Amy Minichiello
Cake designer | Story-teller | Recipe developer
It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Amy Minichiello’s food inspired Instagram account (@amy_minichiello_), that her white weatherboard home, in Victoria’s picturesque Mornington Peninsula, is constantly filled with fresh baking aromas and mouth-watering wafts of something delicious bubbling away on the stove. A fact greatly appreciated by her husband, Ben, and two-year-old son Beau. “They can spot a cake cooling on the bench almost before I can say, “Don’t touch that!”,” Amy laughs. Amy spent four years running her own café, A Mini Kitchen, in Rye, Victoria, cooking and baking a range of sweet and savoury treats from scratch every day, before deciding to sell the business in time for Beau’s arrival into the world. Since then, she has combined motherhood with her home-based food venture, creating stunning made-to-order wedding, birthday and celebrations cakes, developing recipes for her ‘A Mini Kitchen’ blog and working on ‘Recipes In the Mail’- a project that Amy is currently developing into a book. Amy and Ben have recently welcomed their second child, Viviana Rose, into the world and life couldn’t be sweeter!
Caption: Amy in her “happy place”- her kitchen! Photo credit: Sally Frawley @sallyfrawley on Instagram. Published here with permission and thanks.
Hi Amy and thanks for joining me here at Creative Moments Daily! Firstly, you live in such a beautiful part of Australia, what do you love most about the Mornington Peninsula?
We’ve lived in our little house for 10-years now. It’s a cosy nest and a place I truly love. Living so close to the beaches and the bush that surround us, as well as a multitude of local farm gate stalls, weekly farmers markets, restaurants, cafes and more wineries than one would dare to count, there really is something for everyone to love and enjoy about this picturesque place. To live somewhere that people choose to come to for their holidays makes it feel extra special to call home. And with our families close by, it’s just perfect!
You describe yourself as a “self-taught cook”. When did you discover your love for creating with food, and in particular, baking?
It wasn’t until I left home, bound for Western Australia to follow the man who had stolen my heart (my now husband), that I learnt how to cook. I didn’t even know how to boil an egg!! I didn’t grow up standing by my mums’ side, chopping and stirring and watching her prepare dinners, but I did have a fascination for watching my Granny magically bring together scone dough with her soft, gentle hands. Flour would dance before my eyes and whenever my brother and I would stay with her during the school holidays, these scones were always requested. I can still hear the “poof” sound of the upturned glass cutting out the rounds! I think sub-consciously I was taking in her culinary ways and storing them somewhere in my memory bank. Or perhaps my love of baking was already a part of my genetic makeup, I just didn’t realise it at the time!
Caption: One of Amy’s custom-made wedding cakes that she designs, bakes and styles for clients. Photo Credit: Amy Minichiello.
How did you get started working professionally in the food industry? ‘Masterchef’ premiered while Ben and I were living in WA, so I would sit myself in front of the television, my notebook on my lap and my pen in my hand, hanging off their every word. I’d buy food magazines and my one cookbook, ‘Cook’, by the Australian Women’s Weekly, became my bible! I followed those recipes to the absolute last detail. I also had a hunger for wanting to learn even more. I studied hospitality management, then spent many years working in restaurants, on an island and in many cafés, relishing the team environments, customer interactions and the adrenaline rush of busy days. I even found myself baking for paying customers!
And now here you are designing and baking divine cakes for some of life’s most important celebrations! It’s exciting, very special and can be nerve wracking all at the same time! There’s a lot of pre-planning with the design of each cake as every single one is unique to each client. Planning is just as important as the end result as it really does take time to bring all the elements of a beautiful celebration cake together from the shape and size, to the flavours, actual baking and, of course, the flowers that will be used in the final presentation. And presentation is everything! Flowers can transform a naked cake into a work of art.
When you’re delivering one of your cake creations, what do you never leave home without? I never leave home without my “bag of tricks”, which includes florists tape, florists wire, a spatula and secateurs, as well as my “Cake On Board” sign that is stuck on the back windscreen. It helps with the nerves and also explains to other drivers why I’m driving so slowly around bends and round-a-bouts and along all of those pot-holed, gravel driveways that the majority of wedding venues have!
