Squires Kitchen

Squires Kitchen – Four Decades of Sugarcraft from Hampshire

The story of Squires Kitchen is the story of a woman who knew her craft, recognised a market and acted with maximum resolve on minimal resources. In 1984 in England that meant: sugarcraft and cake decoration were a niche. Quality materials were scarce, specialist literature was rare, a school for professional cake decorators did not exist. Anyone who wanted to model beautiful sugar flowers, apply filigree decorations to cakes or professionally decorate precisely cut biscuits had to make do – with materials not made for the purpose and without instructions that were current. Beverley Dutton identified these gaps – and filled them, one after another.

The first product, SK Petal Powder flower paste, was not a me-too product but a genuine own development: a paste that could be rolled thinner than anything existing, that enabled fine petals without tearing, that set quickly while holding its shape perfectly. The British patent was proof: this was new. This was better. This was Squires Kitchen. The success of the first product gave the company the means to keep developing – and the conviction that the market had been waiting for better materials.

1987 – The School and the Professionalisation of a Scene

In 1987, only three years after founding, the Squires Kitchen International School was added – initially in Farnham, today on the Blackmoor Estate in Hampshire. This was not a logical extension of a product business but a strategic decision with long-term impact: a company that sells not only materials but also knowledge builds a community, understands its customers' requirements more deeply and stays at the forefront of development, because its own teachers work with the products daily and know what is missing, what could be improved and what the scene will need next.

The school today teaches at professional level in baking, cake decoration and sugarcraft – with tutors who are themselves award-winning cake artists, and courses ranging from fundamentals to masterclasses. Participants come from around the world because the name Squires Kitchen stands for standard and quality in the international sugarcraft scene. This makes Squires Kitchen more than a product manufacturer: an institution that has helped shape an entire scene. For four decades the company was run as a family business – with Beverley Dutton as the driving force and her husband Robert at her side. In 2024 Squires Kitchen was acquired by Rainbow Dust, a British company with similar values and the same focus on quality in cake decoration and sugarcraft.

What Distinguishes Squires Kitchen Products

Sugarcraft materials are good when they process the way you expect – without surprises, without compromises, without having to work against the material. A flower paste that is too firm tears when rolled. One that is too soft will not hold its shape. One that dries too quickly gives no time for filigree work. One that dries too slowly makes precise assembly impossible. Squires Kitchen has refined this balance over decades – always in close exchange with cake artists and professionals who work with the products daily and immediately notice when a product does not deliver what it promises.

The flower paste rolls paper-thin and holds that form: petals barely thicker than the real thing are no feat with the right material. The modelling chocolate combines the workability of a modelling mass with the taste of real chocolate – a combination superior to fondant in many applications. The cutters cut cleanly without crushing the dough. The embossers press clear patterns without damaging the surface. Every product is the result of practical requirements – developed in collaboration with specialists who know what counts in the real bakery.

Product Range at a Glance

Flower pastes · Modelling masses · Cutters · Embossers · Food colours · Sugarcraft accessories

Squires Kitchen at miniSchoggi

A flower paste that rolls to 0.5 mm without tearing is not coincidence – it is the result of four decades of material development that began in a kitchen in Farnham and has never stopped since. A cutter that cuts cleanly without crushing the dough is the result of a precision that Squires Kitchen has set as standard since the first product. An embosser that presses a clear pattern into fondant without damaging the surface is the result of a design understanding that puts function before aesthetics – and that has proved itself over 40 years of practical experience with thousands of cake artists worldwide.

Sugarcraft materials used daily in professional bakeries make a difference in the home bakery too – because the standard against which they were developed is more demanding than occasional household use. miniSchoggi carries Squires Kitchen because that standard belongs directly in the bakery, whether professional or at home. The range at miniSchoggi includes pastes, cutters, embossers and further sugarcraft accessories and is continuously expanded.

One kitchen. One week's housekeeping money. One patent. And the firm conviction that sugarcraft could be better. Squires Kitchen, since 1984.