A cake maker and decorator from Llandrindod Wells has described her joy after being crowned the wedding cake designer of the year for all of Wales.

Jan Bowen, who has lived locally to Llandrindod her whole life, is the driving force behind her cake business The Cake Box.

Wedding cakes, birthday cakes, big cakes and small - Jan is a master at baking and icing some of our favourite sweet treats to be part of various people’s special occasions.

On entering her home where she makes the incredible sweet treats, the smell of freshly baked cakes for Jan’s latest order was a beautiful welcome.

The grandmother-of-two, who has been running The Cake Box for 14 years from her home in Llandrindod, was crowned the Cake Designer of the Year for all of Wales at the Fourth Welsh Wedding Awards 2022.

Jan, who also won the regional category for “Central Wales”, explained that she enjoys baking and being creative when she is decorating.

She said: “I love baking and I love the creative side of it and the design side. I love that it’s like a blank canvas and then you just, make it beautiful.

“My most popular cakes, I would say probably cakes with flowers on for ladies, but I do a lot of themed cakes as well, so whatever you like. We do it around the thing that you love.

“In terms of flavour, most people have plain vanilla sponge with raspberry jam and buttercream because everyone seems to like that, but lemon is a close second.

“Obviously in wedding cakes, some people like things a bit more fancy but people nearly always have a plain [flavoured] one.”

While Jan does create each cake from scratch with quality ingredients, the mother-of-two said that the competition was based purely off decorating.

Jan, who lives with her husband, said she was thrilled when she heard the news about her victory.

The passionate baker found out she had won at home as she was unable to attend the award gala in Cardiff in March, although she said that she has attended before after winning the regional title in previous years.

“I was stunned, absolutely thrilled - I got my husband to come in and check I had won it because I wasn’t sure I’d read it right,” she said.

“It’s amazing, it’s just a big wow you know?”

From the start of baking the cake until it is fully decorated, Jan explained that most of the cakes take most of a week - although they can take longer if there are details such as wired flowers.

The creative, who also enjoys painting, knitting, reading, walking and other types of craft work, said: “It takes me most of the week, but if it has got wired flowers then longer than that because you do have to make those so that they’re dry so that will take you two weeks.

“If it’s a sponge cake then it’ll take you most of the week but you can’t bake it until that week because it’ll be stale if you leave it for long but yeah, it is a lot of hours.”

Despite the hours needed and the skill to make the cakes, Jan beamed as she expressed how much she loves her job.

She said: “I absolutely love it, it’s really lovely - it’s a real treat because you’re part of so many people’s happiness and weddings particularly, they’re very special because you’re dealing with a couple and you’re trying to give them what they really want - their dream cake.

“We usually meet early on and work out what sort of design they’re thinking of - sometimes they have pictures, so we take that picture and put more design into it to suit them and tweak it so it’s their personal cake.

“It’s rare I do two the same - who wants a cake the same as somebody else? That way it’s a real special cake and they want their cake to have a ‘wow’ as well so you’ve always got that in mind - the wow factor - so it not only tastes great but it looks great as well

“All of that just adds to the enjoyment as well because you’re working with them on their special day and trying to please them, and when they love it it’s great. You’re putting a lot in and it’s really pleasure to do it, you get a lot back from it.”

A quick scroll on The Cake Box’s social media will show a variety of event cakes - from Minecraft, James Bond or dog themed birthday cakes all the way to elegant and delicately decorated tall wedding cakes.

When asked about her most difficult or outlandish cake, Jan said she couldn’t pick just one as she has done so many different cakes.

Jan, who also adores spending time with her family, said that a recent wedding cake came to mind as it was the tallest and heaviest she had completed - so heavy she was not able to lift it on her own.

“I’ve done so many that I can’t really pick one. I think the wedding cake I did which was the tallest I’d done, that was quite technical to get a balance and it was quite heavily decorated and that took a long time but I have done some obscure cakes.”

While the former school secretary said baking emerged as the natural career choice when she knew she wanted to change jobs.

Jan said: “I’ve always baked. It just, when I was thinking of changing my career, it sort of emerged as it were - it’s not like I’d always wanted to do that.

“I’d always wanted to do something creative, but it emerged that was the way I was going to go.

“I can remember baking with my mother, little cakes and things. I guess it goes a long way back - and my nan loved baking - it comes from my nan’s side of the family.

A lot of people say that don’t they, it’s from their nans and their mums and it’s just a natural thing. It’s nice to have those memories.

The Cake Box was not the only success story for Brecon and Radnorshire at the awards as two businesses in Brecon and one in Hay-on-Wye were recognised for their outstanding work.

Cloud 9 Events in Brecon won Florist of the Year for Central Wales meanwhile PrettyBowMakeup, which is also in the town, was crowned the Hair & Makeup Specialist of the Year for Central Wales.

The awards crowned Acacia Marquees, based in Hay, as the Wedding Specialist Supplier of the Year.

Jan described the reaction from the community and her online followers since she has been crowned the winner for Wales.

“I put it onto my Facebook business page and the messages I’ve had - people have been so kind and generous with their comments”, she said.

“It just really makes you feel loved. They’ve been really kind, I’ve had lots of positive feedback which is great and just really lovely.”

Following her success at the awards, Jan has thanked her family, the couples who choose her to be part of their wedding days, as well as her loyal customers.

The star baker described the support as “all-encompassing” from those around her.

Jan said: “I also just want to say thank you to the couples who allow me to be part of their day, and thank you to my other customers and my family and my friends who support me, and put up with me always baking or talking about cake.”

More than 150 wedding specialists gathered on Wednesday, March 23, at The Portland House in Cardiff to find out the champions of The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022.

The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022 recognised exceptional wedding suppliers that go above and beyond to ensure the uniqueness of every wedding. These suppliers are from a variety of industries and they work their hardest to ensure that wow factor is present at every wedding they’re hired for.

The awards not only recognise some of the greatest talents in the Welsh wedding industry, but it also offers a platform for them to showcase their skills.

The evening celebrated the best stop-shops for Welsh resident’s big days: from boutiques and cake designers, to jewellery providers and much more - the awards recognised businesses across Wales that meet the needs of their customers with many items and services on offer under one roof.

A Spokesperson for The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022 told Creative Oceanic UK: “The winners represent the industry’s gold standard that work tirelessly to meet the demands of the couples and their guests.

“The Awards showcase some of the best wedding specialists that operate in the industry, whose excellence and commitment brought them at the forefront of the industry.

“These champions are tried and tested specialists that know how to create a stress-free wedding experience, keeping the romance in the air. We would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their amazing achievements.”