It sounds like getting the cake to its destination is the hardest part! Absolutely! I don’t know what I’d do if someone ran up the back of me or I dropped a cake! There is no Plan B! So I always feel like I’m holding my breath until the cake is safely at the venue, all set up and I can stand back and think to myself, “I’m happy with that!” At that point, my shoulders drop a little!
Caption: Amy’s pumpkin cake. Photo credit: Amy Minichiellio.
One of your other work projects is ‘Recipes in the Mail’. What’s that about? I love hearing people’s stories and the memories they hold dear when it comes to a certain smell, a taste, or a particular dish that transports them back to a certain time. Coupled with my love for putting pen to paper, I had this seed of an idea. So I reached out to the Instagram community and asked if anyone would be interested in sharing a favourite family recipe, or a recipe that meant something to them. I asked for the recipes to be handwritten, a story or memory attached explaining its significance, and then mailed to me. I then cook or bake, style, photograph and share the recipe on Instagram.
How do you feel about the response you’ve received for the project? The sheer joy when the postie started to regularly drop letters into our mailbox has been like nothing else. I often either have tears running down my cheeks or I’m laughing and nodding along as I read the letters. Most of the senders I have never met before but can now call friends.
The next step is a ‘Recipes in the Mail’ book. That’s so exciting! Yes! I’ve been overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity shared and have a great desire to bring these stories and memories, along with a few of my own, to an even wider audience. Which is why I’m now working on a book proposal, with the hopes that something magical will happen and a publisher will fall in love with the idea and it can be brought to life! All of us have a story to share and they all deserve to be remembered and live on. If I can bring even a small amount of joy to someone’s day through the sharing of these recipes then I will be one very happy girl!
Caption: Amy’s collection of vintage treasures that she uses as styling props in her food photography. Photo Credit: Sally Frawley @sallyfrawley (Instagram). Published here with permission and thanks.
Your Instagram community sounds very engaged and supportive. What do you love about the platform?
Instagram has opened up so many incredible opportunities for me. I’ve made friendships with so many wonderfully creative and talented people, some of whom I have been lucky enough to meet in real life. I’ve been to workshops that have left me brimming with inspiration, met people who I admire and been able to connect with cooks and creatives living on the opposite side of the world. Insta is truly a melting pot of inspiration, support, community and a reminder that whatever it is that you’re interested in, there’s always someone else out there to share your creativity and passions with!
One thing I always notice on your Instagram posts is your collection of styling props. Do you have some favourites?
Eeek! That’s a hard one! I love collecting treasures as so many of them have their own stories attached, some of which I know and others I like to make up inside my head. How many times has this old vintage knife been used? And by whom? What did they used to slice with it? There is a knife that you actually sourced for me, Michelle, and every time I use it in one of my images someone always comments on it. It’s rather beautiful and eye-catching. I have a box full of my Grandmother’s and Great Grandmother’s lace and crochet doilies and some fabric offcuts that I also love to use. My vintage china plates, of course. I think cake tastes so much better when it’s enjoyed on a pretty, floral, china plate.
Amy’s Quince Tart. Photo Credit: Amy Minichiello.
Eating the food props must be the best part of any photo shoot you do for your blog or Instagram? Oh yes! Although, believe it or not, I don’t have a huge sweet tooth. I’m more of a savoury girl. But I do have quite a few people around me who are always willing to taste-test. Ben now knows to ask permission before indulging in anything that may be sitting on the kitchen bench, just in case it hasn’t been photographed yet! Quite often there will be a cake or tart cooling on the stove top, awaiting a styling session the following day, and I can see him eyeing it off after dinner. “Don’t you dare!” I say, to which he gives a cheeky grin and replies with a, “But no one will know!”.
What ingredients would we always find in your fridge and pantry? There’s always tins of tomatoes, pasta, flour, butter, cheese, chutneys, jams, pickles and a fridge full of fresh vegetables. I always make sure there are plenty of tinned beans to make quick and easy lunches or dinners, like tuna and beans (one of Beau’s favourites) and “tomatoey” baked eggs and beans.
