Tour de Palate A wine & culinary tasting event benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Finding a cure never tasted so good
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Tour de Palate A wine & culinary tasting event benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Finding a cure never tasted so good
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2011 Theme: Game Time!
If you have ever watched the Challenges on the Food Network Challenge, Next Great Baker or Ultimate Cake Off, then this event is for you. Six amazing decorators and sugar artists will compete to design a cake creation for you in 90 minutes. The audience will vote for the winner. The cake creations will then be sold as part of our silent auction. Each competitor will receive the same ingredients, tools and design challenge. The competitors will then create their amazing edible designs before your very eyes. Ruth Rickey, who has been featured on several specials on The Food Network, The Ultimate Cake Off and Wedding Cake Wars, will act as emcee to guide the judges and explain the techniques used by the competitors. She will be joined by Cherokee Ballard, former news anchor and Leukemia Society Board Member in Oklahoma. The winner of the Challenge will receive two custom designed chef coats from Crooked Brook in New York. For high quality chef wear and uniforms, Crooked Brook is the only choice! Each one of their vests, jackets, chef coats and aprons is made to order, based on your selection of style options and custom embroidery, appliqué or tackle twill. Their women's chef wear is especially stunning! We are incredibly pleased to announce our 2011 lineup of artists:
Mike Elder, Clinton, Missouri Mike Elder, owner of Black Sheep Custom Cakes in Clinton, Missouri is a former hot rod builder and race car driver. Mike is a quickly rising star of the sugar arts world. As the only 3 time undefeated winner of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off, Mike has become known for his cake sculpture and in your face style. He has been featured in USA Weekend Magazine, Bride's, Bakery Buyers Guide and many other local and regional publications, as well as on radio and tv. Always happy to share his love for the sugar arts, Mike is a certified instructor and member of ICES, teaching his sometimes unorthodox style and techniques to students nationwide. Mike is currently working on his first book, "An Ultimate Guide - Cake Sculptures." In his free time, (when he has it), Mike is a father of 2 girls and 1 boy, an avid cyclist, artist and aficionado of anything mechanical. It is his mechanical background that Mike credits as the influence of his work. Mike can be found online at www.mikeelderonline.com and on Facebook.
Pat is the owner of Patty-Cakes, a custom cake shop in Highland, Illinois, a suburb of the St. Louis Missouri area. She is the only two time undefeated winner of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off and this will be the first time for her and Mike Elder to face off!! Pat has also assisted on Food Network Challenge: Disney Cakes and two of her employees (Eric & Patty Woller) will be seen in an upcoming Food Network Challenge. Pat has won numerous awards for her cake designs in local and national sugar art competitions, including first place for design and People's Choice at "For the Love of Chocolate" competition in Chicago. You can see Pat's cake decorating segment on KMOV Channel 4's "Great Day St. Louis" every other Wednesday. Pat can be found online at www.pat-t-cakes.com.
Jay Qualls, Nashville, Tennessee Jay Qualls is the owner of Maples Wedding Cakes in Murfreesboro, TN. He was recently one of the top artists on TLC's Next Great Baker and was featured 7 of the 8 weeks on the show. He quickly became an audience favorite. In 2009, representatives from Martha Stewart Weddings approached him about a cake for their magazine and he submitted his infamous Heart cake, which appeared in the magazine's 15 year anniversary issue. His work has been featured in Southern Living Magazine, Bridal Guide and People Magazine, where the cake he made for Country music star Sara Evans' wedding was featured. He recently did the wedding for Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. He has been negotiating deals for two different television shows, is working on a coffee table book with design sketches and stories about his favorite cake projects, plans on writing a cookbook full of southern deserts and cake making tips and now travels across the US teaching and speaking. You can reach Jay at www.MaplesWeddingCakes.com.
Brian is the co-owner of Crazy Cakes, Inc. in Austin, Texas. He is as well known for the detailed textures and realistic painting on his cakes as he is for the wild amusement experienced by their recipients. Brian is an artist at heart who strives toward one primary principle: to be as creative as humanly possible. Before cake found him, his skills already ran the gamut from digital illustration to sculpting, including a career in video game development. He recently appeared in 7 out of the 8 weeks of The Next Great Baker competition series. Currently, Brian's focus is on breaking the rules to create new techniques to further the art of cake decorating. You can reach Brian at 512-337-7840 or at www.CrazyCakes.com.
Peggy Tucker, Rochester, Minnesota Peg is a professional cake designer and sugar artist specializing in teaching. She owns and operates the School of Cakeology and travels across the Unites States bringing her love of sugar art to students. She is also the Lead Demonstrator for Cake Play Isomalt Sticks. Through her work with Cake Play, Peg has made working with poured and cast sugar a less intimidating event. People who never thought they could work with pulled or blown sugar have fully embraced her classes in cast and poured sugar. She has opened doors to this sugar medium and is the primary teacher in the USA for this type of work. Peg is a cancer survivor and was one of the first people asked to join our lineup this year. She lost a dear family friend to leukemia and is relentless in her work to help find cures for cancer. Don't be fooled by her lack of TV appearances, this is a true gem of a sugar artist who has a knack for winning live competitions! She and her partner, Ashlee Trotter won the Live Challenge at the National Capital Area Cake Show in Virginia earlier this year! More information on Peg is available at www.schoolofcakeology.com.
John has been decorating cakes for almost fourteen years for family and friends. He currently teaches cake decorating for Wilton at Hobby Lobby in Edmond, OK and he is known as the "Cake Daddy" in his hometown of Piedmont, Oklahoma. John is a stay at home dad to Madison and Amanda. He works part time for a local ambulance service as a nationally registered EMT, is a ten year volunteer firefighter and a Marine Corp veteran. He has been married to his number one critic and fan, Kendra, for seventeen years. John prides himself on his innovative designs along with the more traditional styles. The latest phase has had him specializing in 3D fondant creations. John did such a great job at his first cake challenge last year that we couldn't wait to invite him back! John can be reached at papaditorta@yahoo.com or www.facebook.com/johnkuzmic or 405-831-1005.
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Last modified: 07/22/11 |
Pat
Jacoby, Highland, Illinois
Brian
Stevens, Austin, Texas
John
Kuzmic, Piedmont, OK