This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the National Capital Area Cake Show (NCACS) in Fairfax, VA. This show is Norm Davis' (of Food Network and TLC fame) pet project and I have to say that I'm so glad I went! There were cake celebrities galore...Norm Davis (of course), Marina Sousa, Courtney Clark, Anne Heap, Mike McCarey, Lauren Kitchens, Susan Carberry, and many more.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the "Cake Challenge". It was a competition patterned after the Food Network and Ultimate Cake challenges that you see on TV. This year, Courtney Clark, Anne Heap, Pat Jacoby and Wayne Steinkopf were the competitors. Can you say AWESOME? I took a couple of photos of these incredible creations. The theme was "Circus Cakes."
There are a couple photos of each cake because they were so tall and detailed that it is impossible to show everything in one picture. The first cake was by Pink Cake Box's Anne Heap. The giraffe is standing on the circus ball with the mice below. She was this year's winner and I loved her design concept:
The next cake is Courtney Clark's. It was an Alice in Wonderland/Circus theme. Her work is exceptional and this one was my personal favorite:
This is Wayne's cake. He went with a darker interpretation of the theme...no wonder clowns freak me out...
Lastly, but not least, is Pat Jacoby's cake. This lady is on fire! She has won two competitions on TLC's Ultimate Cake Off:
There was also a "Dream Wedding Cake" competition. The winner of the competition is a personal friend of mine, Irene Maston from Vermont. She entered two cakes in the competition and her cakes took 1st and 4th place. Now, that is INCREDIBLE talent. Here's a pic of the winning cake:
Okay, now for my contribution...While I was at the show, I took a class with Lauren Kitchens based on her recent Sesame Street Food Network Challenge cake where she "muppetized" the judges. I muppetized my mother-in-law (and yes, I do love her!):
