About Abby and Sundeis Cakes & Patisserie

My grandmother owned a bakery. I never got to taste her bread as an adult, but I grew up seeing and hearing my mother light up when she talked about it. There was something in those conversations that stayed with me for a very long time : this idea that something someone made with their hands could leave a mark on people that lasts for decades.

That is what Sundeis is about. Not cakes as a product, but cakes as something people remember.

The Story Behind the Name

Sundeis is a name with a few layers to it, which feels appropriate. It draws from a family name that sounds like both a sundae and a Sunday — and Sunday, for me, has always been the day for the people you love, for slowing down, for being together. It felt like the right word to carry all of that.

Image of Abby the Head Chef or Patisserie Chef at Sundeis on her graduation day from Le Cordon Bleu. She is grinning. Based in Purley, London

A single tiered cake covered in a crescent of fruit served with a tower of matching cupcakes in Nonsuch Mansion, Surrey

From Banking to Le Cordon Bleu

For over a decade I worked as a Project Manager in banking and financial services. It is a world that demands precision, structure, the ability to manage complexity and to deliver under pressure. I was good at it. But alongside it, quietly and consistently, I had been making cakes.

Not professionally, at first. For over twenty years I made cakes for friends and family, taking decorating courses, refining techniques, learning what worked and what did not. The business was registered early on, but I approached it carefully, building skills before scaling ambition.

When I eventually left banking, I enrolled in an Executive MBA at Hult International Business School, primarily based in London. It was a course that took me around the world, placed me in rooms with people from every kind of background, and sharpened the way I think about running a business. The analytical rigour I had built in project management deepened further, and so did my understanding of how to work with people, solve problems creatively, and look beyond the obvious for solutions.

But the pull towards patisserie never went away. I had been looking at the Diplôme de Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London for years. I finally committed.

Le Cordon Bleu London : Diplôme de Pâtisserie

I completed the full Diplôme de Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London towards the end of 2019. Le Cordon Bleu is widely regarded as one of the foremost culinary institutions in the world, and the patisserie programme is rigorous in every respect — classical French techniques, precision work, and an uncompromising standard of finish that becomes second nature.

I was one of the older students in my cohort, though you would not guess it. My classmates were extraordinary — many of them choosing patisserie as a first career rather than a second, coming from all over the world with a seriousness of purpose that was genuinely inspiring. I made friends I am still in close contact with today. I visited one recently in Singapore, where we spent time exploring pandan cakes and local desserts that I found quite extraordinary.

It was one of the best things I have ever done.

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A Global Eye, a Local Kitchen

Every significant experience I have had has fed into the way I work at Sundeis. The discipline of project management. The global perspective of the EMBA. The classical training of Le Cordon Bleu. And years of travel, particularly across Asia, where I have been fascinated by the way countries like Japan and South Korea have taken French patisserie techniques and applied them alongside local flavours with extraordinary results.

My grandmother's bakery was rooted in a place and a community. Sundeis is the same — based in Purley, in South London, serving the people around me. But the thinking behind every cake is informed by everything I have seen and learned and tasted across a much wider world. In time, I would love to explore more of this with British flavours specifically. There is so much to work with.

What This Means for Your Cake

I bring the same rigour to a wedding cake or a celebration commission that I once brought to a complex banking project. Every order is managed with attention to detail, clear communication, and a commitment to delivering exactly what was agreed, beautifully.

I use the finest ingredients. I do not cut corners. And I am genuinely interested in understanding what you want the cake to mean — because the best ones always mean something.

If you would like to discuss a commission, I would be delighted to hear from you.

a selection of individual patisserie and dessert items on a display stand. In Purley, London

CREDENTIALS

Diplôme de Pâtisserie
Le Cordon Bleu London

Executive MBA
Hult International Business School

Over 20 years of cake making
Professional and private commissions

Over 15 years in banking
Project management and programme delivery

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