Khiomal Nurse is as “artsy” as they come. He sings, dances, acts, and now these days he’s a cake decorator.
Yes, that’s right, he’s one of the faces behind the top-class cakes coming out Yumz and Crumz for the last three years.
Many will remember Khiomal the 2008 Party Monarch winner and one of the front-line singers of the soca band Krosfyah with strong vocals and a captivating waistline.
After making a business decision back in 2015 to stop competing, Khiomal took on a new passion, one he never knew he had.
In an interview with EASY at Yumz and Crumz, Khiomal said after having some ‘downtime’ he discovered a new love.
“I’m slowly but surely realising that I’m an overall creative person. I’ve always been into dance theatre and acting and drawing. My business partner Doug invited me to help him with some stuff and he taught me how to pipe my first cupcake and I realised I had a knack for it. I went on YouTube and basically taught myself how to do stuff and I realised I’m able to do things that I didn’t even know I could do. I kept moving from strength to strength decorating cakes.”
“First it was only butter-cream, then we moved to fondant and just went from there. I had a little more down-time so it kind of segued into the cakes and other things. I can bake but Doug is much better at that. I’m more into the aesthetics and the look. I am more into the design,” Khiomal said.
Three years later, he said business at Yumz and Crumz was going great and he is enjoying every minute of it.
“I never saw myself doing this. I do a lot of creative things but never thought I would be into cakes. But I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s been great. It’s a different learning experience. I’m very nocturnal so I’ve had to get accustomed to getting up earlier.
“It’s pretty interesting being an entrepreneur on that level dealing with the business aspect of things. But it’s been awesome getting to know the clients. We always get good reviews and we have a lot of returning customers,” he added.
Khiomal told EASY it warmed his heart daily when he saw the reaction of his customers when receiving their cakes.
“It makes me so happy to see the joy that it brings to people. We have been so blessed to have a great response.
“Our cakes taste great and they look amazing too,” he said with a charming smile.
Khiomal has been excited about the opportunity to do weddings.
“The highlight for me has been the weddings. You have the opportunity to make someone’s day great and their dream come true. We have people that three months down the road would call you back and still be thanking you for a great cake,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.
He, and his business partner are now looking to take the business even further.
“We are just really grateful that we get to do what we love but we are hoping to grow more. The dream is to one day have a store front. Everything is made to order. But we are taking baby steps. Don’t want to take on too much as yet,” he said.
And though he is busy, Khiomal said he is still entertaining, as that is his first love.
“I’m still with the band Krosfyah, I still work at Sandals, I’m also still with G-Syndicate and still do solo performances. So it’s all about managing my time well. But I’m very blessed that I’m able to complain that I’m busy,” Khiomal added. (DB)
