I have been so lucky to be contacted by one of my favourite cake designers in the world who make some of the most beautiful cakes designs. His name is Jean Michel Raynaud a frenchmen living in Sydney, Australia. He has worked as a cake decorator for over 20 years now and he is at the moment general manager and creative director of Sweet Art in Sydney.
Jean Michel have had 10 covers in the main cake magazine in Australia and he have made cakes for several celebrities aswell. He has agreed to answer questions regarding cake decoration from the readers of CakeJournal. So if you have a cake question you would like to ask a true cake artist then please send it to me. I will to begin with select 10 questions and send them to Jean Michel. When he has answered I will publish both questions and answers here on CakeJournal. I hope to get lots of interesting questions from you 
I will finish this post with some of Jean Michel’s beautiful creations. Enjoy!
Happy Caking
Louise
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37 comments
Rachel says:
Aug 21, 2008
Hi Louise
Wow, where do I start with my questions?! I think I have too many.
I live in Australia (about 5 hours from where the Sweet Art shop is) and would drive, run, walk, crawl, just to get to do some work experience with Jean Michael for a day, 2 days, a week perhaps? Spending some time with him to see how he works would be invaluable and soooo amazing for my career! Please please please
Adetutu says:
Aug 20, 2008
Thanks for the mail. It is really encouraging .Hiscakes are superb ,shows a lot of expertise.I am looking forward to the day I will decorate cakes like that.Everything neat and beautiful. All edges straight and square.Very lovely imagination and ideas.Really good.I feel like knowing so much like him. thanks . You are a gift. More of such good things.
nayeli says:
Aug 20, 2008
Hi Louise!
So cool this opportunity thank you….
I would love it if he could share his recipe for butter cream, I have learn that most of the very good decorator like him and you use their own little tricks to have no air in it, flavors etc.
Thanks !
Michelle says:
Aug 20, 2008
My question is this – I live in Melbourne, and I find that good decorating teachers are very hard to find. I’ve already got experience but would like some further education, especially in some of the finer details. There are a fair few beginner courses around, but that’s about it. Would Jean Michel be wiling to take on an apprentice for a week?
M
Cake Bunny says:
Aug 20, 2008
Danielle:
Thanks for the idea of checking out Micheals. There is one about 45 minutes from where we live, but very worth the drive for my Little Cake Lady ;O)
In response to those who asked about school verses apprenticeship, it all depends on how you learn the best. Some people take in information very well just by reading a book, some people are visual learners and need the hands-on technique to learn. When attending chef school, I always learned better hands-on. Books (and recipes) just bore me LOL!
And thank you Louise for opening this blog and connecting so many talented people together. If people would just work together like this in all things in life….
Warmest wishes to you all,
Cake Bunny
Renee says:
Aug 20, 2008
Louis,
Thank you so much for introducing me to such a fabulous cake artist. My question to Jean Michel would be when making flowers for his cakes does he prefer buttercream or royal icing, or any other material? Also is there a recipe for a whipped cream frosting that will hold it’s shape and can be used for decorating. Thank you so much for your help! Keep up the great work!
Jacqueline says:
Aug 19, 2008
Louise,
Thank you for the opportunity to have our questions answered by such an amazing professional! My questions would be:
What are the biggest challenges in having a successful cake designing business and how do you address them?
Do I need to graduate from culinary school to be successful in the business, or can I get appropriate experience by working for someone else?
Any suggestions for someone considering starting a business?
Thank you!
cib says:
Aug 19, 2008
Would like to know how he got into the business of cakes, what advice he has for someone starting a legal licensed cake business? where does he draw his inspiration for his creations from, and yes, yes, yes, what brand of fondant he uses.