Some of you may have seen Dana Herbert on the Rachael Ray show last week competing for the chance to make Nate Berkus’ wedding cake. We talked to Dana to get the inside scoop about creating a cake for Nate and being on the show, keep reading to find out more.
Dana Herbert, still glowing from the amazing experience, took a few minutes to chat about how it all came together. He let us know that Rachael Ray even complemented his choice of outfit, which Dana said “was almost as cool as winning”. We agree the bow-tie is a stylish touch! On the day of taping, Dana and the crew were frantically plating hundreds of pieces of cake for the audience, which was Southern lemon cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting. Yum! The renowned chef judges Jacques Torres and Gale Gand had plenty to say about the cake too. “Jacques Torres gave me some great reviews. Said it was a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness and a great ending to a wedding meal.” boasts Dana.
In the end Nate chose Dana’s cake because of it’s masculine style. He even complimented Dana’s design saying “”If the cake thing doesn’t work out for you, you can come work with my design firm.”
Of course a lot of planning went into the cake long before it arrived on the set of the Rachael Ray show. We knew Dana did plenty of research about his clients before planning the design, so we asked him what the hardest thing about creating a cake for a style icon was. “Nate was difficult to design for because he is an artist, so each step I took with the cake and design had to make sense, right down to the boutonnieres.”
Congratulations Dana! He can add this win to his growing pile of accolades, he was the first winner of TLC’s Cake Boss: Next Great Baker and his bakery, Desserts by Dana, has won Best of Delaware. You can see more of Dana’s work on his website: dessertsbydana.com.
I love these cake great job :)
I watch you from the Very first day on cake boss. I would never miss that Monday evening to watch what Dana was coming up with next. He was some so gifted, had his own unique style. He always had a little extra for his challenges. He was not one to under estimate. I followed him and liked to fell out of bed when he won. My family came running thought I was seriously hurt ...lol. Keep up the good work Dana. I was a decorator now I am disabled. Its very difficult. I need handicap ready facility in my home. I can't afford that so I gave up. KEEP GROWING, KEEP LEARNING, KEEP SHARING, and never stop competing. God Bless+
Great Job Dana and congratulations! I wanted to look at your website but it is asking for a username and password. So unfortunately I can't see it. :(
Congratulations Dana, i have also watched you from day one with Cake Boss as you won.You ddeserved it and deserve this win as well, you are brilliant and passionate in what you do and i know you will continue to keep doing amazing things. God Bless!!!
Hi re: Dana Herbert's tall (extremely tall) cake! The cake looks flawless in its construction, however, I can't figure out what the theme (if there is one) is? It doesn't look like a wedding cake at all. If your article didn't say it was, I'd never have known what the occassion was! At first, I thought it might be a lighthouse, then I saw some keys....mmmmm, what's their meaning? Then there's the lady's silhouette "logo"....does that represent a bride? I didn't see the TV show, so I guess I'll never know. As far as the customer liking the "masculinity" of the cake.....I don't see it, unless he's an architect.! It would be nice to know the relationship of the "windows" @ the base & higher up....what do they mean? Is this somehow connected with a bldg. the groom makes his living in? Is the groom a hairdresser, genecologist, or what? I've never heard of him, but then.....I don't keep up with the Hollywood, Tv or political personalities that much. The severe tailoring of the whole design seems cold & hard and leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I've been doing lg. BC & Fondant wedding cakes for over 30 years. I see nothing here to suggest the beauty of a marriage. I'm sure that Dana has tons of talent, but if I was judging his ability on this cake, I'd say.... he won because the cake itself is a trophy for its heighth and beautiful smooth finish. In other words, I don't like the design, but I respect his workmanship. Perhaps, the stress and pressure from the show personalities blindsided him and he overcompensated to please the groom's request for "masculinity". I wonder how the bride liked this design! Or, maybe the bride is a gay man. I'll never know!!!! Anyway, Dana.....Congrats on your well-earned win....the cake construction shows you have a lot of talent and expertise. Ann