Each year I have the honor and pleasure of participating in the judging panel of the National Gingerbread Competition in Asheville, NC.  And each year the entries astound me as to their ingenuity and new-found creativity.  This year was no different. 

"Rusted" Gingerbread Roof created by Michael Billella

Over 200 contestants create displays in categories based on age: kids, teen, youth, and adult.  This year, one of the youth entries had the adults running scared.  Basing her theme on the 2009 Disney-Pixar movie “Up”, Skyla Delerme created a playful representation of the balloon-laden house…complete with hand-modeled figures of the movie’s main characters Carl, Russell, Dug, and Kevin.  Skyla’s attention to detail, use of color, and modeling techniques were unsurpassed in this category, grabbing her first place honors in the Teen category.

Other houses of special note included the show’s Grand Prize winnning Matryoshka doll themed display created by Heather Lewis of Austell, GA.  The display included a meticulously decorated set of 6 nesting dolls designed to depict Santa Claus, an Elf, a reindeer, a snowman, a gingerbread man, and a traditional Russian Matryoshka girl.  Every detail of Heather’s entire display was artfully executed, using a variety of decorating techniques in unique ways.  Most impressive was Heather’s ability to bake gingerbread in a curved shape with such neat and even seams.  The edible glaze used to finish the dolls gave the entire display a look that took it beyond gingerbread and into toy-making.

Three other displays that caught my eye were Noah’s Ark, created by MaryJo Dowling of Westford, MA and Barb Evans of Edelstein, Illinois and a house designed with a “rusted” roof created by a first-time competitor who drove all the way from Oklahoma, and a Rocking Horse created by Angel Adkins of Kodak, TN.  The hand-modeled figures used to decorate the Ark were full of personality; the rusted element of the roof something I’d never seen done before; and the wood finish of the rocking horse so realistic that I had to touch it to believe it was gingerbread! 

The National Gingerbread Competition is held annually in November at the beautiful Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.  

Entries are judged on overall appearance, originality/creativity, difficulty, precision and consistency of theme.

Registration information is available online. For additional photos from this year’s competition visit the National Gingerbread Competition page on Facebook.

Over the course of the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to judge two separate respectable cake shows.  As customary, several entries were recognizable as pieces that had been created for a past show elsewhere.  While I understand the interest in having as many individuals as possible see a Decorator’s work, as an Adjudicator at the shows, I would like to encourage all Decorators to create new pieces for each competition.

Cake shows provide a medium for learning on many fronts.  Novice Decorators get a glimpse of the myriad skills that they have yet to learn, Master Decorators exchange ideas and learn how to apply advanced techniques in new or unique ways…and the general public learns just how far the world of cake decorating has advanced and they begin to understand that the next cake they order from their local Cake Designer can be so much more than a round cake with piped flowers.

Where Decorators who recycle cakes (that is to show the same display used in a previous show with minor or no adjustments) miss the boat is in this learning cycle.  At the conclusion of each show, the Decorators receive feedback from the Decorators who judged the show.  This critical feedback provides necessary information on areas on which to focus in order to improve one’s craft and skill.  Through the process of creating a new display utitilizing this feedback, the Decorator’s overall workmanship improves.  By competing regularly, the Decorator’s daily production pace improves and general productivity is better. 

Decorators whose primary concern is to bring home a blue ribbon are cheating themselves out of one of the most beneficial elements of the shows: Learning.  Although a cake may place in one show and not another, it does not change the workmanship nor will the Decorator gain any new useful feedback.  Winning a ribbon is certainly a thrill, but is somewhat meaningless if it is won by default. 

If you are a Decorator entering multiple shows, consider using the feedback provided by the judges and your fellow decorators to re-create the same piece.  This will allow you the opportunity to learn, put your knowledge into practice, and truly show your skill.

One point that I sometimes found difficult as a competitor in cake shows was to agree with the judges’ decision on a winning cake.  Now that I am on the other side of the turntable, I understand things in a different light.  Even as a judge, the cake that first appears as the “obvious” winner is not always the correct choice. 

Case in point, this past weekend I was one of three judges to consider entries in a Marie-Antoinette themed wedding cake competition in New York City.  At first glance, I was drawn to a particular cake with a certain prominence; I thought “well, this will be an easy task”.  Not so fast.  Upon closer inspection, and conference with the other adjudicators, it was discovered that the work on another cake was a better representation of the theme: the color palette was spot on vis-a-vis Marie-Antoinette and her era, details coincided with Marie-Antoinette’s wardrobe, her Austrian heritage, and French lifestyle.  Some details on the first cake were out of sync with the period.  And as an overall piece, there seemed to be two incongruent styles represented in two portions of the cake that did not work well together.  After comparing each individual element on each cake to the rules the appropriate cake was selected as the higher scoring cake, without diminishing the many merits of the other entries. 

One of the greatest characteristics of a cake show is that it gives all of us a place to learn.  Whether you are a beginning cake decorator learning the basics of what it means to compete, or a professional designer who is looking for ways to take your own designs to the next level, judged shows provide the venue.  For judges the learning comes from conference with other judges whose perspectives and experience bring new light to details in each cake.  I have spent as much as 3 hours discussing and comparing three professional wedding cakes in tough competitions. 

