Master baker, entrepreneur and FQ #girlcrush Jordan Rondel is expanding her cake empire with a brand new space and an exciting new venture…
Five years after becoming our go-to for made-to-order cakes, The Caker has outgrown its tiny premises on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. Luckily for The Caker herself, the opportunity recently arose to move into a larger space just two doors down, and with it, the opportunity to do something a little different.
Enter, Salon de Cake. Not quite a café, not quite a retail store, Salon de Cake is a multi-purpose venue inspired by the French salons of centuries past, in which distinguished types would “collaborate on points of high culture.” Fitted out with a commercial kitchen where, in addition to pumping out exquisite confections six days a week, Jordan and her team will host baking and decorating masterclasses, the new space is designed to accommodate up to 40 people for private functions and special events. Got a baby shower/corporate away-day/product launch/intimate wedding to plan? Look no further.
True to the secondary definition of ‘salon’ – that is, sitting room or parlour – the inviting space will also be used for cake pick-ups as well as wedding cake consultations by appointment. Most importantly though, it will be a space where one can walk in off the street and for the first time ever, pick up a mini Caker cake to-go (with a cup of coffee from Coffee Supreme or a tea by Noble & Savage, naturally). To celebrate this key development The Caker is offering free coffee with every mini cake for the month of June, but don’t be burdened by your spare change – put it towards one of The Caker’s recipe books or premium, pre-made cake mixes while you’re there.
Jordan is renowned for creating beautiful, feminine cakes with a twist (“you won’t find any Barbie-bright buttercream here”, she says), so it’s no surprise that Salon de Cake is part pretty, part gritty in its design aesthetic. Dominated by The Caker’s exclusive Pantone pink, the space is “a girly wonderland” that simultaneously pays homage to the business’s K’ Road roots. A scrolling ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ light-box and neon light installations reference the Salon’s red-light neighbourhood, while a print by local fashion legends Karen Inderbitzen-Waller and Delphine Avril Planqueel, as well as a bespoke mirror by MarkAntonia and stainless steel chairs by Jordan’s Dad, Stephen Rondel, speak to The Caker’s collaborative philosophy. “Cakes are about sharing, celebrating and bringing friends and family together,” says Jordan. “So we wanted our space to reflect that.”
Situated at 446 Karangahape Rd and operating Monday to Saturday, Salon de Cake is just “the next step of many” for Jordan and her team. “I’m so excited to welcome our clients and fans into the new premises,” she says. “But we aren’t going to slow down now. We’re going to push even harder and start new projects while the light is on us.”
For more details visit thecaker.co.nz.
To celebrate the opening of Salon de Cake, Fashion Quarterly is giving away one double pass to a baking and decorating event hosted by Jordan Rondel on Tuesday June 14th from 5:30-7:30pm. To enter, follow @fashionquarterly and @thecakernz on Instagram and tag a friend you’d like to take in this post.
