By the time you read this blog, Chef Nicholas and Scott are in town and getting ready for the FL ICES Mini Classes.  This is a 3-day event that is held in Orlando, Florida this weekend!  As a resident of Florida, I am personally excited about this event.  It’s right in my “backyard”!  There is no way I would miss this event! 

But, let me ask a question….have you ever seen a cake event being advertised with classes nearby, but you waited too long and missed out?  I know I have, and I really regretted it.  I mostly missed out on the event because by the time I made up my mind to go, the class was full or the class had been cancelled because no one else had signed up.  I hate when that happens!!

There are so many shows across the U.S.A. and internationally to choose from.  It takes a lot of effort, coordination and hard work to pull these things off.  The teachers work really hard to prepare for their classes.  They spend hours putting together materials and lessons that will help make your decorating skills the best in the business!  But none of this really matters unless you sign up and attend the events!!  

Now, I know life happens and things get in the way of what we thought would turn out to be a ‘regular week or month’, but if you really, really, really (was that enough really’s?....) want to attend these things, we have to sign up and be committed to attend!  Yes, I said WE….. that includes me because I know I am a big procrastinator sometimes!  The deadlines for these things are provided for a reason.  This is the only way for the event organizers and the teachers to plan for their classes.  I know we are all disappointed when a teacher has to cancel because no one has signed up for the class.  You can’t blame the teacher; they need to know if any students are going to come to the class.  It’s up to us, to sign up in a timely fashion and to be committed to being in class!

Hi there!  By the time you read this, Christmas will be less than 1 week away.  Yikes!!  I’m sure you are running around picking out last minute gifts for everyone on your Christmas list.  I know I still have some shopping to do!

If you are still trying to figure out what to get the favorite sugar artists on your list, I have an idea for you.  How about giving them a Nicholas Lodge class and some Florida sunshine?? 

Chef Nicholas will be a part of the 2020 FL ICES Mini Classes, in Orlando, Florida.  This is a 3-day event and is scheduled for January 17-19, 2020.  The event is sponsored by the FL Chapter of the International Cake Exploration Society (ICES) and will be held at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel.  This hotel is located just a few minutes from the Orlando International Airport, and they offer a free shuttle to the hotel, so you don’t have to worry about any transportation!  There will also be a lot of vendors at the event and a raffle where FL ICES will give away a 6qt Kitchen Aid mixer!

Chef Nicholas will be teaching all three days.  Each day in class you will learn to create a different and unique set of gum paste flowers and leaves starting at 8:00 am. 

The first class, on Friday, will be Tropical Gum Paste flowers where you will learn several tropical flowers and orchids including Plumeria, Anthurium and Bougainvillea.

 The next day, Chef will teach his class on Bridal Flower Spray.  He will show you how to make a beautiful Rose, Calla Lily, Hydrangea, Baby’s Breath and so much more, using the Flower Pro molds.

On Sunday, Chef will teach a class on Fabulous Foliage.  This class is perfect to learn about foliage that will go with any of the gum paste flowers you make.  You will learn how to make, assemble and color many different types of foliage including Variegated Ivy, Maple leaf and freehand filler leaves. 

Everything you need to participate in the class will be provided for you.  If you have ever attended one of Chef Nicholas’ classes, you know that he packs a lot of information and details into his classes.  All you have to do is show up, ready to learn!

Chef Nicholas has been attending this event since its inception back in 1999.  He has always given his time and talents graciously to the FL ICES organization and we love it when he comes to Florida!  I’m sure he loves getting out of the cold weather in his area in January for a little bit of Sunshine.  Why don’t you join us!?  The deadline to sign up is approaching fast, so don’t delay!

Here is the link to the website where you can get more information and register. 

One last thing to note, there will be a special demonstration with Chef Nicholas and Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes on Saturday evening.  You will not want to miss this because when these two get together with sugar, you never know what you are going to see and learn!!

Hope to see you in January!

Stay Sweet and Keep Learning!