At the conclusion of a competition, I encourage all show competitors and spectators to discuss choices with the adjudicators…not in an attempt to alter the outcome of the show but to simply learn more about the process through which the judges went in order to arrive at their conclusion.  Through such conversation, we all go home with some new ideas, new perspectives, and hopefully new tools to use at the next show.

If you are interested in upcoming competitions/shows, check out:

That Takes the Cake in Austin, TX February 27-28, 2010

National Capital Area Cake Show in Fairfax, VA March 20-21, 2010

After writing last week’s post about cake competitions, I remembered my visit (as an observer) to one of the most remarkable competitions on the planet–the World Pastry Cup in Lyon, France.  The World Pastry Cup or Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie is held every two years as part of SIRHA, the International Hotel Catering and Food Trade Exhibition.  It was created in 1989 by Gabriel Paillasson, former President of the Regional Pastry Chefs’ Professional Association.

The competition is exhilarating to witness.  Since each of the six required elements is completed live, spectators have the rare opportunity to watch the world’s top pastry chefs in their element.  Camera crews also project close ups of individual teams’ work onto theatre screens in the front of the hall for easier viewing.

Each competing country selects its own team using guidelines specified by the World Pastry Cup.  Teams test their skills during a 10-hour live competition in six areas including:

1. chocolate dessert
2. frozen dessert
3. plated dessert
4. sugar sculpture
5. chocolate sculpture
6. ice sculpture

An international jury assesses each element of the team’s performance: 60% of the total score is based on tasting, 20% on presentation of the chocolate & sugar centerpieces, and 20% on work ethic (including kitchen cleanliness and organization).  At the end of the two-day competition scores are tallied and bronze, silver, and gold medals are awarded to three teams.  In January 2009, Team France was the winner of the 11th World Pastry Cup.  ITALY came in second, and BELGIUM came in third.  Japan was the winner of the best chocolate showpiece; Team USA was the winner of the best Ice Sculpture.

If you would like to know more about the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup), visit:

www.worldpastrycupusa.com/theCompetition.html

www.cmpatisserie.com/2009

I am an avid supporter of competitions for the sugar arts.  Competitions encourage excellence, helping individuals develop skills to a higher level than what otherwise might be obtained.  In my own experience, I saved and used judging sheets from cakes that I entered in various competitions as coaches to help guide my work on future entries. 

While at the shows, I always took time to carefully study all of the other competitors’ cakes, often making it a point to ask other decorators questions about how they achieved a certain design element.  Careful attention to others’ work helped to internalize important details to consider when working on my own pieces.  Participating in a competition became for me a distance learning program of sorts.  I found that by devoting so much energy to improving my show-quality work my routine work improved, both in efficiency and in appearance.

Over the past three years, I have shifted into the role of a judge, an equally tenuous feat that requires critical attention to minute details on high-caliber cakes.  I now judge cake and gingerbread house shows around the country, providing demonstrations and hands-on classes before and/or after the show.

So, regardless of your own current skill level, consider participating in a competition.  It may prove to be just the nudge you need to take your work to the next level.

If you are interested in cake competitions, here are some that are coming up in the near future:

• New York Cake Convention (New York, NY): January 2-4, 2010 http://www.cakeconvention.com/
• That Takes the Cake (Austin, TX): February 27-28, 2010 http://thattakesthecake.org/
• National Capital Area Cake Show (Fairfax, VA): March 20-21, 2010 http://www.cakeshow.org/

The following images show my own progression from bronze to silver to gold medal awards at the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show.

Gold Medal, 2007 (Feathered Fantasy). This six-tiered, Hollywood-themed cake pays homage to Lucille Ball, featuring over 80 sugar orchids and 500 handmade fondant feathers, 400 of which enrobed a feathered pedestal. This work is featured in the 2008 book "Decadent Details, Perspectives of the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition" published by American Cake Decorating and Grace McNamara Inc.

Silver Medal, 2005 (Beaded Fantasy)This four-tiered oval cake is decorated with classic string work and a topper of life-like gum paste lilies. Its design is based on a wedding gown.

Bronze Medal, 2003 (Butterfly Garden)This four-tiered fondant-covered cake is styled after Versace's Butterfly Garden china pattern.

The Winter holiday season is associated with a number of traditional desserts, scents, and events.  One that encompasses all three of these is the gingerbread house competition.  One of my favorite Gingerbread House Competitions is the annual national competition hosted by the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Held each year in mid-November, this competition attracts competitors in all ages from all over the country.  As a judge of the competition, each year I am impressed by the quality of the work that the competitors show. 

Although this year’s competition has passed, as past winners will tell you, it is never too early to begin thinking and planning for next year.  Enjoy some of my favorite entries from this year’s show below…or catch them on Good Morning America on December 24.  You may also view photos of the top three winning entries from each age category online at the Grove Park Inn’s web site:  https://www.groveparkinn.com/gallery/National-Gingerbread-House-Competition.

In the meantime, grab a little royal icing and some candies and decorate your own house today!