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For one afternoon, bouquets and cake boards became blank canvases as families gathered to celebrate Parents’ Day through creativity, teamwork and a little friendly competition.
Organised by theSun, the Adorn with Love: Parents’ Day Cake Decorating Contest brought together 20 pairs of participants at Cilantro Culinary and Pastry Academy last Friday, turning a simple baking activity into an opportunity for families and loved ones to spend quality time together.
The event builds on theSun’s ongoing efforts to celebrate family connections. Last year, the publication marked Parents’ Day with a photography contest that encouraged participants to recreate and share cherished family moments.
This year, the celebration took on a more hands-on approach, inviting participants to express their appreciation through cake decorating.
The contest welcomed a diverse mix of participants, including parents and children, siblings, relatives and close friends, each tasked with transforming a plain six-inch vanilla sponge cake into a personalised masterpiece.
From photos to frosting
Armed with decorating tools, food colouring, piping bags and plenty of imagination, participants spent the afternoon crafting cakes inspired by everything from floral arrangements and family portraits to heartfelt messages dedicated to their loved ones.
While the competition offered attractive prizes, the event’s true focus was on celebrating relationships and creating meaningful memories through a shared hands-on experience.
Throughout the venue, conversations flowed as freely as the buttercream. Some pairs carefully planned their designs before piping the first swirl of frosting, while others embraced spontaneity, building their creations layer by layer as ideas emerged. The atmosphere was filled with laughter, encouragement and occasional moments of panic when decorations refused to cooperate.
For many participants, the contest was less about winning and more about spending uninterrupted time together.
Parents worked side by side with their children, sharing ideas and responsibilities, while friends and family members combined their individual strengths to bring their designs to life. The result was a colourful display of creativity that reflected not only artistic talent but also the personalities and relationships behind each cake.
After several hours of decorating, participants presented their finished cakes to the judging panel, which evaluated entries based on creativity, presentation, technique and overall execution.
Creativity takes the cake
Emerging as the Grand Prize winners were Russell Oliver and Sivaletchemi S. Dorai, whose cake impressed judges with its creativity, attention to detail and polished finish.
“We were not expecting to win first prize at all. It’s a very exciting opportunity to experience this with my mum,” said Russell.
Second place went to Punithavathy Govindasamy and Hairunnadiah Hairuddin, while Lim Sooi Ping and Chin Yi Shern secured third place.
The top three winners received prize packages worth more than RM8,700, RM5,300 and RM3,900 respectively, featuring Golden Churn prizes, Lukfook and Brytte & Bonn jewellery, vivo devices, a Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur staycation, Starbucks gift sets, O’Briens vouchers, as well as beauty, wellness and family products from participating sponsors.
Goodie sponsors included Splashmania, Watsons, Nanowhite, Nutox, Herbs of Gold, VitaHealth, Baseup, SWS Kids and Applecrumby.
Consolation prizes were awarded to Nor Azrin Md Radzi and Alika Zaireen Radzi, as well as Pamela Madhavi and Kavinraj Munesvaran, in recognition of their creativity and effort throughout the competition.
Beyond the main winners, every participating pair received a goodie bag worth more than RM1,000, ensuring that everyone left with a token of appreciation for their participation.
Golden Churn Butter also contributed a range of baking-related prizes, including Bake With Yen cash vouchers, Color King ceramic deep plates and Golden Churn goodie bags. Grand prize winners received RM1,000 in Bake With Yen vouchers, while second and third place winners took home RM500 and RM300 vouchers respectively. Additional vouchers and prizes were also awarded to other participants.
Participants were further treated to desserts sponsored by Vanilla Crepe, adding a sweet finish to an already indulgent afternoon.
Powered by partnership
The event was made possible with the support of Golden Churn Butter as the main sponsor, as well as Cilantro Culinary and Pastry Academy as the venue sponsor.
Their contributions helped create a prize pool that rewarded creativity and participation, reflecting the community spirit behind the event.
Piping dreams into reality
As the competition came to a close, participants carefully packed their creations into cake boxes, posed for photographs and exchanged compliments on each other’s work.
While only a handful of teams took home the top prizes, the afternoon demonstrated that the event’s biggest reward could not be measured by trophies or vouchers.
In an age where families are often pulled in different directions by work, school and daily commitments, the contest offered something increasingly valuable — a chance to slow down, work together and create something meaningful side by side.
The decorated cakes may have been the centrepiece of the event, but it was the shared laughter, teamwork and conversations behind them that truly captured the spirit of Parents’ Day.
For one afternoon at least, love was expressed not through grand gestures, but through carefully piped frosting, colourful decorations and the simple joy of creating something together.
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