Claire Ptak who baked the Royal couple's famous wedding cake has acknowledged the division between Prince Harry and the royals in a new interview - and lavished praise on King Charles.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle picked the former east London market stallholder to bake a lemon elderflower cake fit for their royal wedding.
The Duchess of Sussex already knew pastry chef Claire Ptak when she chose her, having interviewed the baker for her lifestyle blog The Tig.
Working with the royal couple, Ms Ptak took inspiration from the "bright flavours of spring” in designing the cake for their nuptials at Windsor Castle back in 2018.
Now in an interview with Tatler, she has spoken out about making the cake for their wedding, as well as a cake for daughter Lilibet's first birthday.
Speaking her relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, she notes that it’s "funny being sort of associated with one half of the family," but lavished praise on King Charles, telling the magazine: "‘King Charles has always been a huge advocate of organic farming," she said.
"I’ve always been so impressed by his work that he does for the Soil Association… so I love him in that sense."
And she shared the wise advice the couple offered - as they warned her to prepare for the global attention they received, when it was announced she was baking the cake.
"It was really wild,’ she told the magazine. "They sort of told me, "Look, this is going to be a big deal. Make sure you’re ready. When we announce this, you’re going to get a lot of interest.” And I was like, “okay”… I just thought it’d be fine. And I was really wrong.’ Violet became ‘so crazy busy… it was exciting, for sure."
She added that the commission was especially "validating" because many couples already have a vision in their head - while the royal pair were remarkably relaxed.
"Meghan, she specifically said to me, "I don’t want to tell you what to do… the reason why I’ve chosen you is because I love your baking and your work and your point of view and your ethos”... and I was like, "oh my god, that’s so cool. The best job brief ever!”’ Ptak created six options for the couple, "and they did the tastings… and they picked the lemon and elderflower, which was my first choice as well."
In a quote used as a review for Ms Ptak’s book The Violet Bakery Cookbook, released in 2015, Meghan is quoted as saying: “Pastry Chef Claire Ptak has hit the nail on the head with her London bakery serving up delightful treats that have garnered a cult following (in that ever so civilized British way) in the UK and beyond.”
Harry and Meghan also asked Ptak to bake Princess Lilibet’s first birthday cake last summer, while they were visiting the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Ms Ptak was born and raised in California. She worked as a pastry chef under the legendary Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.
When she moved to London she worked at The Anchor and Hope, a pub in Southwark, and staged at St John and Moro, before then starting her own business on a market stall on Hackney’s Broadway Market, East London.
Before opening Violet Cakes in 2010, she did her baking from home.
Ms Patk says her focus is on using high quality, seasonal and organic ingredients in her cakes, and she also works as a food stylist and food writer.
When it was announced she was baking the cake, she said: "I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be chosen to make Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s wedding cake. Knowing that they really share the same values as I do about food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and most importantly flavour, makes this the most exciting event to be a part of.”
Harry and Meghan said they are “very much looking forward to sharing this cake” with their wedding guests on May 19.
