DURING the 1970s and 80s Mary Ford was famous around the world for her cake decoration and sugar artistry and many readers will still have her books on cake design and some might even have attended her classes at Westbourne and Southbourne.

Born in Wick near Bristol, Mary’s interest in cake icing started when her father, a flour miller, encouraged her to take up the craft. On leaving school at 15 she went into a bakery on a four-year apprenticeship and was the first girl in the city to successfully complete an apprenticeship in the trade. She also attended evening classes in cake decoration and began to specialise in this aspect of the industry.

To widen her knowledge and gain further practical experience, Mary joined the staff of the former Lyons Corner House in Coventry Street, London, and decorated all types of celebration cake. During her time there, she won many prizes and medals at wine and food festivals, hotel catering competitions and other exhibitions.

Mary then moved to Bournemouth and served with various bakery, confectionary and catering establishments and became a part-time cake decorating teacher at Bournemouth and Southampton Technical Colleges.

“There were so many applications to join the course that I decided to rent a small room in St Michael’s Road, Bournemouth and began giving private tuition and taking orders for cakes,” said Mary who now lives in Christchurch.

In 1970, while working in one of the bakeries in Bournemouth, Mary met Michael Ford, who had also taken a full-time bakery course, based in Plymouth, before moving to Bournemouth.

“We met at five o’clock in the morning in the pastry room and soon after we got married. We then set up business together,” said Mary.

The Mary Ford reputation for tuition and cake making quickly spread in and beyond Bournemouth and larger premises were needed. Mary and Michael moved into a small retail shop in Westbourne and two years later in 1974 moved again to larger premises in a former supermarket in Southbourne.

The range of activities widened to include selling cake decorating equipment and materials through the shop and by mail order. Evening and weekend courses expanded until there were 60 students at a time with extra tutors and a closed circuit television for larger demonstrations for larger groups such as the Women’s Institute and the Townswomen’s Guilds.

“We also extended the bakery section to include specialist breads, confectionery and chocolate making,” said Mary.

In the late 1970s they produced a colour catalogue promoting their own branded tools and equipment. Many of these items were also introduced as special offers in women’s magazines.

In 1976 exasperated by the rising price of quality ingredients for cake making and decorating, Mary made a cake for the new Prime Minister Jim Callaghan and delivered it personally to no.10 Downing Street with a message in blue icing appealing to keep prices down.

Two years later, Mary and her staff made a replica of the Royal State Coach in gold, red and purple icing and sugarpaste for the Sucre d’Art exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris. Mary was also making television appearances demonstrating her cake decorating skills.

In 1981 Mary’s offer to present a cake for the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer was accepted, and many weeks of work designing and creating a four-tier cake followed. It attracted national and international media attention.

Mary took the cake to London in two Rolls Royce cars on the day before the wedding, and assembled it at the Palace. A duplicate cake was displayed in their shop window which drew many crowds to Southbourne.

In the same year they made a replica cake of the famous Bailey Bridge for the 80th birthday of the inventor, Sir Donald Bailey.

In 1982 Mary published her first book entitled 101 Cake Designs and went on to publish many titles over the next 15 years.

Her reputation spread around the world and she joined forces with a Japanese cake school, many of the students visited the centre in Southbourne.

In 1986 Mary was instrumental in forming the Bournemouth Sugarcraft Guild, allowing members to use their premises and giving them guidance. She became an honorary member.

By 1988, Mary and Michael had over 120 employees, including full-time agents who sold their products to the trade and supplied to their 100,000 mail order customers.

In the same year the couple were approached by Scottish firm Ptarmigan PLC to sell their business, which they did, remaining as directors. Two year later, Mary and Michael continued to publish books.

The remaining business was sold and sadly went into receivership shortly afterwards, a victim of the recession.

Mary and Michael are now retired but their legacy in the cake decorating industry remains as strong as ever.