I have to ask you all, some of those cakes that make it to the top finalists and some which actually win, do you really like them? Would you like one for your wedding?

There is a lady that has won twice in a row in the last competitions (can't remember her name) and she was actually judging on the most recent competition they had. Her cake was complicated and pretty but I wouldn't want a cake like that for my wedding... I mean she does pretty work but I just wonder sometimes about those cake designs ...

Maybe they make them like that to show all the complex techniques they can do more than the overall look of the cake?

What do you all think?

Some I would; some not at all.

I found it amusing when they did the couture wedding cake contest. The one that reminded me of an actual couture gown was done by a woman wearing a scrunchie!

I am so glad you posted this. I thought I was the only one. I can't stand these cakes. I have watched a lot of these and I never like the cakes. They are soooooo decorated they just look ridiculous in my opinion. While I can appreciate all the hard work and respect the decorator's obvious talent I would never pick one of these cakes out for my wedding.

I'm sure considering the amount of work that goes into them, they were just made for show and for competition purposes..If they were to sell those cakes, they would range from 10 Gran and up..I liked all of them.. It's amazing to know how much talent some people have in cake decorating..I would love to enter if only I lived in OK or close, not that I'll win, but just the thought that you enter in something very prestigious and to be in the same level as those people. It really inspires me to watch these shows...I don't despise them for coming up with such beautiful cakes, they all deserved to win. I'd rather see cakes like that than go to Costco or some cheap bakery and see cheap cakes, cheap in price and looks.. Although I would still eat it , if offered to me.and that's my opnion...let's all eat cake !! bake bake bake

I just talked to my husband last night about this! I don't think these would be actual wedding cakes (except for the occasional - I want something different bride), but it does give them an opportunity to showcase talents and techniques. Maybe they should rename it to "tiered" competition.

i enjoyed watching that show, but was just a thinking i wish people who were already masters wouldnt compete. like the winner, she is a cake decorating teacher at a colinary school and is good enough to compete on the food network channel. i was very happy with the 2nd place winner, just a commom lady who bakes and decorates cakes.


although truthfully i would be trilled to death to be good enough to even take 10th place!!!!


melody

I loved seeing the cakes. I walked through them several times. It is just amazing the things people can do with icing!!
Taresa

As I watched this lastnight, I thought those cakes looked familiar...somebody posted the pictures from their trip to this show in the events gallery. I loved the little lady that they said was always late...I really like her black and white cake. I saved that picture for inspiration when they were first put in the gallery.

I also think that these cakes are mostly to show off their skills and talents. Who cares if they don't actually turn up on a bride's table at her wedding! I love looking at all cakes. I can't remember seeing anything "ugly". Different, maybe, but definately not ugly. I would love to one day take part in something like that. I just don't think I have enough of the originality part!

Bronwen Weber is a pastry instructor but she doesn't have her own shop as many of the others do. They are absolutely gorgeous cakes, exquisite detail but I think something will all that stuff on it isn't going to taste so good, either.

Right, the idea of the contest is to showcase technique. Some of those cakes took HOURS to make, there's no way anyone would spend that kinda time on a cake for one event. But they were all very talented and wonderful.

Everything on it is icing...either Fondant, Gumpaste or Royal ICing..and we all know how they taste..and they were all dummy cakes anyway, still I think they all did a great job. I like Browen Webber. She deserved it. Better her than that Charm Cake guy (who BTW was not there) who does nothing but fool around and is never serious, even in a serious cake competition. like he's there to kid around and play around, and not to make a beautiful cake..no wonder he does not win. just my honest opinion..

Do any of the people that compete on the Food Network contests even go to those shows? I've never seen any of them (Mike, Duff, Colette, etc.) and one of those.

I actually got to go to this last year and the cakes were amazing. They didn't even look real. Remember they were judged on like, 10 different things, complexity/difficulty of design (or something similar!) being one of them. I am always in awe of people who can do those royal icing strings. My wedding cake was fairly simple, it just had some stringwork and beads. I would probably pick it out again! I'm not into crazy designs. Though, those look fun to make!

I think you must think of it like you would the couture runway shows in the fashion industry. They are exaggerated versions of the actual item.

I also watched this show last night and loved the black/white cake the the lady who is alway late made. In fact, I thought they were all beautiful, but I didn't think the one that looked like the geometical star looked like a cake at all. I also enjoyed looking at all the birthday/occasion cakes.
I thought it was really cool to match up the wedding cake with a piece of china that they picked out, however, when you hear about how many hours were spent on making these cakes, (some were 250 hours!), there is no way I would sink my teeth into one! Now I know some of these were cake dummies, but could these bakers really make an edible cake just as beautiful in a reasonalbe amount of time to eat one? I would like to see a show on that, plus a contest with just amature contestants.

Now whether or not all of the cake was edible or a dummy I don't know, but it did show one of the cakes being cut and tasted by the judges.

Yes, some of them are dummies and some are not..it depends what category they are entering.. One lady carried her huge 5 layer wedding cake on one shoulder..if that was real cake, no way she can pick up and carry it that way.

Thinking of is as a "runway show" is a neat concept! It really is like that When I see runway shows I always think, "Who would really wear that stuff?!?!!?"

I think there was some very pretty ones, and there were some that weren't my taste. Funny think about taste though, is that we all have different tastes and like different things.

I agree, these cakes are done more to show off what they can do, rather than it be a cake that someone would actually pay for. They get judge on difficulty as well as perfection. They are looking how the themed fit in with the cake design, as well as the over all apperance.

I know one year the difference between the winner and runner up was 1/2 of a point. They had two that they thought were very well executed and pretty much had to find fault in one of them.

They are tough judges. So you may have a cake that is very pretty, but has small mistakes or imperfections that doesn't win, while there is a cake that isn't quite your tastes, but flawless, that does.

I do know that the rest of the show is broken down in to groupings based on your experince level. So there are parts where you are pitted with people that may have the same experince as you.

But with the Wedding Competion, I think you go into that one knowing you are competing with some serious people. Weither they are your average baker or they are very well know.

THE CONTESTS, HOW DO YOU GET INFO?

wHEN/WHERE ARE THEY NEXT... OK, AUSTIN ETC? i WOULD LOVE TO
GO TO ONE JUST TO SEE WHAT ITS LIKE.

ANYONE KNOW?

TIA

The one in Tulsa, OK is in October. http://www.oksugarartshow.com/

There is one in Austin on April 1. I posted the info in the event forum. http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-15327.html

ICES convention is in Grapevine, Texas July 20-23
http://www.ices.org/events/events.htm

Sugar Wonders has one every other year which makes it in 2007
http://www.sugarwonders.com/events.html

Just FYI, Kerri Vincent always responds to emails.I have emailed her probably three times to ask a question, and she will respond right away. unless she's very busy.

OMG!! Texas Sugar ...I'm going!!! (Austin)!!!!

Can't wait!!!


THanks SOOO MUCH!!!

The Tulsa wedding cake competition is serious, serious stuff. You have to pick a inspiration piece within the theme and translate that into a cake. There is ZERO room for imperfections, and the WHOLE idea is to show off exactly how much you can do. The "china" theme was from 2003. The 2005 theme was wedding dresses and I was "3rd runner up". I easily spent over 200 hours on my cake and flowers. You can't do that with a real cake. And to answer some of the previous things mentioned -- anybody over 18 can enter the wedding cake competition now matter their skill level. That's part of what makes it fun. I've only been decorating for about 7 years and have never had any classes except Wilton I. And thanks to the publicity the OK show receives, I was invited to compete in one of the FoodTV cake challenges as well. We just taped it last week and it's supposed to air in May or June.

Does anyone know what 2006's theme is??? The link only has 2005 info on it.
Thanks

It's "international" ----- The theme for the wedding cake spectacular will be Wedding Cakes Around the World 2006 -- cakes can be inspired by anything such as buildings, paintings, rivers, embroidery, contemporary or historical things, personalities as long as the inspiration is clear to the judges with a photograph to support the design.

Cakebaker, thanks for the info and MAJOR CONGRATS on 3rd place. I am in awe of anyone who enters that competition.

I probably wouldn't want one of the winning cakes as my own wedding cake. Not that I would ever knock the contestants because I am always floored by what they're able to accomplish. They're gorgeous. But it's sort of like couture fashion, what you see on the runway isn't applicable in real life.

The cakes are just too formal for my personal tastes, but that's just me. I'm a chocolate frosting and sprinkles kind of girl. completely hopeless.

And major congrats to CakeBaker.