A sink hole appearing outside your shop was not the best time to launch a business for Samantha Hamer, but her cry for help was answered by the local media who spread the word they were open for business and Cake Innovations took off.

Now three years down the line there is no sinking feeling for Samantha and her co-director Christine McGrath as they create bespoke celebration cakes and run their sugar craft shop in Lawrance Square, Northfleet.

Samantha said: “We are not just a cake business. We are the sixth emergency service after the AA for cake repairs and broken ovens.

"We provide a counselling service for would-be decorators stressed with relatives’ cakes and the professionals when things go wrong.”

The two directors immerse themselves in the artistry of cake decoration and are qualified to teach, running classes for all experience levels. They also send out a regular newsletter, promoting new products, classes and advice.

They are in the process of creating a centre of excellence for teaching, bringing in tutors from other parts of the UK as well as Italy to share their love of decorating.

Samantha said: “We get to know our customers well. They return time and time again for our wit and banter, sharing their latest creations with us and any difficulties they had.

“This enables us to share any dos and don’ts with other customers too. We create artistic and bespoke cakes for theatres to wedding cakes and many well-known personalities have ordered from us.

“Our wedding service is tailored to our customers’ needs. After consultation we create a design board to enable them to visualise their dream cake and co-ordinate colour and texture.”

The company has also supported the Help Ruby Laura Smash Cancer local appeal providing cupcakes for their fundraising and supported the British Heart Foundation with a stall selling themed cookies.

The Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards are supported by the Messenger and each entrant gets a free profile in our papers and online.

Entries have now closed but you can find out more at www.dgbawards.co.uk

This year’s sponsors are: Barnes Roffe, Dartford council, Gravesham council, KM Media Group, Lloyds Bank, Thomson Snell and Passmore, University of Greenwich and JonesFM.