Nicole Brooks
Owner of Nancy’s Fancy Cakes
Nicole
Brooks, otherwise known as Nancy (Alias) is the owner of Nancy’s Fancy Cakes. The
alias Nancy was given to her by her father as a baby, because he liked a singer
by the name Nancy Wilson. He refused to call her by her given name, so
throughout her life everyone knew her by the nickname Nancy. Now she says, she simply
laughs when people ask her, what is your name Nancy or Nicole?
Nancy
started her career in the corporate world working in both the Finance and Human
Resource Departments of TSTT and later moved on to the Human Resource departments
of both the Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago, and the First
Citizens Bank respectively. She has completed a total of 22 years in the
Corporate Sector.
Nancy
holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management and Administration with
a minor in Human Resources, with Lincoln University in the UK, graduating with
Honours and later pursued a Master of Arts Degree in International Business
with the University of Greenwich, U.K. She also completed a course of Study
with Harvard University in Negotiation and Mediation.
Nancy
made the decision to leave the Power Generation Company in 2009 when her
daughter was a toddler, the goal being to be a stay -at- home Mom. Having left
the world of work, she felt it necessary to find something to keep herself busy.
Over the years she did Tailoring, Make-Up Artistry and Sugar Flower Artistry.
Being
an Art lover, Nancy was always keen to work with her hands and fell head over
heels in love with Sugar Flowers. Having completed the Sugar flowers short course,
Nancy wondered what would be her platform for her sugar flowers? She claims she
“couldn’t bake to save her child’s life, much less her own”, so she had to find
a way to learn to bake without going back to school, because at that time her daughter
was still a toddler and had very little support in the way of child care.
Determined
to achieve her baking goals, she bought lots of books on Amazon and even
requested from family members that they buy her anything and everything about
cakes as birthday gifts and Christmas presents and taught herself.
Through
reading, Nancy gained a clear understanding of the science of baking and as a
result, was able to develop, tweak and simplify recipes that would work for her.
This determination paid off, gaining contracts to do Dessert cakes and Wedding cakes
for several private companies, Weddings and Hotels between Trinidad and Tobago.
However,
having been in the food industry for approximately nine years, she has grown to
love the freedom that entrepreneurship affords her. Today, she feels compelled
to share her gift, passion and enthusiasm for cakes and Sugar Artistry with
others, teaching anyone who chooses to come to her cake baking and cake
decorating classes, the joy of baking. For Nancy, it is an awesome feeling to
bake a scrumptious cake and share it with friends and see the look of ultimate
satisfaction when they bite into a cake slice. It’s “Ooh La La!
Nancy
no longer just bakes cakes for customers; Nancy now teaches and shares the
entrepreneurial spirit with others. She says “I want mainly women, to understand
the power of independence, the ability to share the skill with their kids or
simply bake at home and make extra money to support themselves and their families”.
Food
being central to all families, Nancy believes strongly that food brings people
together and if she can teach others to simply bake, she would also be
strengthening families, one student at a time.
Nancy
also believes that this is her gift from God and her calling is to teach others
and share her passion for Sugar Artistry. She says that she loves her job and
prays that she will be physically able to continue to do cakes and Sugar
Artistry for many years to come.
Nancy
states the success of her cake career is a Win! Win! situation for her and she
hopes to attain her goal, of studying Sugar Artistry abroad in a formal setting.
Contact Information
Telephone: 338-5245/230-4765
320-9352 (What’s App only)
Facebook: Nancy’s Fancy Cakes
Address:
#15, Goodwill Crescent, Crown Street, Tacarigua,
Here are some photographs of Nancy's work:
I have had the opportunity of gaining and expanding my knowledge about cakes from this lovely lady. Nancy is undaunted by any task placed before her, her passion, love, and interest in what she does is the hallmark of her character. She simplies and explains every step every process and every procedure why and how it is and should be done. She is very humble and down to earth she opened up her arms and welcomed us to her home made each person comfortable not forgetting she fed us. Her classes were very informational the theory n recipes were well outlined b easy to follow her practical was well illustrated. I will recommend every one to come at Nancy's class....
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