Everyday campus heroes: Cake Boy
Not all heroes wear capes – in fact, this one bakes cakes! We met with the one and only Arkady de Jong (also known as @rkd.cakeboy) to find out a little more about why he does what he does… and to get our hands on some free cake.
Affectionately known as Cake Boy, Arkady turns heads with the outrageously aesthetic slices of heaven that he brings to campus every week to share with other students. While you might be surprised to find out that he didn’t complete a Bachelor of Baking, Cake Boy is studying a Diploma of Language Studies in French and German having just recently completed his Bachelor of Arts.
So, what inspires Cake Boy to bake?
“I thought it might be a nice thing to do as an icebreaker and to make it easier for everyone to get to know each other in tutorials,” he says.
“It started quite small and then progressed into bigger and bigger, more adventurous cakes, now I’m always trying to do something more exciting each time.”
Arkady learned the basics of baking from his mum, and first started sharing his creations with his highschool classmates to add a slice of sweetness to the HSC.
Cake Boy wouldn’t reveal his secrets to great icing with us – saying it was like asking a magician to reveal his tricks. However, he did disclose that while Italian meringue butter cream is his go-to, in the end the most important thing is how it tastes.
And boy do his cakes taste good.
Follow Cake Boy @rkd.cakeboy on Insta to see his creations, or spot him feeding the masses somewhere near Fisher Library on a Thursday.
Do you know an everyday campus hero? Let us know!