This week I have a short and sweet blog post to share! I would wager that everyone who reads this blog knows that Chef Nicholas is the undisputed king of sugar flowers. So it should come as NO SURPRISE that Chef Nicholas has been named Cake Masters Magazine's August Cake Icon! This is a huge honor, and Chef Nicholas wanted to share the link for this month's magazine (see below). We hope that you enjoy his interview honoring him, as much as he enjoyed giving it! Chef Nicholas always says that he is dedicated to his students and clients, so it is so meaningful to be honored in this way. 

http://www.cakemasters.co.uk/product/august-2018-issue/

Now, as the king of sugar flowers, Chef Nicholas also has the best tools. He designs all of his own sugar flower cutters, and has them custom made by a company in the UK with a 25 year history in the business. These metal cutters are made of top quality, tin-plated steel; they are finished with a lead-free solder to ensure your sugar flowers are 100% safe for consumption. These cutters aren't flimsy, and they are not cookie cutters. They are serious cake decorating tools. Guess what? Chef Nicholas has been creating some brand new designs to go with some new techniques he has been developing. So, we have decided to offer a fantastic sale on some of our most popular metal flower cutters! 

Right now, you can get select cutters on sale for up to 50% off! This sale will run while supplies last, so hop on over to our online retail gallery and check out all these wonderful cutters! These cutters will help you create incredibly lifelike flowers that are sure to impress all your clients! I hope that you can all find some cutters that you just need to add to your collection! There are a lot of choices to look through! Click here for some retail therapy!

There are still seats available in these great classes this summer at ISAC! Click the links below to register now. 

5-Day Ultimate Gumpaste Flower Class

French Macarons and Chocolate Bon Bons with Joseph Cumm, 8/25

Tea Party Pastries with Joseph Cumm, 8/26

Renshaw Academy Master Certification Class with Chef Nicholas Lodge, 10/13-10/22

Stephanie 

Our goal is for you to be completely satisfied with your Amazon order! If for any reason this is not the case, we would appreciate it if you would give us a chance to address your concerns, before leaving feedback or a review, by emailing us at customersvc@nicholaslodge.com. We would be grateful if you would leave us a positive feedback and review of your Renshaw Fondant. Leaving feedback seems like such a little thing, but it has great impact on our business and we would greatly appreciate your time in leaving it.

2017 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

WINNER of the 2017 Golden Tier Educator of the Year Award

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

If you follow us on social media or subscribe to our blog or newsletter, you must have heard about the brand new Renshaw Academy! Renshaw Academy is a certification program consisting of three modules: Sugar Flowers, Sugar Paste (rolled fondant), and Royal Icing. Each of these courses is one part of the Renshaw Academy Master Certificate; once all three modules are completed, a Renshaw Academy Master Certificate is awarded! This is a brand new program, with brand new course material developed by Chef Nicholas Lodge. Chef Nicholas will be teaching all three modules in 2018 (including a second Sugar Flower module), as well as a Master Certification class. Oh, and good news if you are Canadian; Chef Nicholas will be teaching a Renshaw Academy Module in Ontario!

We are smack dab in the middle of our HUGE 13-day PME Master Class! The students have already conquered rolled fondant and they are two-thirds finished with the royal icing module. They will finish up with five days straight of gumpaste flowers! If you know anything about Nicholas Lodge, you know that flowers are his game, so it's fitting to end a two-week class on such a high note. I myself have been a busy bee- printing class textbooks, getting practice sheets made, printing recipes, and preparing the diplomas and master certificates, that I realized I didn't have a blog topic for this week! But thanks to a suggestion from Scott, I realized that I could share some Chef Nicholas gumpaste flower magic with all of you too (his students shouldn't get to have all the fun)!

How exactly can I share sugar flowers through a blog? Well, because Chef Nicholas has a new book out with SIXTEEN different types of beautiful flowers: Spring & Summer Flowers in Gumpaste. Has there ever been a sweeter sixten? I think not. In fact, there is even a chance to win this new book!

This past Sunday was Mother's Day in the United States. To celebrate, an extremely talented group of cake decorators (all "Mama's Boys) collaborated and designed and created cakes in honor of their mothers! Each cake had to include a sugar flower, so what would this collaboration be without our very own Chef Nicholas! All of the cakes were debuted this past Sunday, and each and every cake is so beautiful and different, that Chef Nicholas and I wanted to share the video with you. Some of you may know that Chef Nicholas was very close to his mother, and she always encouraged and supported him throughout his career; he credits her with making him the person his is today. 

"Life is fragile like a sugar flower: beautiful to look at, but broken in a second."

I hope you enjoy the stunning work of all the gentlemen in the sugar fraternity, and be sure to wish your mother a belated Happy Mother's Day from everyone in the ISAC Family! A BIG thank you to Sharon Spradley for putting together this fabulous collaboration, and reminding us how important mothers are!

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

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Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog