Hello!

I'm Dalana :)
I bet you're wondering, "Why the giraffe?".

Good question!

When I was 13 years old, I hit six foot one inch tall. I was finished growing by then and towered above all my friends until the end of high school when most of them caught up.

So, naturally I was given all sorts of nicknames and compared to all sorts of tall lanky animals. Giraffes seemed to stand out for me and the fascination began. To date I have too many stuffed animal giraffes for a girl in her twenties, in addition to multiple sets of animal cookie cutters with a giraffe in each, and at least ten little figurines.

However, unlike giraffes, my neck is an average human length and I don't have spots.

Like giraffes, I love to be social and if you're ever lost in a crowd, I'm easy to spot!
- "Giraffes will mingle with the other herbivores in the African bush. Their company is beneficial, since they are tall enough to have a much wider scope of an area and will watch for predators." - Wikipedia
 

On to the cake

My mom was determined to instill in me a sense of independence. Everyone has to learn to feed themselves, so I started baking with her around the age of four! Pancakes, brownies, cookies... the simple stuff. (Maybe not the most nutritious, but everyone's got to start somewhere!)

I kept up with baking and had a bunch of cake and cookie books once I reached mid elementary school, and by the age of twelve I had made my very first creative, custom, non Betty Crocker cake! It was a replica of a round cactus covered in green icing, with strips of dried mango for the spikes.  It sat in a bowl of cookie crumbs - the dirt. It was amazing and I was hooked.

Once I entered high school, all I wanted to do was cook, take art classes and play volleyball. The one year I didn't take a cooking class, I ended up being a TA (teachers assistant) for a grade 10 Foods class. I was so into cooking that of course, I had to continue into college.

Thirty-two days after graduating high school, I was off to Vancouver Community College for their Culinary Arts course. Within the course there are all sorts of mini courses...stocks and soups; breakfast cooking; fine dining; even butchery. Among them, there was also a month of baking. It was all I needed to make up my mind. On to Pastry Arts!

Since graduating from V.C.C, I have worked in a chocolate shop, as the pastry assistant at Savoury Chef Foods (a fabulous catering company), and as assistant cake designer with Tartlets Cake Design. Working was getting me a ton of real world experience you can't get in school, but I wanted more. I applied for a scholarship from Les Dames d'Escoffier, won, and funded my way to Toronto to attend the Bonnie Gordon School for Cake Design. It was so amazing! I learned a lot and thought of the staff and students in my class as my east coast family.

I guess they liked me too, because I was invited back the following spring to apprentice at the school! :)
 

Be inspired

I have a passion for art! I love working with my hands and a good challenge.

My goal is to make every cake as unique as possible for every client. Whether it's figure modeling, hand painting, sculpting or even a landscape. If you see something you like, rather than replicate it, I would much rather tailor it to you, or whoever you're surprising!

Let's get creating and make you something fabulous! ^_^