I love getting to check back in with someone I’ve spoken to a few years on. When I last spoke to Aidan Robinson from Chic de Partie Cake Couturier in 2022, he was figuring out life after Dinner by Heston. Now his cakes have found their way to Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan and Yungblud, yet the operation is still just him, a spreadsheet and beautiful buttercream. We talk about what the in-between years actually looked like: three-day bakes, clients who want childhood memories encapsulated in cake, and why fondant superheroes are a firm no. There’s also the unglamorous side: rising food costs, Valentine’s Day roulette, and literally doing everything on your own. It’s a relaxed catch up about craft, taste and the reality behind the polish.
Conversation with a chef: Nice to see you again. Aidan. I was just looking up when we last spoke. It was almost four years to the day: February 2022.
Aidan: Was it really? That’s gone quickly.
It was a different world then. We talked a lot about your origin story, becoming a chef, all of that. But Valentine’s Day has a big history for you too.
Yes. Valentine’s Day 2020 was our last service at Heston’s. Six years ago now. It’s crazy how fast it goes, but it also makes me realise how much I’ve done in that time.
You certainly have. I feel very lucky to get to speak to you again. Aidan Robinson, the sequel. There were already plot twists in the first episode, and now so much more has happened. Congratulations on that Herald Sun magazine feature. It was very impressive.
Thank you. I was proud of that. Three pages! A long way from the first time they wrote about me when it was just a paragraph and a photo. I sent four copies back home: Mum and Dad, grandparents, my sister. Everyone in Manchester knows about it now. But yes, Valentine’s Day is a funny one for me.
Valentine’s Day must be huge for cakes.
It can be. The funny thing is most of my clients are women, so it depends how good their partners are at picking up hints. Sometimes it’s busy, sometimes quiet. I end up hustling: “Send me your partner’s number and I’ll drop hints.” That’s kind of how it works.
How many cakes are you doing for this weekend?
About 22 so far. But I offer different things because not everyone wants a big cake: cupcakes, flowers, champagne, even a card. I’ll do whatever they want. Some people want the whole experience handled.
Are you still a one-man band?
Still just me. I’d love a team one day, but right now I’m enjoying the wave of just being able to do it myself. I’ve trained people, managed big teams at Heston’s, and it’s nice being my own boss. Saying yes to what I want. It’s freeing.
You said something similar years ago, that you couldn’t imagine going back to restaurants because of the autonomy you have.
Exactly. There are moments when it’s a bit lonely because it’s just me and it would be nice to have a little team, maybe one day. But I’m more about slow and steady, as opposed to growing big and having two or three locations.
Those big decorated cakes I see online, how long does it take to create one of those from start to finish?
It is usually a three-day process. The first day is weighing, baking and chilling. The second day is filling and assembling and then the day of delivery or pick up, I decorate so it’s super fresh. I see fridges full of finished cakes and they look amazing, but they’re not fresh. the three-day process is the maximum for me. And prior to that there’s the chatting, quoting, invoicing. There is so much behind the scenes. People don’t see that part.
How much input do customers have?
It varies. Some say, “Do whatever you want.” Others send inspiration photos, childhood memories they want me to replicate, flavours. Everyone gets a form so they can customise. I try to make sure no two cakes are the same, which keeps it fun for me.
Hs there been an idea you say no that won’t work ?
Not “won’t work,” but I stick to my aesthetic, my style. I don’t do fondant Spider-Man cakes. Too sweet, too much about the look not the taste. I normally end up winning them over and saying, I can do a teddy bear cake or something more custom that they wouldn’t have seen before. As opposed to Spider Man and Sonic or Batman.
And Frozen?
Actually, I like the Frozen interpretation. I do a lot of Barbie cakes with beautiful dresses. But all hand-piped rather than fondant.
Lady Gaga’s cake had a doll.
It was Gaga. I also love letters and numbers. People think it’s not cake. It’s like edible art. But yes, Gaga had Gaga. All black.
Do celebrities come to you directly?
Usually through managers. Once one’s had one, word spreads. I’ve got Chappell Roan this weekend and I still don’t know what I’m making. I’m open to ideas.
Grammy’s dress inspiration?
A nipple cake? It’s her birthday when she is in Perth and her team got in touch. It’s mostly through Instagram. I’ll see someone is coming to Melbourne, track the photographer, manager, makeup artist, and just DM. Sometimes you get lucky.
As you were saying before, you have to hustle. You have to tell your story on Instagram , you’re out and about networking and talking to people. Word of mouth is amazing and you are so good.
It has always been just word of mouth. Making cakes for celebrities started with making a cake for Danii Minogue’s 50th birthday in 2022. That was through Flowers Vasette who I have been using since I moved here. She loved the cake and posted about it and followed me. She is still in touch and messages me. I’m really hoping to do a cake for Kylie one day. There are talks of her moving back to Melbourne.
Then Troye Sivan had a birthday cake, and he is close with Charlie XCX. That’s how I got the cake with her. And then, if I see someone of significance coming, and I think it’d be cool to make them a cake, I’ll find out who their photographer or make up artist or manager and just send them a DM. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes they have heard of me and have seen what I’ve done and they say, God, absolutely. It is always very last minute. I’ll reach out and I’ll normally hear back a few days before that it has been approved and can I do it, can I deliver it?
Do you get nervous making cakes for famous people?
