Interview #42: Myton Ouano of Antonio’s Kitchen

Myton’s: CakesDecor Profile | Facebook Page

Interview

1. Tell us a little about yourself, family, where do you live and what did you do for a living before making cakes if anything?

I live currently in Arizona USA, I grew up in the Philippines until we migrated in 2002. I have been painting since I was in my grade school days particularly in canvas and on textiles, by profession I am a Registered Nurse and still actively practicing  when I am not travelling to teach cake decorating.

2. How or why did you get started in cake decorating… was it by accident or did you always have a passion for it?

I started doing cakes back in 2011 for my kid’s cakes during their birthdays, A friend of mine encouraged me to convert my knowledge in the arts and apply it in edible medium, I loved the result and then people started to like it too! Eventually I started a home based business from it.

3. What part of making cakes do you like most and least?

Obviously, I like the decorating part the most and the part I like the least is the preparation and shopping of ingredients .

4. Is there one tool you cannot live without and one you don’t have yet but really want?

My paint brushes, I always incorporate paintings in most of my cakes. I don’t have a lot of tools because most the time, I just make use of what I have. I don’t do a lot of sugar flowers, most of the time I use wafer, so I don’t have all of those cutters and veiners, i just have the very basic one.

5. How did you find cakes decor and what makes it a place you want to keep sharing on?

A friend of mine told me about it, that it’s a great place to share your cakes online aside from Facebook and specially that I am teaching internationally, it could also help me with exposure to the cake world.

6. What is your favorite cake you have done to date?

My favorite cake was the Rome cake that I did for Cake Master’s magazine but I enjoy everything that I do with my cakes!

7. Do you have a bucket list and if so what might one or two of those be and it does not have to be cake related?
I have a very long bucket list! But I have always loved travelling, so I want to see as many places as I can and meet some cake friends all over the world that I have only seen on Facebook!

8. Is their one technique or sugar skill that you have not tried yet but really would like to learn?

I would really love to learn how to make those figures with pretty faces and those realistic sugar flowers.
  
9. Do you have a favorite flavor of cake that you make?

I am a chocolate person, so anything chocolate is my favorite!

10. Do you sketch your cakes or just wing it?

If it’s for a client I usually make a digital sketch to present it, but for collabs and for magazines I just build the idea on my mind and just go with it.

11. For anyone just starting out what would be one piece of advice you would give them?

Never compare your work to others, you have your own style.

12. What’s the best lesson you have learned while making cakes so far?

Never stop learning and be open minded, a new idea always comes up everyday. 

13. Did you go to school to study art or have you just always had a natural ability in that department.

I never had a formal art education, my whole family are art enthusiasts. Art is all i see growing up, my father loves to do a lot of craftwork and he paints too, so as my sisters. We grew up not having a lot of toys at home, what we had instead were colored pencils, crayons, paints and all crafty things so i guess that’s how it all started. Later on, as I was really getting a lot of interest in the arts, that’s when i started reading about techniques and watch my friends that are in art schools when they are at work and asked a lot of questions, as i was attending college in a medical school. I finished a bachelors degree in Nursing but I still loved to pursue a career in art so after hospital work, my sideline was painting on fabrics for fashion designers, sometimes i painted in canvas and murals, it was only in 2011 that i started converting my knowledge in the arts to edible mediums.

14. And one crazy one just for fun…Is there one food that you just refuse to eat and why?

I’ve been to a few exotic countries and I am very adventurous in food so I eat pretty much what is offered to me as long as the person that offered it to me must eat it first! Maybe, except those grilled crickets, worms or frogs? Because I don’t think I will be able to chew it before I throw up first!

Some of Myton’s Cakes