Do you have a favourite cuisine or a favourite ingredient? If I had to choose only one, it would be Italian. Not just for the flavours but for the abundance of love and generosity that the Italians serve alongside their food. It’s comforting and welcoming and who doesn’t love a big bowl of handmade (or bought) pasta served with a luscious sauce, crusty bread and a generous scattering of Parmigiano Reggiano! And don’t even get me started on gelato…mmm Stracciatella!
Caption: The kitchen is at the heart of Amy’s home. Photo Credit: Amy Minichiello
What do you enjoy about working from home? Now that I know what it’s like to work for myself and be my own boss, I really couldn’t imagine going back to working for someone else! I love being at home, surrounded by our special treasures and I adore our kitchen, it gives me abundant inspiration. Before we renovated I could stand in the middle of the kitchen and reach both my arms out to touch the walls! I now have a large bench, a beautiful oven and large drawers to store my pots, pans and tins! It’s my happy place.
How do you manage the work-life balance? If there is such a thing! When you love what you do, it sort of becomes just a part of your daily life and routine and I don’t really think of it as work. I even feel a little weird saying “work” as it’s just a part of who I am and brings me so much joy. That’s not to say that sometimes I can stay up far too late, feel overwhelmed with too many ideas flowing through my mind and trying to fit it all in- which can lead to feeling a little weary to say the least! But, slowly, I’m getting better at noticing when this is beginning to happen and will often take myself for a walk along the beach, practice yoga, breathe and tickle Beau (his laugh gets me every time!)
Caption: Recipe testing and development is part of Amy’s work routine. Photo Credit: Sally Frawley @sallyfrawley (Instagram). Published here with permission and thanks!
Describe a typical day for you. A typical day, come to think of it, doesn’t really exist! I think it’s just trying to fit in “all of the things” and bits and pieces that always need doing, then falling onto the couch at the end of the day!
What do you listen to when you’re cooking? Funnily enough I don’t really listen to anything when I’m in the kitchen. I really quite enjoy the quietness and the sound of the birds. Occasionally I will listen to a podcast but I find that I really enjoy the way my mind ebbs and flows in the stillness.
Who and what inspires you? I find inspiration in so many different ways. I only have to walk through a market admiring the colours and textures of the produce that changes season to season. And then of course there are my cookbooks and their authors, who have taught me so much and continue to do so. But mostly the people I cook for every night, my family; nothing fuels that inspiration further than when I say “dinner is ready” and Ben rubs his hands together and Beau races up to the kitchen table shouting, “Yay, dinner ready!” That gives me a heart full of inspiration to keep doing what I am doing.
How do you recharge your creative batteries? I have recently fallen back in love with reading novels! Being able to wander off to different places and meet many wonderful new characters completely transports me. I find that switching off my creative brain in this way, rather than reading cookbooks before bed (which is what I used to do!) enables me to recharge those creative batteries for when I need them.
Describe your perfect day off. A morning yoga session, followed by breakfast at home. I would then pop something into the slow-cooker so that dinner was waiting for us at the end of the day. We would pack a picnic lunch of salad rolls spread generously with chutney, slices of chunky apple and cinnamon cake and a thermos of spiced hot cacao. A drive up to Seawinds Gardens at Arthurs Seat to find a spot under the shade of a tree where I could get lost in the pages of a book, which currently would be Ruth Reichl’s, ‘Save me the plums’.
Caption: Cake designed, baked, styled and photographed by Amy Minichiello.
Achievement you’re most proud of so far?
Oh gosh, this is such a great question. I love reflecting back on everything that has happened up until now. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that achievements, or challenges, be they big or small, carve out our paths in this wild adventure that is life. Perhaps, I am most proud of where I am today. Surrounded by a loving and supportive family, living in our own home and looking forward to what this next chapter has in store for us.
Do you have some favourite ‘words to live by’ or a favourite quote?
One of my favourite quotes (and I have many) is, “You must live your life forward but understand it backwards.”. I am not too sure who said this. I love that the stepping stones along the way have brought us to where we are now and reflecting upon these “stones” is where we can find so much magic and so much sense!
Details about where people can find you?
Instagram: @amy_minichiello_
Website / blog: www.aminikitchen.com
Email: info@aminkitchen.com
