Making a Proper Impression w/ a Top-Notch Cake

[chubbyalaskagriz]

This may miff or offend some folks- but I feel I gotta say it anyway.

I just saw pics from a wedding that a friend attended 2 weekends ago.

The ceremony was beautiful. The bride was gorgeous- the groom handsome.

The flowers were stunning.

The reception was a buffet affair for 150 and looked so classy & elegant.

The cake was really pretty and covered in fondant and flowers.

BUT the cake (my guess? At least $400.00 if not more) was served on a cardboard round covered in tin foil. TACKY!

I first took cake decorating classes 30 years ago. My teacher then told we students “NEVER USE PLAIN SILVER ALUMINUM-FOIL! When making cakes for peoples’ special events your first investment MUST BE a variety of serving plates, trays and platters to make these events “occasions”.” And that has stuck w/ me today.

Using aluminum foil is like using chewing gum to stick a diamond back into a ring-setting. Or using duct tape to put the hood ornament back onto your Mercedes.

Even a mediochre cake looks classy and professional when served on a silver-tray, a mirror, a fabric-covered board, a wooden cutting board, etc.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE- DON’T DEMEAN YOUR ART AND DIMINISH YOUR PROFESSIONALISM BY USING CARDBOARD AND TIN FOIL!

 

[ricksrealpitbbq]

As in most things, presentation is everything. You only get one first impression.

 

[Mama Mangia]

I wouldn't present a cake on foil for dessert for just us at the table!

 

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Ain't that the truth, Rick and Mama?

Don't anybody get me wrong- I ain't a fussy, foo-foo food-snob.

Foil is fine for home- if you must. But don't charge me hundreds of dollars for a professional confection and slide it onto the table on top of cardboard and tin foil- and claim you're a "professional artisan or pastry chef"!!! Lordy!

Artful, creative things one can use to place cakes (or any foods!) on: cutting boards, mirrors, weaved rattan or wicker basket lids, slabs of cool-looking (properly sanitized) wood, rock or marble (go to your local tombstone foundry- they'll sell broken slabs of granite, stone and marble on the CHEAP!).

The TWO all-time MOST CREATIVE things I EVER SAW foods creatively displayed on were:

1.) At a restaurant that was once a former historic bank- huge slabs of marble wainscoting in the bank lobby had been mistakenly dropped and broken into many pieces & shards of all shapes and sizes. The chef dug them all out of the dumpster, washed & sanitized them all well, sanded the jagged sides off , and used the larger at various elevated heights (on a buffet table, turn various bowls up-side-down and cover w/ a linen napkin to make "risers" to sit platters of food on top of) on his Sunday Brunch to display everything from fresh tropical fruit and smoked salmon and cheese to salamis and antipasta, desserts, etc. And he used the smaller broken pieces to serve individual menu items (mostly appetizers and desserts) to customers in lieu of plates and platters...

2.) At an Alaskan wilderness lodge the bride & groom at a wedding wanted an elegant yet rustic menu. I made an unfrosted, unadorned wedding cake garnished w/ berries and brambles and instead of a silver platter or a glass plate, I convinced the bride that a clean and sanitized 2 foot chain-sawwed cross section of a Spruce tree would work well and really help carry out her "woodsy" theme. She was impressed and the guests loved it!

 

[Sissy]

Cake Presentation

I am neither miffed nor offended for you surely spoke the truth. What kind of cake decorator would present a wedding cake with tin foil as the base? My goodness!

The pretty foils for covering cake rounds are not that expensive and considering that we get paid, sometimes handsomely, for our wedding cakes, how much trouble could it be to buy a few feet of a color-coordinating foil? Cake bases can also be self-made or purchased for not much money at all. Home Depot will cut bases to specs. In our area we have plexiglass dealers who will cut a nice slice or round to fit the Home Depot-cut base and you have a lasting piece.

No excuse for doing this to a bride and groom. Let's just hope that they were not so cake-savvy as to recognize the tackiness of this decorator's presentation.

Good grief! I can hardly believe that even a beginning decorator would not know better.

 

[Sissy]

Cake presentation

Love the marble suggestion and would never have thought of it alone in a million years. I happen to know many morticians (how sad, right?) and plan to be in touch with them soon.

Thank you so much for your feedback.

-sissy