THE DMAs

HEAD JUDGE - DAVID CLOSE

Judge David Close has indeed had a remarkable career in the Hospitality and sugarcraft Industry. Here are some more details about his achievements and contributions:

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Career Highlights:

• Military and Education: David served as a chef in the RAF for 23 years before becoming a college lecturer in Catering and Hospitality.

• High Sheriff of Hampshire Award in Recognition of Great and Valued service in the Community 2021

• The Chief of General Staff’s Commendation for Outstanding Service to the British Army New Year’s Honours 2023

• Competitions and Awards: He has been competing in catering competitions and sugarcraft since the late 70s, earning numerous awards, including Best in Class in various categories.

• Professional Roles: David has served as an external verifier for C&G London Catering and Hospitality, is a founder member of the Belfast Branch of the British Sugarcraft Guild, and past Chairman of the Northern Ireland Cooks & Chef’s Association

• Winner of the Global Excellence Award 2025 India and International Cake Magazine Awards

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Judging and Training:

• Judging Roles: Since moving to England in 2004, David had taken up roles such as Head of Food Safety Training for the Army and a BSG judge whilst also judging at Salon Culinaire . He has judged at various prestigious events, including Hotelympia and Cake International at NEC Birmingham.

• Head Judge: He has been the Head Judge for the biggest cake show in the world at NEC Birmingham Cake International, overseeing up to 1800 exhibits from 2019 until the present day.

• International Recognition: David was selected as a judge for the FIPGC Cake Designers World Championship Grand Jury in 2023 and 2025

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Recent Activities:

• Retired in 2023 from the Ministry of Defence as a Garrison Safety Officer, David continues to stay active in the hospitality industry and sugarcraft community Judging at prestigious events like Abilmente Rome Cake & Dream Event Creativita in Cucula 19 - 22 Sep 2024 and Puglia Cake Festival 10-16 Oct 2024 and 2025 before heading to The worlds best and biggest cake show Cake International on 31st Oct 2nd  Nov 2025.

• Ongoing Involvement: He remains enthusiastic about expanding his knowledge and keeping current in the development of his craft.

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David’s dedication to his craft and his extensive experience make him a respected figure in the sugarcraft and culinary world.

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“Sugarcraft has given me so much and continues to do so. Judging is a way to pass on skills, hints, and tips for the future. Happy crafting!”

AVALON YARNES - AVALON CAKE SCHOOL

Avalon Yarnes is the creative force behind Avalon Cakes School of Sugar Art. Avalon has spent the last ten plus years obsessing over all things cake and sugar art, experimenting and often laying in bed late at night, working out in her head how to create something totally crazy.

After making client cakes for years, taking on cake competitions, and starring on some of our favorite TV shows — Avalon finally came to know her true love, teaching my craft to others. She created her online sugar school because it’s what she was looking for back when she was in the cake trenches trying so desperately to figure it all out.

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Now with amazing guest experts and tutors, Avalon has put together years of knowledge and expertise in her school and has also launched The Cake and Cookie Planner which contains award winning tools made just for cake and cookie artists to help them organise and simplify their daily grind and create beautiful client winning sketches. 

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Cake School: https://avaloncakesschool.com

Cake & Cookie Planner: https://cakeandcookieplanner.com

SERDAR YENER - YENERS WAY

Chef Serdar Yener has over 50 years of experience in cake decorating. His vast international experience and artistic talent has been acknowledged by his peers both in Australia and abroad. He has competed in international competitions and been awarded "Best Pastry Artist" in Igeho, Switzerland 1987 and “Best Pastry Chef” in Singapore, Food Asia 1990. His Sugar centrepieces are displayed in museums at Champagne in France, Culinary Art Museum in Switzerland and The National Museum in Singapore. Serdar has also judged at major culinary competitions in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and USA World Pastry Championships.

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After years of leading pastry operations in many international 5 star hotels in Europe and Asia, he moved to Gold Coast, Australia in 1992, opened his family business and produced thousands of wedding and novelty cakes. In April 2014, together with his son Serkan, he founded Yeners Way Online Cake Art Tutorials. where he publishes detailed videos of cake decorating tutorials that make it possible for almost anyone to replicate his amazing creations.

Since then he has connected with thousands of subscribers worldwide and is delighted to impart his knowledge of accumulated tips and tricks with the next generations of cake decorators. He also publishes regular tutorials on his YouTube channel, Yeners Cake Tips, to his 350,000 subscribers and occasionally conducts workshops and demonstrations internationally.

In 2019 the father and son team published their cake designing and pricing software Cakenote and started marketing his own brand Yeners Pastillage in 2021.

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Yeners Way: https://www.yenersway.com/

Cakenote: https://www.cakenote.com 

Yeners Pastillage: www.yenerspastillage.com 

Serdar’s autobiography: https://www.yenersway.com/serdar-yeners-autobiography/

Email: serdar@yenersway.com

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Other LInks:

https://www.youtube.com/yenersway

https://www.facebook.com/yenersway

https://twitter.com/yenersway

https://www.pinterest.com/yenersway/

https://instagram.com/yenersway

https://cakesdecor.com/yenersway

DANIEL DIEGUEZ - DANIEL DIEGUEZ CAKE ARTIST

Daniel Diéguez is an international cake artist from Spain who specialises in sculpted, wedding and celebration cakes, as well as chocolate sculpture. Daniel has received multiple awards for his work and is a versatile creator with a wide professional experience in teaching, design, illustration, artistic direction and pastry.

Daniel is completely committed to create cake innovation from his mixed artistic and classic pastry background. Researching and teaching his advances at workshops, demonstrations and tutorials across the globe, Daniel is also  proud to be the Cake International official representative for Spain and is a Magic Colours Champion.

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Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Mr.Daniel.Dieguez

https://www.facebook.com/DanielDieguez.CakeArtist

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Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/danieldieguez

ROSE DUMMER - ROSIE CAKE-DIVA

Multi award-winning Cake Artist, Rosie Dummer, AKA Rosie Cake Diva, has starred in Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers. She has been featured in numerous magazines and was the winner of the Cake Masters Wedding Cake of the Year Award in 2012.

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She has since gone on to present the many industry awards across the globe and is a regular on TV and Radio. Rosie presents on BBC Radio Lancashire, has presented her own TV show on The Craft Channel and works closely with the UK’s major trade shows including Cake International and The Cake and Bake Show.

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Rosie has had an unconventional career path. Initially a Helicopter Pilot with the British Army Rosie flew Lynx Anti-Tank Helicopters with the Army Air Corps in Germany, Britain and Canada. After 10 years as an Army Officer Rosie retired to have a family and wandered into a cake decorating career by accident. She still maintains close links with her military roots and chooses to support her colleagues and their causes.

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With a number of major projects and oversized cakes to her name, Rosie now concentrates on teaching and presenting. As a Crafty Instructor she has classes available online as well as a successful YouTube Channel aimed at all skill levels. 

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You can follow Rosie's work on her website, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter.

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Email: rosie@rosiecakediva.com

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https://www.rosiecakediva.com

https://www.facebook.com/rosiecakediva

https://www.instagram.com/rosiecakediva

https://twitter.com/rosiecakediva

https://www.youtube.com/RosieCakeDiva

TINA SCOTT PARASHAR - INCREDIBLE INDIA CAKE MAGAZINE

Tina Scott Parashar is the Official India Representative for Cake International and is a multi-award winning cake artist, who was named as one of the Top 10 Cake Artists in India for two years consecutively for 2017 and 2018 by Cake Masters Magazine, UK. 

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Tina is the face behind Tina Scott Parashar's Cake Design and is also the Founder and Editor of Incredible India Cake Magazine and associated Facebook community which has grown to almost 85k members in just 3 years.

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She was invited as the Chief Guest of Honour at the Cake Artist World Awards 2022 in Moscow, Russia. Her outstanding accomplishments were acknowledged with the highest honour and award - the Exceptional Achievements in Edible Art Award. She has been invited again to Moscow in October 2024.

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Her other notable achievements include winning the Cake Masters Magazine Awards for Best Collaboration in 2022. The same year, she was invited to be a judge at the prestigious Cake International in Birmingham, UK.

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Tina has been invited twice, to put together the display at the Main Entrance of Cake International, Birmingham, in 2019 and 2022, showcasing life-size creations made of edible materials. The pictures of both these creations went viral, and were picked up by all leading national and many local publications in India.

