides.
As the cake business grew, I became determined to improve my skills with each cake and this s pursuit for perfection has been rewarded with lots of Pretty Gorgeous Cake Company designs being featured in prestigious international magazines including: Vogue, Brides, Wedding Ideas, You & Your Wedding, Wedding Cakes A Design Source, and Herts & Beds Wedding. My babies are not quite babies anymore but I will always be grateful for cakes which allowed me to spend time with them at home. Read more
TV work
I have been Privileged to be invited to participate inBBC2's Sweetmakers as an expert, in Channel 4 Christmas shows as a judge and in Food Network Canada, the CW USA, ITV UK as a resident judge for Great Chocolate Showdown. Read More
I understand the journey from home baker to champion chocolatier.
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Involvement with Little Princess Trust
I am grateful to have played a role in enabling Little Princess Trust accept afro and curly hair donations.
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