Not really. I treat them like a regular client. It just makes the week more exciting. It’s fun creating something that has no brief, but I tailor it to the artists.
Do you hear back from them about the cakes?
Normally whoever I’ve arranged to do the cake with will send a text or a photo and tell me that they loved it. I always follow up and say that I hope everyone loved the cake and that I would love to see any photos, but I don’t overstep. Luckily I normally get tickets, which is always nice.
I nearly went back to London when Heston’s closed. I had no visa, couldn’t work. The cake business all started from a WhatsApp group. I’m glad I stayed. I have definitely built a nice life and I have amazing friends and now clients as well. I’m proud I didn’t give up. It would have been easy to have gone back home and continued where I had left off, but I stayed and built something.
Aidan Robinson, Chic de Partie
You have done incredibly well to get your business going and to reach such heights in such a short space of time.
Yes, and especially given I am not from here. I only knew the team at Heston’s and I have y auntie and cousins here, but my network was in London. I came here at a young age, finished up at Heston’s and realised, what am I going to do. I fell into this. I wasn’t making cakes at Heston’s. I had to reinvent myself to do all this. The cakes I made in 2020 are completely different to what I am doing now.
How did your style develop?
I think like anything totally new: total trial and error. You practise, get inspiration and teach yourself new ways. Heston’s was fine dining, plated desserts. We weren’t making wedding cakes. But obviously I had all that experience of flavour and technique which I then put into Chic de Partie and the style came later. At the start I thought my cakes looked great. Now I look back and think, oh my god. The technique was there from fine dining, but the style came later.
I have seen some Instagram videos with tweezers. I guess when you have worked in Michelin star restaurants, tweezers are a must. And you are right, your cakes are real artworks, canvases for the buttercream, the macarons and the other things. When you start I on the creative process, do you draw the cakes first?
Sometimes. Mostly it happens in my head. It depends wat the brief is and whether it is a birthday, wedding, if they want something completely new and different, or something that’s trending.
Are there popular flavours?
People like to play safe with classics, which I prefer sometimes. Some want experiments or memories recreated. Because everything is custom, I can do whatever they like.
Do you keep a record of all the cakes? You should do a book: photo, story, flavours.
One day. Not yet. There are still a lot of things I still want to do and definitely one day I’d like to do a book. But I don’t think about that now.
How do you keep track of everything?
Spreadsheets. Dates, the fillings, pickups. Orders come from everywhere, the website, Instagram, emails. Sometimes people just text. I like to give people options on how they can order. I think people realise it is just me and want to support me and the product sells itself. I do try to go above and beyond to make sure they get everything they want. I don’t drive, so I have drivers for delivery. Plus I am usually stuck in the kitchen. I try and support local people, so I have a mother who delivers cakes for me and for other businesses. Otherwise, people pick up.
Are you baking all day from early in the morning?
My normal week is Monday, Tuesday are my days off. Wednesday is an admin/ordering day. And then Thursday, Friday is prep for the weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday are my busy days.
And you do more than cakes.
Macarons, canelés, Portuguese tarts, tiramisu. Collins Street offices will order 200 canelés for a meeting.
I love canelés.
I use proper copper moulds, beeswax, good vanilla. Everyone loves them. I’ve had people from Bordeaux say they’re authentic.
You don’t have a sweet tooth though.
No. I rarely order dessert. Too sweet most of the time. I’ve made enough cake in my life.
If you could talk to your 2020 self, what would you say to him?
I’d say I’m proud of him. I nearly went back to London when Heston’s closed. I had no visa, couldn’t work. The cake business all started from a WhatsApp group. I’m glad I stayed. I have definitely built a nice life and I have amazing friends and now clients as well. I’m proud I didn’t give up. It would have been easy to have gone back home and continued where I had left off, but I stayed and built something.
Do you have plans for the future?
I do have plans for the future, but honestly I just want to keep doing what I’m doing; keep building clients and making sure they are returning as well, which is important, keeping everybody happy, creating new cakes and keeping people entertained. I do need to get better with video and the social media world now. I started the business through Instagram. I don’t think I would be where I am now without having that. I’m definitely thankful for that. But, the long-term goal, the dream is to be based between Melbourne and London. But that’s 10 years away. Eventually I would like a boutique here. I’d want a three bedroom apartment above and a boutique studio underneath. It wouldn’t be a cake shop per se, but you’d come in and sit down and have a chat and design a cake, your wedding cake, an event, and have that experience, there’ll be a few things to try, but it wouldn’t be coffee and cake. I feel like a lot of people do that and it goes well for a few years and then all these places close down. I just don’t want to be in that situation where you’re paying so much rent, you do a beautiful fit out of a kitchen and then it folds in two or three years. I’d like to be more sustainable. But also I’m not in a rush to need it all now.
I think that is really wise, and I guess it is sustainable in that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and so just keep putting things in place and considering the climate, the economy.
Exactly. Because even product in general has tripled since I started; the price of chocolate, butter, dairy is insane. And then you still want to keep things at a price point that people can afford. You need to know the market and keep it reasonable. But then I also need to pay myself and the bills and tax. That’s why it keeps me so busy. There is a lot to do because it’s not just making cakes.
You are amazing. I always love running into you at events and you always have such an amazing style. Thanks so much for talking to me.
Photographer: Jake Nowakowski