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She has been a part of the judging panel for India’s first industry awards in association with Cake Masters Magazine UK and has been pivotal in bringing the Indian cake industry to the forefront by serving as an ambassador to various organizations around the world. She was also the first Indian to be chosen as an ambassador for some of the best international cake related brands. 

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Tina is a driving force in showcasing India's burgeoning cake industry on the world stage. She also mentors several upcoming Indian cake artists.

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She has previously won Gold awards in competitions such as Cake International in Birmingham and London in 2015 and 2016, as well as the World Orchid Conference in Johannesburg in 2014.

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She has been invited to judge international competitions including the ones for Cakeflix by Paul Bradford, Serdar Yener’s Pastillage competition, India’s Top 100 bakers, Saracino international competitions and of course D'licious Magazine's DMAs. She was also invited to Poland to be a member of the Jury Board of FIPGC Polish Cake Designers Championship In 2019 by Expo Sweet, Poland. 

Cake Page:
https://m.facebook.com/TinaScottParasharsCakeDesign
https://www.instagram.com/tinascottparashar

Incredible India Cake Magazine: https://www.facebook.com/incredibleindiacakemagazine
https://www.instagram.com/incredibleindiacakemagazine

Facebook Group for Incredible India Cake Magazine: https://www.facebook.com/groups/218731772820638/

Twitter: @TinaSParashar
Email: tinaparashar@gmail.com

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PORSHA KIMBLE - PK BAKES

Formerly known as Your Cake Diva, Porsha Kimble's business is the success story she's been developing for over 15 years. Recognition for her baking has come from celebrities, through television shows and the workshops she's held around the world.

What sets Porsha apart from other bakers is she never duplicates any cakes she has made in the past. Everything is custom and produced based on the feelings and creativity she receives during a consultation.

She is the CEO of PK Bakes.

Website: https://pkbakes.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pkycd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/porsha.kimble

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pkcakecrew

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ELZA BALDZHIYSKA - NIGHTWITCH CAKES

Elza Baldzhiyska started her creative life as an art teacher in Bulgaria. She moved to London and began experimenting with edible mediums, finding her love working with cake.

After winning several gold awards at Cake International, Elza started to teach students and Cake Masters Magazine named her one of the top 10 UK cake artists.

Elza has numerous international awards and her biggest love is sculpting and 3D cakes. Thriving on challenges, one of her biggest projects to date was a live demo with Joey Sugar King in China.

Elza believes live demos are the hardest part of teaching because you can’t always control your hands and explain anatomy at the same time. Elza loves nothing more than passing her skills on to her students.

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/elza.baldzhiyska
Instagram: www.instagram.com/nightwitchscakes

DOT KLERCK - EAT CAKE PARTY

Dot Klerck hails from Wellington, in the wine growing region of South Africa. She started making cakes for her four children 26 years ago and combined her love of sculpture and art into her cake business.

Dot is well known for her life-size, lifelike cake sculptures and travels around the world creating her chocolate works of art and installations along with teaching and judging at shows in different countries. 

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Dot has quite a few awards including two Cake Masters Awards, several Australian Cake awards and The Global Sugar Artist Awards for 2018.

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Website: https://www.eatcakeparty.co.za/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatcakeparty

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dotklerck/

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MARIYA OZTURK - MARIYA'S CAKES & ART

A WACS-certified culinary judge and accomplished sugar artist, Mariya Ozturk has extensive experience in judging international culinary and cake decorating competitions. She has been a member of the Turkish National Culinary Team (TASFED) since 2017 and is known for her expertise in sugar craftsmanship.

In 2021, she founded Cake Art Bulgaria, the country's first annual cake and sugar art competition, and has since judged prestigious events globally.

