Chef Talal Al Hamdhan stumbled into the cake design world through a series of happy coincidences, and a few sprinklings of good luck. He was working on a post-graduate degree in Political Science in the States in the 90s when he realized that he was missing the taste of home. With his half Kuwaiti and half Lebanese heritage, Chef Talal grew up in a home with rich culinary traditions, where machboos and Kibbeh Bel Laban happily coexisted.
He asked his mom for some recipes and spent his free time watching The Food Network. He was especially mesmerized by the stunning cake creations, with their grand designs and intricate artistry made from basic ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs and butter.
Close your eyes and think of the beautiful cake that you had the pleasure of trying. Chances are, it is going to be tied to a happy memory, a birthday, a wedding, a gathering with friends and so on. Cake is one of the few dishes that always make you smile. Even before the internet, we knew that the cake world was full of diversity and creativity. The flavors inside can be endless and the designs on the outside can be as simple as a single layer of frosting to grand constructions that need a team to create and transport. It is no surprise that Al Hamdhan was enthralled with this new world that built on strong culinary traditions that he was already missing from home
From the very beginning he knew that he was more interested in the art and design of these sweet delights. He started experimenting and taking classes with the masters. He soon returned to Kuwait and got married only to find himself back in America while his wife was studying for her degree and he immediately assigned himself to cooking duty.
The first thing you notice about the chef is his excitement and passion about his chosen profession. Behind his easy smile and friendliness there is a lot of curiosity and eagerness to learn new things. He attended every class he could find by experts and masters and kept honing his craft and skill.
Al Hamdhan is one of those rare people who enjoy doing, but also want to teach. He finds a lot of joy and motivation into passing what he knows to other people and feels that knowledge is more valuable when it is shared and spread in the community. When he returned to Kuwait the second time he opened a bakery and started selling his beautifully constructed cakes, but on the weekends he would close shop to teach.
After some time he realized that he just wanted to teach budding cake makers and took a leap of faith and opened Talal’s Cake Academy. His students run the gamut from amateur home bakers to professionals looking to improve their technique and skill set. He offers a number of different classes, but his bestseller is a two-day fundamental cake design workshop. Students get to learn everything from start to finish in an intensive class that is hands-on and allows them to quickly absorb everything they need to get started.
The academy itself is located in Sharq on the 15th floor and has a beautiful corner view of the sea. Natural light streams in to highlight a row of colorful KitchenAid mixers, the sign of serious baking about to happen, sits on the marble workbench. Al Hamdhan has equipped it with all the tools needed so every student can try every step themselves as he teaches. But he insists that anyone can replicate everything in the class in a home kitchen. He even teaches children the same exact course and they are able to achieve the same amazing results.
His other popular course is the fundamentals of chocolate. From tempering to little bite sized works of art, Al Hamdhan takes his students on an exhilarating sugar fueled ride through the wonderful world of cocoa. Each design is different, from multicolored marbled domes with nuts to glittering cubes filled with creamy centers of different flavors, they all look too good to eat.
Many of us were inspired (or forced) by the pandemic to rethink our time in the kitchen, from necessity to something that we can do to unwind as well as nourish our bodies with high-quality ingredients and delicious food. The chef was quick to pivot into the world of online learning and started offering classes on Telegram so people could learn even if they couldn’t be physically in class. He also regularly does Instagram live classes for everyone. One of his recent ones was more than an hour and showed how to decorate a multi-tiered wedding cake with flowers. It seems that the world has come full circle. We are now watching him build amazing cakes, exactly like he started watching The Food Network, and we are just as dazzled.
The space in his studio hosts other teachers too. He regularly invited and hosted teachers and experts from all over the world to Kuwait to bring their expertise to students here. Just before the pandemic, he was joined by pizzaiolo and sourdough wiz Saad Al Watyan to teach a Sourdough class. It seems they were ahead of the times, because the trend exploded! The academy also hosts local chefs like Wafaa Alkanderi who will be teaching a Ramadan class soon.
Talal’s Cake Academy is more than just a place you can learn to mix a cake batter and frost it, it is a community and a family where you can learn and grow, and we think that’s exactly what Chef Talal always wanted.
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE
What do you most value about your friends?
Respect.
Which living person do you most admire?
Parents.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Satisfaction.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Travel.
What is your most treasured possession?
My kids.
What is your greatest fear?
Darkness.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Honesty.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Sing.
What is one trait you have that you are most grateful for?
Being humble.
What is the human trait you most dislike about others?
Dishonesty.
What is it that you most dislike?
Dishonesty.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
You know.
What are your favorite words to live by?
Happiness.
Where would you most like to live?
In the nature.
If you could have any job, what would it be?
Pastry chef.
What would you consider your greatest achievement?
Getting married and having kids.
What do you hope for the future?
To achieve my ultimate dream.
Feeling inspired to level up your cake baking game or just want to see the amazing thing Chef Talal creates? Follow him @talalscakesacademy on Instagram.
