I do hope that you all enjoyed last week's post with all the fun new products! It was a fun way to start off the fall season here at ISAC. Continuing with the autumnal theme, I thought I would share some information about Chef Nicholas' upcoming classes, both here and in... CANADA!
Gary Chapman's NEW Book!
Back in the late 1980s/early 1990s Chef Nicholas' books were being published by Merehurst Publishing. The Marketing Director was Gary Chapman, and he was responsible for introducing the company, and its list of cake decorating books, to the USA. Gary and Chef Nicholas attended their first American cake show, an ICES convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, together. The next show was in Atlanta, and they had a proper booth with reception and demos by Chef Nicholas and others. The rest, as they say, is history! Well, for Chef Nicholas it was history! Gary the Marketing Director discovered his own interest in cake decorating, and thus began his own career as a cake artist!
Greg Cleary comes to ISAC
G'day mates: mark your cake decorating calendars! In August, Greg Cleary will be coming all the way from Brisbane, Australia to teach in Studio B! Yay!
Chef Nicholas has TWO NEW CLASSES this summer! HOORAY! These two classes are being offered for the first time; some of the flowers have been taught by Chef Nicholas years ago in discontinued classes, and are back by popular demand by our wonderful students, and some flowers are being taught for the first time ever! Let's not stand on pretense, I'll tell you all about them right now!
2015 ICES Convention
The 2015 ICES Convention is less than two months away, and this year we celebrate its 40th anniversary! If you have never attended an ICES Convention, why not start this year? There is a long list of classes, competitions, demos, and shopping to enjoy
Summer Camp is Better with Cake!
Who didn't love summer camp as a kid? Well, ok, probably a lot of kids, but only because they were too young to go to CAKE CAMP!! Every other year the California Cake Club hosts the weekend-long Cake Camp, and guess what? The 15th Cake Camp is this year: August 13-16, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada! There are demos, classes, and a vendor area (code for shopping!). There will be about 18 different retail booths in the vendor area, including our ever popular International Sugar Art Collection booth! There will be 29 wonderful instructors this year teaching a variety of techniques; all skill level classes will be offered, so there are classes for beginningers, experts, and everyone in between! Oh, and guess who will be teaching three 1-day flower classes at Cake Camp? That would be Chef Nicholas Lodge!
In American Cake Decorating (ACD) magazine this coming year, Chef Nicholas will explore the flavors of Asia, Africa, Europe, India and the Middle East, the Americas, and everywhere in between! The proper use of these flavors, and how to integrate them into cakes and pastries, will be covered. You can look forward to recipes, hints, and tips and tricks, and resources! Since space in the magazine is limited, an edited version of what Chef Nicholas wrote is printed. I thought I would share his editorials here on the blog in their entirety! I'll be sharing them periodically over the next few months, and I hope you enjoy them! While the theme is FLAVORS of the World, we will start with degustation, or the tasting of food, before we delve into the different flavor profiles that are both universally popular and that are Chef Nicholas' favorites!
Chef Nicholas' Craftsy Class is ALMOST HERE!
There are only FOUR more days until Chef Nicholas' newest Craftsy class launches! Hooray! I know everyone reading this is doing a serious happy dance right now! How do I know? Because I see and read all the facebook comments, blog comments, and emails begging for Chef Nicholas to release new Craftsy classes. Hey, they don't call me the social media goddess for nothing. I thought since we have less than a week on the countdown, I would share a bunch of the project photos and tell you a bit about the class.
Hello dear friends! Can you believe that January is already over?! Chef Nicholas is busy imparting knowledge to students at the French Pastry School as we speak, lucky ducks! He did want me to share some fun upcoming events with you all though!
Chef Nicholas' Craftsy Sneak Peek!
I'm going to make you wait just a bit longer for my Craftsy news. Why? Well, because last week I told you that our In-side Sale would be starting on Saturday, January 17 and go through Sunday, January 25. THAT HAS CHANGED! It will now begin Monday, January 19 and go through Saturday, January 24. I just wanted everyone to mark their calenders correctly!
Now... who wants to know what we have been up to this week at ISAC? What if I told you Chef Nicholas was filming not one but TWO new Craftsy classes!
Nicholas Lodge's 2015 Class Schedule
Last week, at the end of my blog, I casually mentioned our new 2015 class schedule was available on our website. Let's talk about that, shall we?
Holiday Fun with Nicholas Lodge
Chef Nicholas is only teaching four more classes this year! He has two PME Certification classes in October: Rolled Fondant Techniques and 3-Day Advanced Royal Icing Techniques. I discussed both of these classes, and PME Certification, in a blog last month (you can read that blog by clicking here). Today, let's talk about Chef Nicholas' last two classes of the year- Rolled Fondant for the Holidays and Gumpaste for the Holidays!
PME Diploma and Master's Certificate!
Are you certifiably crazy for cake decorating? No? Well, you are in luck! This fall Chef Nicholas Lodge is offering three classes with PME certification! PME Diplomas and Master's Certificates are internationally recognized awards and they are designed as professional level cake decorating courses.
Nicholas Lodge's Newest Book!
I am so excited to share some wonderful news with our wonderful readers! This past weekend, at the 39th annual ICES convention in New Mexico, Chef Nicholas released his brand new book, New Trends in Sugar Flowers. This is the second book of a trilogy; the first, Potpourri of Flowers, was first published in 1999 and re-released in 2013.
Welcome to Sweet Tricks and Cake Tips! This will be a short, periodic blog segment that will introduce you to cool cake related tips and tricks, fun instructional videos, and brand new tools from the Nicholas Lodge (NL) product line! What interesting item am I sharing this week, you ask? Well, all you gumpaste flower makers are going to love it! May I introduce: