Laura Moser - Pastry & Cake Design

Laura Moser Pastry & Cake Design is a Geneva cake studio, as its site title puts it, with its workshop at Route de Thonon 148 in Vésenaz. It makes custom cakes, classic cakes, cupcakes, cookies and cakes for weddings and events, and it is led by Laura Moser, who founded the business in 2009 and has attended seminars and courses in New York every year since 2008.

The person behind the studio

The "Qui sommes-nous" page tells a long and unusual route into cake design. Laura grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. After finishing higher education she studied business while running her own catering company. She then enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in New York to pursue her aim of becoming a chef, and during that time did an internship at a Relais & Châteaux property, where, the page says, her passion for desserts was confirmed. After graduating she worked as a pastry assistant for Abigail Kirsch, described as a luxury caterer, in New York, learning from what the page calls the biggest names in the field.

In 2004 she came to Geneva and worked at Louis Vuitton for almost five years. The page says that job brought her into contact with a very demanding clientele. Afterward she went back to pastry: she took courses with the cake decorator Elisa Strauss, did an internship with Colette Peters and returned to the Culinary Institute of America to refine her skills. Those experiences, the page says, persuaded her to launch Laura Moser Pastry & Cake Design in 2009. In 2012 she opened her laboratoire, a workspace dedicated to making her creations. The page closes by noting that she is married and the mother of 2 young children.

The site also says that her interest in cooking goes back to helping her grandmother in the kitchen as a child; 25 years later, the page says, she is a cake decorator and the founder of her own business. It also says that she brings the knowledge and techniques from the annual New York seminars back into every cake, cupcake and sweet she makes.

How the studio describes its work

The about page talks about Laura "et de sa talentueuse équipe" (and her talented team), so the work is not described as a one-person operation, though no team members are named and no team size is given. The page says each creation is built on a large collection of recipes gathered over the years, that each piece is unique, that every step is strictly controlled and every detail carefully shaped, and that Laura insists on first-quality ingredients and a balance between flavor and appearance. The site sums up its specialty as the personalized creation of cakes, cupcakes and decorated biscuits.

Weddings sit in a section called "Mariages et Events". Its tagline on the homepage is "Le gâteau de vos rêves pour le jour de votre vie" (the cake of your dreams for the day of your life), and the section page says Laura makes made-to-measure cakes for weddings, birthdays, baptisms and religious celebrations, inviting visitors to look at past work and get in touch. The same menu lists pages for personalized cakes, classic cakes, cupcakes and cookies, an FAQ, testimonials and press. A couple might combine a wedding cake with cupcakes or decorated cookies from the same maker, but the site does not describe wedding packages or sets.

Ordering and getting there

The contact page, titled "Commandes et contacts", asks for an email with your name, phone number, the date of the event, the theme or occasion, the number of guests and a few details about what you would like made. The team then contacts you to talk through the order and, if needed, to set up a meeting to discuss it in more detail. There is also a message form on the page with name, email and phone as required fields.

The details printed on every page are the email laura@laura-moser.com, the mobile number 079 341 04 75 and opening hours of Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00. The page header gives the address as Route de Thonon 148, 1222 Vésenaz, while the address block on the contact page gives the same street and postcode with the place name Collonge-Bellerive.

The workshop is not a shop on a high street, and the site's directions are worth reading before a first visit. The laboratoire is at La Pallanterie, just past what used to be the Trois-Huit, in the dark gray buildings that replaced it. It is in the same building as Pneus Claude, Psaros and Ship Shop, but at the back and upstairs. You drive in as if you were having your tires changed, go around the building on the left side and arrive below the workshop, which faces the police. The page adds that if you reach the McDonald's, you have gone too far. The directions are written for arrival by car; the site gives no public transport details.

What the site leaves open

Several things a couple planning from abroad would want to know are not on the pages.

• Prices. No prices are published for wedding cakes or any other product.
• Lead time. The site gives no booking or order lead time.
• Delivery. Nothing on the pages says whether cakes are delivered and set up at a venue, or how far the studio travels.
• Tastings. No tasting is mentioned.
• Language. The pages are written in French, apart from a "Send Us a Message" form heading. Given Laura's years in New York the question of English is an obvious one to raise, but the site itself does not say consultations are offered in English.
• Flavors. No flavor list for wedding cakes appears on the about, contact or wedding pages.

The site's menu also links to an FAQ page, which may cover some of these points; either way, each is worth putting in the first email.

Who it suits

Laura Moser suits a couple marrying in the Geneva area who wants a decorated, made-to-order cake from a designer with a long, documented training record, and who is happy to start with an email and possibly a meeting at the workshop. The combination of a named founder, stated founding year and a detailed biography gives more to go on than many small cake makers offer.

The caveats are the gaps. There are no prices, no lead times and no delivery terms on the site, and the pages are in French. A couple marrying further from Geneva, or on a tight timeline, should confirm delivery and availability before planning around this studio.