In August 2015 I had major surgery on my left shoulder to tighten the ligaments so you would think that making a competition cake would be the last thing on my mind. So wrong! Like I would let a little thing like basically only using one hand stop me! So 5 weeks after surgery I entered my first Royal Melbourne show competition. I decided to showcase part of my heritage by creating the bust of a Kayan tribe women. I have always loved photos of these beautiful women with their seemingly long necks and multiple gold coloured rings and I wanted to do an old woman so the character of her life as a tribe woman would show in her face. I used modelling chocolate for the face and fondant for the rest of the bust with some rice paper details. I really love the lines, wrinkles and sunspots on her face and was even taken aback myself by how lifelike she looks. I loved the comment my friend made when she came to drive me to deliver her – “She just looks like she will blink any minute now!”. I didn’t place but I got a very reasonable score and am so proud that I pushed through and didn’t let having just one hand stop me from taking part in this competition.