ISAC Spring Open House is Around the Corner!
As many of you may now, Chef Nicholas’ base of operation, the International Sugar Art Collection, is based just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It is mid-January, and here in Atlanta today the sun is shining and it is nearly 70 degrees. I don’t think you can blame me for having spring on my mind! When I think of spring coming, my mind goes right to ISAC’s Spring Open House!
This year our Open House will be held on March 18th, 2017. Chef Nicholas will of course be sharing his own tips and tricks for the season, but we are pleased to announce that Marilyn Bawol (of Unique Cakes) and Michele Sweeney (of Epicurean Delights) will be our guest instructors this year!
Marilyn is the owner and creative director of Unique Cakes in Virginia. She combines her love of sculpture and painting with baking and cake decorating to create surprising wedding cakes, three dimensional cakes, and blow sugar elements. Marilyn has competed in, and won, in numerous sculpted cake competitions, and ICES has even used one of her cakes in their advertisements in the United States and abroad. At our Spring Open House Marilyn will be showing our guests how to work with the amazing Flexique products. Marilyn will use Flexique to create an easter basket decorated with self-curling Flexiue rose petals and modeling chocolate flower petals, glittering fabric and three dimensional bows. Next, she will demonstrate how to make a paper mache Easter egg that can be filled with goodies!
Marilyn’s three-dimensional bow and basketweave in Flexique!
Michele is the owner of Epicurean Delights bakery in Washington state, and offers video lessons and tutorials on her website, www.epicdelights.com. She is a second generation cake decorator, and picked up her first pastry bag at the young age of six! She is a graduate of Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art, and an ICES approved teacher. Oh, and she has even studied under one Chef Nicholas Lodge… perhaps you’ve heard of him? She was recently a member of one of the teams competing on Cake Wars Christmas (you may well remember that Chef Joe Cumm, teaching his mini chocolate showpiece with us on February 12, won that competition!) on the Food Network! During our Spring Open House, Michele will be presenting a cookie demo, incorporating interesting textures, patterns, and design elements, as well as sharing her go-to cookie recipe! Downloadable recipe cards, cookie baking video, and full-color step by step tutorials will be available to all of the students attending the demo.
Cookies by Michele Sweeney
Since our Spring Open house is only held on a single day (unlike our Grand Holiday Open House which is a two-day event), Michele is going to stay on with us to teach two classes! On Sunday she will be teaching a combine cake and cookie class! Her Sew Easy and Craft Cookie class will feature this year’s hottest Pantone colors (including Nicholas Lodge Green!) and a variety of mixed media to create a fun fabric-like pinwheels, craft roses, and ribbon! Wafer paper, gelatin, modeling chocolate, fondant, molds, and color dusts will come together in perfect cake harmony! Oh, and of course you will be creating coordinating cookies to match! On Monday, Michele will be teaching Shabby Chic Wedding, teaching students how to use wafer paper in a number of unexpected ways, and explore technological options for creating flowers in a faster way, without diminishing the quality.
Sew Easy Cake and Craft Cookies by Michele Sweeney
Shabby Chic Wedding Cake by Michele Sweeney
We are finalizing the last details for Michele’s classes, and registration will open soon. But, if you are all ready to secure your seat for ISAC’s Spring Open House, you can visit our website or call us at 1-800-662-8925! We hope to see all of you there on March 18th!
Sweetly yours,
Stephanie
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Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award.
