What is Colour Mill?
Colour Mill is an Australian-owned food colouring brand, which makes it a natural favourite for local bakers. Its Oil Blend formula is oil-dispersed rather than water-based — meaning the dye is suspended in oil rather than water, which gives it a unique compatibility with fat-rich products like buttercream, chocolate, and cream.
The result: vivid, streak-free colour that blends smoothly into fatty mixtures without the graininess you sometimes get from gel colours. Colour Mill also offers an Aqua Blend range for water-compatible applications, so it covers both ends of the spectrum.
Key features of Colour Mill:
- Oil Blend formula works in buttercream, chocolate, ganache, and cream
- UV and fade-resistant — colours hold under lights and over time
- Streak-free and concentrated — a little goes a long way
- Vegan friendly and halal suitable
- Made in Australia
What is Chefmaster?
Chefmaster is an American brand that produces professional gel food colouring. Its Liqua-Gel formula is water-based but highly concentrated, giving intense colour payoff from small amounts. Chefmaster has been a staple in professional cake decorating kitchens for decades and offers an enormous range of shades — over 50 colours.
Key features of Chefmaster:
- Water-based Liqua-Gel formula
- Extremely concentrated — 1–2 drops colours a full batch of fondant
- Wide colour range including unique shades
- Works in fondant, buttercream, royal icing, and batters
- Long shelf life
Key Differences: Oil-Based vs Gel Food Colouring
The most important difference between the two brands is the base formula.
| Feature | Colour Mill Oil Blend | Chefmaster Liqua-Gel |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | Oil-dispersed | Water-based gel |
| Best for | Buttercream, chocolate, ganache, cream | Fondant, royal icing, buttercream, batters |
| Works in chocolate? | Yes — won't seize | No — water causes seizing |
| Colour vibrancy | Very high | Very high |
| Fade resistance | Excellent (UV-resistant) | Good |
| Made in | Australia | USA |
The key rule: oil-based colours work in oil-based or fat-based products; water-based colours work in water-based products. Add a water-based gel colour to melted chocolate and it will seize almost immediately. Use an oil-based colour in meringue or royal icing and it can weep or separate.
Colour Mill vs Chefmaster: Buttercream
Both brands work well in standard American buttercream (butter + icing sugar), but Colour Mill often produces cleaner results. Because buttercream contains fats, the oil-dispersed dye blends more evenly — you get fewer streaks and the colour develops fully with minimal mixing.
Chefmaster also performs well in buttercream. The Liqua-Gel formula is so concentrated that even deeply saturated shades like red and black only need a small amount, which minimises any bitterness that can come from overloading colour.
Verdict for buttercream: Both work well. Colour Mill edges ahead for blend-in ease; Chefmaster is a reliable performer and useful when you need a specific shade not available in the Colour Mill range.
For food colouring for buttercream, keeping one of each brand on hand gives you maximum flexibility.
Colour Mill vs Chefmaster: Chocolate and Ganache
This is where Colour Mill wins outright. Melted chocolate and ganache are fat-based, and any water introduced to the mix causes the chocolate to seize — turning glossy, fluid chocolate into a grainy, lumpy mess.
Colour Mill Oil Blend is specifically designed for this application. It disperses through melted chocolate, candy melts, and white chocolate ganache without seizing, giving you vibrant coloured drips, coloured chocolate decorations, and tinted ganache that stays smooth and glossy.
Chefmaster's standard Liqua-Gel is not suitable for chocolate without careful technique. Chefmaster does make oil-based colours specifically for chocolate, but their standard gel range will cause seizing if added to pure melted chocolate.
Verdict for chocolate: Colour Mill Oil Blend. No contest.
Colour Mill vs Chefmaster: Fondant and Royal Icing
Here, the dynamic flips. Fondant is sugar-based and tolerates water-based colours well. Chefmaster Liqua-Gel blends beautifully into fondant — a small drop kneaded through produces even, deep colour without stickiness.
Royal icing is water-sensitive in a different way: adding oil to royal icing prevents it from setting properly. Colour Mill's Aqua Blend works in royal icing (it is water-based), but the standard Oil Blend does not.
Chefmaster gel works well in both fondant and royal icing.
Verdict for fondant and royal icing: Chefmaster (or Colour Mill Aqua Blend for royal icing).
Colour and Range Comparison
Both brands offer a wide spectrum of shades. Colour Mill's Oil Blend range covers all the core colours plus specialty shades like Dusty Rose, Steel, Caramel, and their popular Black Oil Blend (a favourite for getting true black buttercream without bitterness). The Aqua Blend range mirrors most of these shades for water-based applications.
Chefmaster's range is extensive — over 50 Liqua-Gel shades — and includes some distinctive colours that Colour Mill doesn't stock. Their Buckeye Brown, Coal Black, and Super Red are cult favourites among professional decorators.
If you want to explore the full range available in Australia, browse food colouring at Baking Pleasures — both brands are stocked in store and online.
Which Brand Should You Buy?
The honest answer: both deserve a place in your decorating kit, but they serve different jobs.
Choose Colour Mill if you:
- Colour buttercream regularly
- Work with chocolate, ganache, or candy melts
- Want UV-resistant, fade-proof colours for fondant decorations exposed to light
- Prefer an Australian-made product
Choose Chefmaster if you:
- Work a lot with fondant or royal icing
- Need very deep, saturated colours (red, black, navy) without large amounts of colour
- Want a wider shade range to choose from
For most home bakers, starting with Colour Mill Oil Blend covers the majority of use cases — buttercream and chocolate being the two most common colouring situations. As your decorating toolkit grows, Chefmaster fills the gaps for fondant and icing work.
Shop Food Colouring at Baking Pleasures
Baking Pleasures stocks both Colour Mill and Chefmaster alongside a full range of other professional food colouring brands — including AmeriColor, Wilton, and more. Whether you're shopping online or visiting the store in Tweed Heads NSW, the team can help you find the right colour for your next project.
Whatever you're making — a bold birthday drip cake, delicate fondant flowers, or a batch of pastel macarons — the right food colouring makes all the difference.