A self-described “modern day Martha Stewart”, Alice is married to a navy ship commander and is a stay-at-home mum to two-year old daughter, Isobel.

Not only that, Alice is part of a regular book club and “ladies group” where bringing baking is mandatory, and is now a fierce, unspoken competition.

Alice owes her baking prowess to her grandmother and High School Home Economics teacher, Miss Englebresten. Additionally, her passion to bake comes from a love of eating too!

Alice uses Chelsea Sugar in her baking because it is “high quality, reliable and has no fillers.” She also uses Chelsea’s Dark Cane Sugar in her signature dish, Cherry Ripe Chocolate Cake, and loves the Jam-Setting Sugar because of its ease of use. Her favourite Chelsea product is the Icing Sugar because “there are never any lumps!”

Alice’s passion for baking stems from a passion to eat but her most memorable baking moment was when she baked her daughter’s first birthday cake – a Fairies & Mushroom house!

Ben studied a civil engineering degree at university before winding up in New Zealand where he now works as an engineer for Fletcher Construction in Auckland.

He has always had a fascination for building things and thoroughly enjoys the different technical aspects involved with baking, as it provides an outlet for him to let the creative juices flow. He remains a “constructor” and a master of structural cakes, most recently baking a digger for one of his workmates, as well as making scale model bulldozer cakes with all components being completely edible!

Ben loves seeing the look on people’s faces when they are presented with his baking and says his most memorable baking moment was seeing his workmate’s expression upon experiencing that digger birthday cake.

Ben regularly uses Chelsea Caster Sugar because it is nice and fine and loves to use Chelsea Icing Sugar for decorating cakes, making fondant and because it is gluten free.

However, the place where she truly honed her baking skills was at her boarding school in Nelson where she has very fond memories of spending time in the school kitchen in the weekends.

She is now a part-time nurse at Christchurch Hospital where she works in operating theatres assisting surgeons. Coincidentally, she seems to be following in her grandmother’s footsteps, a nurse and baker herself, and also a key inspiration in Emily’s life.

Being a mother-of-two, Emily says her most memorable baking moments are when she bakes and decorates homemade biscuits with her kids.

Chelsea Dark Cane Sugar is one of her supermarket staples – Emily adds it to her coffee and uses it as a replacement for muscovado.

Emily loves how Chelsea Sugars don’t clump up or go lumpy, with her favourite Chelsea Sugar product being the Jam-Setting Sugar “because it is a key ingredient in many of my UK recipes that call for that type of sugar, and finally we have it here!”

At the age of 17 Esme had already landed a job as a Legal Secretary having left high school early to work as an office junior. A huge turning point in her life was her Gran’s passing in the year 2000, which made her seriously rethink her career in the law industry. Desperate for a change, Esme moved to Wellington and now works with the IRD where she’s worked her way up to investigations team leader.

Esme’s most memorable baking moment is also her first baking experience which took place when she was six years old baking a chocolate cake with her grandmother – a cake that she was “immensely proud” of.

Wherever she goes she can’t help but be drawn to the kitchen. Even when visiting friends, she says she somehow ends up being the one doing all the hosting. Since her family aren’t the “lovey-dovey type, love is shown with good kai.”

Esme is a big Chelsea Sugar fan and considers Chelsea’s range to be reliable, trustworthy, and superior to all other brands. She dislikes how other sugar brands use “fillers” in their icing sugar, and can always rely on Chelsea’s Icing Sugar (her favourite product) to be refined and gluten free.

A favourite ‘go to’ baking recipe is the Chocolate Mud Cake featured on the Chelsea website, which she uses to whip up and create her own delicious version - a Raspberry and Chocolate Mudcake.

Ben credits his passion for baking from not only watching the woman in his family, but UK-celebrity chef Nigella Lawson as well!

Hamish’s most memorable baking moment was the look on his mum’s face when she saw the wedding cake he had baked for her, “she was speechless!”

He is a fan of Chelsea’s Demerara and Dark Cane Sugars as they provide a rich flavour without being too sweet and because a lot of Nigella’s recipes call for them.

Chelsea Sugar is the sugar brand Hamish considers to be the most trustworthy to bake with and he claims that the Icing Sugar is his ultimate favourite because” it’s fantastic to bake with, is gluten free and is so good to eat!”

Hayley’s passion for baking was ignited only recently after watching Cupcake Wars and being inspired by the decorating of the cupcakes. Her best baking moment came when she baked her first batch of cupcakes, not only did they taste good they came out absolutely perfect! Alongside this, friends convinced Hayley to apply for the show after they sampled a few batches of baking – the rest is history.

Hayley has grown up with Chelsea (with her mum and grandmother swearing by it in in all types of baking) and considers it a household and trustworthy Sugar brand. She recommends all bakers to “stick to what they know and it will taste great.”

Hayley’s favourite Chelsea Sugar product is Golden Syrup because it goes with everything “from drizzled on top of crumpets, baked within scones and even on a teaspoon in a cup of coffee!”

Because times were tough, it was Mel’s mother and nana who not only taught her the importance of making things from scratch, but that “you don’t need more than a few dollars to make a beautiful cake.”

Her most memorable baking moment was the first time she made a chequered cake and the enormous pride she felt when she first cut into it - because it had worked!

Mel loves Chelsea’s Organic Raw Sugar but consistently uses Chelsea Caster Sugar in her baking because she claims it is always fine and never clumps, unlike some other sugar brands.

Chelsea Caster Sugar is her all-time favourite Chelsea product because she says it is versatile and always pure.

Rose has been doing hair and make-up ever since she left school to get her hairdressing qualification at the young age of 15.

She loves how baking can bring so much joy to the people around you and forms the foundation of every celebration with friends and family. For Rose, “food is love, when you love and care about someone you should bake for them.”

Now a mother-of-two to her fiancée Will, Rose is a passionate vegetarian and strong advocate for using organic products wherever possible. She also likes to use her senses when she cooks – smelling, looking and always tasting!

Rose loves Chelsea Organic Raw Sugar and respects Chelsea for having such a reliable, established and trustworthy product. Her favourite Chelsea Sugar product is Icing Sugar as she says “it is the perfect ingredient for so many tasty creations.”