Fremantle's Sweet Side: Cakemantle Event Celebrates City's Character

A unique event that explored Fremantle's character through creative dessert-making has inspired people to see and taste the city in a new light. Cakemantle, part of Fremantle Design Week, challenged the public to create and share dessert creations inspired by the port city.

The event was the brainchild of designers Loren Holmes and Rosie Halsmith, who invited 16 entrants, both professional designers and locals, to participate. The only guidance provided was that the cakes "had to be edible and they had to be able to talk about why they chose that place", according to Ms Holmes.

The result was a diverse range of interpretations, from recognizable landmarks like Monument Hill and the old Roundhouse prison to imaginative explorations of the city's history and future. One family effort featured a little-known slice of history, reimagining the morgue at Bathers Beach.

"It's a reference to the morgue that used to be at Bathers Beach," maker Vanessa said.

"It's a bit of a play on words with the slab, like a slab of cake and also the slab where the bodies used to be."

Another entrant, produced by members of a Perth landscape design studio, recreated pieces of terrazzo tile produced by Italian immigrants Giuseppe and Anna Scolaro at their Fremantle factory.

Before the crowd could taste the creations, a competition was held, judged on three criteria: taste, idea, and execution. The judges, executive chef Blaze Young, landscape architect Scott Lang, and UWA dean of design Sarah McGann, found the task challenging due to the highly original concepts and delicious cakes.

"It was actually super tough," Scott Lang said.

"The ideas that people have come up with and the way they were thinking about Fremantle was pretty amazing and the execution of how they were representing those ideas."

The winners were announced, with third place going to the Fremantle Doctor, a rendering of the afternoon sea breeze in human form. The Scolaro Terrazzo tiles creation came second, and Erin Coates' reimagining of the former limestone rock bar at the mouth of the Derbarl Yerrigan/Swan River took first place.

"As soon as we tasted it, it was really the flavour that pushed it over the edge," Mr Young said.

"I think I would be quite proud to put something like this on the menu at my restaurant."

Ms Coates was thrilled, saying:

"I'm so thrilled because I'm not really much of a baker,"

"The cake is based on my interest in the geology and the habitats underneath the surface of the river."

The event was a success, with tickets selling out quickly. The organizers are hoping to bring it back next year as part of Fremantle Design Week.

"We think that there might be more. I think given the popularity of this one, we reckon it might be a recurring event in the Fremantle Design Week calendar."