Judges
The 2012 Professional Judging Panel
 | Abigail Moule Abby established her own cake business, The Exquisite Cake Company, based in Bristol, in 2009. She trained at the Leiths School of Food and Wine and has over 10 years' experience in the catering and events industry. |
 | Chris Bachmann |
 | David Lesniak New York architect, designer, writer and baker David Lesniak is co-founder of the award-winning American bake shop and café Outsider Tart, based in London. Lesniak's first cook book, Baked In America, was co-written with business and life partner David Muniz, and published by Ebury Press/Random House. A new book and a new restaurant are now under way. |
 | Edd Kimber Edd, aka The Boy Who Bakes, was the winner of the first series of The Great British Bake Off in 2010. He has since worked at Raymond Blanc's restaurant Le Manoir, gaining experience in the pastry kitchen, and has also appeared on numerous TV shows, including Market Kitchen: Big Adventure and The Alan Titchmarsh Show. His first book - The Boy Who Bakes - came out in September last year, and he also runs monthly macaron masterclasses in London. |
 | Fiona Cairns Royal wedding cake-maker Fiona established Fiona Cairns Ltd 25 years ago, after she made a batch of decorated Christmas cakes for friends. It is now renowned for producing a range of beautifully decorated and deliciously tasty luxury cakes. Last year the company was commissioned to create the Royal Wedding Cake for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Fiona has also published two books Bake and Decorate (2010) and The Birthday Cake Book (2011), with a third book due to be released next year. |
 | Gerhard Jenne |
 | Lily Vanilli Experimental cake-baker Lily Jones, aka Lily Vanilli, owns The Lily Vanilli Bakery in London and is author of the A Zombie Ate My Cupcake recipe book. Her previous clients include Elton John, Nigella Lawson and Hello Kitty. In 2009, she topped the Courvoisier list of the future 500 entrepreneurs and, early last year, started a private members' cake club called 180. |
 | Mellissa Morgan aka Ms Cupcake Mellissa owns vegan bakery Ms Cupcake, opening her first shop in Brixton last year. She is the winner of The Rising Star Award at the 2011 Baking Industry Awards, and writes a regular column for British Baker on the highs and lows of starting up a business. |
 | Thierry Dumouchel Managing director of Dumouchel Patisserie in Garforth, Leeds, Normandy-born Thierry settled in the UK in 1998 and established the business as a small artisan bakery, serving the hotel trade with breads, patisserie, chocolates and cakes, before opening a retail shop. He has worked all over the world, and was formerly technical director and senior lecturer for the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu Organisation. |
