She’s a cake artist with an astonishing list of celebrity clients, from The Beatles and the Beckhams, to Madonna, Gordon Ramsay and Queen Elizabeth II.
Now Mich Turner MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) has set her sights on Dubai, whipping up one of her legendary cakes for a VIP supper being held at Expo’s UK Pavilion on Thursday, in honour of UK National Day.
The four-foot masterpiece has eight tiers, and features 1,000 hand-moulded sugar petals and Union Jack detailing. The base itself has a width of three square metres and a depth of eight inches.
Live updates: follow the latest news on Prince William's visit to the UAE
“It was a huge honour to be asked to bake for Expo and the cake we’ve produced is spectacular,” says Turner. “The brief was to create a cake that represents the nation, so it had to have stature, it had to be majestic, and it had to represent the diversity and unity of the United Kingdom.
“The base is a layered vanilla cake with chocolate ganache buttercream that is covered in frost fondant icing and draped in the Union Jack flag,” explains Turner. “This tier alone is made of at least 30 kilograms of cake batter and more than 5kg of chocolate has gone into creating the ganache.”
Walking into Little Venice Cake Company in Dubai will be like stepping into my world. There’ll be red-carpet glamour, prestige, quality and the theatrics we’re known for
Mich Turner,
cake artist and founder of Little Venice Cake Company
Turner began working on the cake back in December and has spent more than 600 painstaking hours baking, hand-moulding, hand-painting and hand-piping. The top seven tiers were constructed in the UK and flown over to Dubai earlier this week in special refrigerated planes.
Turner then baked and decorated the base tier in the kitchens of Atlantis, The Palm before the final assembly at the UK Pavilion.
“The logistics of creating a cake of this magnitude are pretty complex,” says Turner. “A huge amount of work has gone into it, but it carries such gravitas to represent the nation.”
Each tier has been designed to represent the qualities of the UK, with nods to science and innovation, creative arts, music and sporting achievements etched on to each layer. The top tier then culminates in a sphere to represent Al Wasl Dome, a “crowning glory” that is also draped in a Union Jack flag made of icing.
“From one foundation of the United Kingdom, our pillars of strength grow, culminating in a real gratitude to Dubai and Expo at the top,” explains Turner. “There’s also a tribute to British royalty, with 70 hand-moulded white sugar roses representing the platinum jubilee of her majesty the queen.”
The base of the cake will be eaten at Thursday's dinner, while the top seven tiers will remain on display at the UK Pavilion until the end of the Expo.
For Turner, baking the high profile cake has been a “fantastic honour, privilege, opportunity and challenge”, but it certainly hasn’t been a first. Known as the Queen of Couture Cakes, Turner has created a birthday cake for former US president Obama’s daughter Sasha in 2009, as well as baked for music mogul Simon Cowell, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and rock star Ozzy Osborne.
She says her most memorable commissions were Pierce Brosnan and McCartney’s wedding cakes, while David Beckham’s 30th birthday cake was a bit more of a challenge.
“I was only given a 48-hour notice for David Beckham’s birthday cake and, at the time, he was living in Madrid,” she says. “I had to bake it, decorate it, box it and transport it in that time so it was a tall order and the only time I’ve had to physically work on a cake through the night.
“When we landed, the pilot personally escorted us off the plane and through the terminal building to make sure the cake got there safely.”
For Turner, however, one cake takes the crown. “I made the diamond wedding anniversary cake for her majesty the queen and Prince Philip as a gift that was delivered to and set up in Buckingham Palace for a private royal family event,” she says.
“The top tier was a traditional fruit cake that the queen later took to Sandringham to enjoy for Christmas.”
The visit to Expo will be one of many jaunts to Dubai for Turner, whose Little Venice Cake Company will be opening at Atlantis, The Royal later this year. “Walking into the Little Venice Cake Company in Dubai will be like stepping into my world,” says Turner. “There’ll be red-carpet glamour, prestige, quality and the constant theatrics we’re known for.
“It’s an honour to take our place among the incredible food concepts opening at Atlantis The Royal and we can’t wait to bring a slice of our own special magic.”
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday
AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)
Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)
Benevento v Parma (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)
Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)
Lazio v Spezia (5pm)
Napoli v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)
Torino v Juventus (8pm)
Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