Judging Experience:

- Candidate Judge for Cake International 2024

- Judge for The Puglia Cake Festival 2024

- Head Judge, Cake Decorating Category, World Gastronomy Cup 2024, Tunisia
- 8th Gastro Alanya International Culinary Competition 2024, Turkey
- International Istanbul Gastronomy Festivals 2021, 2022, 2023, Turkey
- Sevlievo Traditional Food Festival 2023, Bulgaria
- Head Judge, Cake Decorating, Bulgarian National Culinary Cup 2023
- Gastro Antalya 2021, Turkey
- Yo Soy RepoStar Online Cake Decorating Competition 2021, Venezuela

Website: https://mariyaozturk.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariyas_cakes_and_art/

EMMA JAYNE - EMMA JAYNE CAKE DESIGN

Known for her amazing art installations at Cake International, Welsh sugar artist Emma Jayne likes to create pieces that are not only ‘fun’ but also pieces that make you think.

Coming from a background in fine art as a portrait artist, Emma Jayne Cake Design was founded in 2012 after deciding to use her skills working with edible mediums. This amazing artist started out designing celebration cakes and slowly moved into bespoke wedding cakes; but soon found out where her passion lay in 2014 when she created “Neytiri” from the film Avatar and exhibited it at Cake International,. This started her journey on large scale exhibits for the show and went viral around the world.

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Now a multi-award winning cake artist, Emma Jayne shares her knowledge and expertise with others in both online and in person classes.

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Website: www.ejcd.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emmajaynecakedesign

Instagram: www.instagram.com/emmajaynecakedesign

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EMILY HANKINS - EMILY HANKINS CAKES

Emily Hankins is a multi award winning wedding cake artist and is recognised as one of the finest hand painted cake specialists in the UK, teaching sought after classes nationally, internationally and online. She works regularly for Squires Kitchen International School and is delighted to have cake tutorials featuring frequently in a number of national and international cake magazines.

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Emily studied Art and Graphic Design at university. This basis in the design process has given her a lot of insight into working with clients and creating a finished product from an initial client brief. Sketching is still an essential part of her creative process. Many of these sketches have gone on to become framed keepsakes for couples who want a lasting memory of their cake after the last slice has been devoured!

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After starting a family, this Cornish artist began to create cakes and confections in her own distinct style for friends and family, bringing together her two great loves; painting and baking. Seeing an increased demand for individual and bespoke weddings with a homemade and eclectic feel she decided to launch her own business creating beautifully personalised, hand painted cakes. Emily Hankins Cakes was born in 2012 and today, Emily takes on commissions as well as teaching her art to others across the world.

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Website: www.emilyhankins.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilyhankinscakes

Instagram: www.instagram.com/emilyhankinscakes

ZHOU YI - THE SUGAR KING

Born in Panzhihua, Sichuan in 1983, Zhou Yi's father is a handicraft enthusiast, who in his spare time, likes to figure out some small objects at home. Influenced by his father, Zhou Yi was very interested in this. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to Sichuan Culinary College (now Sichuan Tourism College). During his time at school, he studied various cooking techniques attentively and received scholarships from the school every year.

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After graduation, he studied dough modelling and carving, moved to Yunnan and Yiwu to start a business, and finally settled in Suzhou, and founded Suzhou Sugar King Art Training Company (formerly I am the Chef Culinary Technology Consulting Co., Ltd.). To date, thousands of students with special traditional skills have been trained to enter the society.

In 2001, Zhou Yi studied dough modelling with Mr. Wang Long, a master of Sichuan arts and crafts. In 2005, he won the "Individual Gold Medal" at the Third Sichuan Cooking Technology Competition organized by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Labor and Social Security, and the Sichuan Provincial Federation of Trade Unions. This was the beginning of an incredible career and Zhou Yi has won numerous awards internationally ever since including awards at Cake International.

He has been given numerous titles and recognitions over his career to date and has led his team of artists to many victories in international competitions. He has successfully hosted his own competitions and has released textbooks on his art. Followed by over 5 million people worldwide, this incredible artist continues to create breathtaking art which amazes audiences across the globe.

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/ynspdk

Instagram: www.instagram.com/skzhouyi​​

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YOU - THE PUBLIC

That's right YOU will be the final judge for the DMAs 2024.

Your nominations in the first round will be amalgamated and converted into points which will be added together with the judges points to determine which artists go through to the next round and are announced as finalists. In round two your votes will once again be amalgamated and converted into points and will be added together with the judges points to help decide which artists will ultimately be crowned the winners.

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Your votes alone will also decide the winner for several of our categories this year!