As Seen on T.V.

Have you ever watched those cake shows on tv? You know, where the people get 8 hours to build a ginormous cake, eight feet tall, and have to make every detail completely flawless? Then, after 8 hours of back-breaking, heart-wrenching labor, Kerry Vincent tells them how disappointed she is in their cake. I love those shows. Especially that time that caker* made that Kerry Vincent muppet. Oh, Kerry Vincent. I wonder sometimes if the character of Sue Sylvester is based on Kerry Vincent.

Since I started on this whole cake adventure, I've learned how freakin' amazing those tv cakers are. There is some mad skill on those shows and that stuff is WAY harder than they make it look. The first tv caker I met in real life was Barb Sullivan.

Barb was on TLC's Ultimate Cake-Off and she was totally robbed. Her cake should absolutely have won. Whatever, judges. I met Barb at my very first ICES meeting. I left that meeting thinking that it couldn't get any better. I mean, come on! I was sitting at the same table as a tv star! A tv star with a great manicure, by the way. I was starstruck and awed by her wicked skill. I want her skill, but I'm still working up the nerve to try using the Sugar Veil I got for Mother's Day.

I thought meeting a tv caker was a fluke- like a one-time-thing. I mean, I did karate for years and never met Jackie Chan. I've been teaching for years and I've never met... ummm... Severus Snape? So what are the odds of me meeting another famous tv caker?

OK then. Yup, that's Nicholas Lodge**. THE Nicholas Lodge. And I love him. I got to attend a demo that he did today and it was fabulous. I learned a lot, and I can't wait to use what I learned... in about 20 years after I've developed the necessary skills. Seriously, that man has crazy fondant skills. I'll admit, when he covered that cake and made it look so effortless... I got a little cake crush.

So there it is. About a year of cake decorating experience and I'm already palling around with tv superstars. As of right now, I have a wacky scheme that will hopefully score me a picture with Bronwen Weber in October. We'll see when Kerry Vincent crosses my path...

*I totally made up the word caker. But I enjoy it and you know what it means.
** Yup, that's Barb Sullivan and Amanda Combs behind us.