Claire Clark and Sarah Crouchman launch Pretty Sweet patisserie service

Pastry chefs Claire Clark and Sarah Crouchman have launched a high-end patisserie catering service aimed at supplying hotels, restaurants and events.

Pretty Sweet will offer bespoke sugar and chocolate centrepieces, as well as cakes, cookies, desserts, Alice in Wonderland-inspired afternoon tea pastries and petits fours. All items will be handmade using the highest quality and seasonal ingredients.

Clark and Crouchman's first client is coffee and tea supplier Whittard. They will be providing British cakes for the afternoon tea menu being served in Whittard's new café outlets.

The announcement of Pretty Sweet was made at the launch of Clark's second book last night, 80 Cakes From Around The World, at London's Capital hotel.

Clark and Crouchman met at the Portman Inter-Continental hotel, London, where they worked together as young pastry chefs during the early 1990s.

Clark went on to work at Claridge's and the Wolseley in London, the French Laundry in California, and more recently as a freelance chef consultant. She became the first British female pastry chef to be awarded the Master of Culinary Arts (MCA) in 1997 and received an MBE in 2011 for her services to the food industry. Crouchman has worked at the Ritz hotel and Capital hotel in London and since 2006 has been executive pastry chef at Rhubarb Food Design.

80 Cakes From Around The World is published tomorrow by Absolute Press, priced at £20.