ITS students show off creative decorative cakes

The Institute of Tourism Studies is showing off decorative cakes and chocolate sculptures made by students at its campus in Luqa.

The decorative confectionaries were made by 29 students, who were divided into groups of two or three, reading for an Undergraduate Diploma in Food Preparation and Production Management at ITS.

The cakes – decorated with everything from flowers to a breaching whale and an Alice in Wonderland theme – were made under the guidance of lecturer Jimmy Aquilina during hands-on lessons.

“There are cakes that stand out, but those aren’t necessarily the ones that receive the highest grade. It’s not just about how good a cake looks, but about how much commitment students have put into it and how they apply what they learned in lessons,” Aquilina said.

“The process is satisfying not just for the students, who get to see their work come together, but also for us lecturers when we see our guidance put into practice.”

A number of cakes are on display.

The cakes were made by ITS students.

One cake features a breaching whale.

Chocolate sculptures were harder to make than cakes, as different techniques had to be used depending on the type of chocolate being sculpted.

Student Nikita Saliba explained that learning how to create the cakes took 12 hours spread out over three weeks, starting with sketches before moving on to making the base, adding decorations before ending with the finishing touches.

“I’ve wanted to be a pastry chef ever since I was little. I used to see work like this and think, ‘I’d like to know how to make that’,” she said.

The public display will be open between 9am and 3pm from Saturday until the end of the week.