K8

I see no flaws what so ever

that was a wedding cake? that's funny because with a crown on it, it seems like its all about the bride/princess and just forget about the dogone groom/prince.

Poor men

I just love that the show is on! I do learn from ever now and then. I just loved the lavender cake from the last episode. I never would have thought to make clay pots like that. It would be so easy.
C. Garren's cakes are always so flawless, but then again, look at how many people work on the cake! At Merci, it's usually only two people. I agree that they're work is pretty sloppy. I guess "shabby chic" would be a good description. I don't think I would personally order from them (if I had that kind of money), but obviously someone is. I would love to do a price comparison on ea. shop.
BTW, I hate how that girl Mel-on-ie (or how ever she spells it) pronounces her name. I know her mother didn't intend that!

K8..give us a hint cause Im not sure what to look for!
Edna

The only thing that catches my eye k8 - is the very front of the carved cake, the "pearls" are not the same distance apart as the rest of them on that tier....and the flower right in the middle. I don't think it is flawed, but that is the only thing I can see that isn't perfectly aligned with the rest of the cake. (???) GORGEOUS cake, and I again, do not think that is a flaw - just not inline with the rest of that tier, IMO.

Now, was that a save because you measured wrong, or is it supposed to be that way?

Ok on the bottom tier there's a series of big s kinda gold scrolls and there's 'sposed to be little tear drop shaped doo dads accenting it--there's no tear drop shaped accents on the one just to the right of the one dead center.

Top edge of the bottom tier.

I win

well now that definitely ruins the whole cake .......................

Yeah that flower thing--that's one of those things where you din notice it in person but dang the picture! But I chalk that up to the angle of the camera.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

I was just in so ca last week and visited Christophers Garren shop. They were in the middle of a move to a much bigger shop. They were filming season 3 when I was there. He is very very anal about everything being perfect. I really like him. All his staff are a riot and his mom is a doll. Got to spend a couple hours observing the action. HAD A GREAT CAKE TIME.


I agree the Merci cakes the last couple weeks have been sloppy That Russian cake was a mess nothing good about it or the work on the Celtic cakes fondant work. IMO

I like them all. Seeing the different styles of decorating and the various work enviroments puts things in perspective as far as my own way of decorating and running things...there's a place and a demand for everyone no matter what level they're on, eh?

Well, we'll see how things go next week!!!

I just watched the Fair Wedding one--it's not sloppy-it's edited!

Besides it would hurt Reva's feelings and softie softie cream puff Mark's feelings --for crying out loud the guy's all choked up about lossing his Mom seven years earlier 'cause the cake artwork reminded him---

We would not say those criticisms, (sloppy) to someone online on CC I think --everyone was very very sympathetic and rightly so to the poor guy who's cake disentegrated before our very eyes on tv on the other show.

My opinion is y'all shouldn't be so critical--they are showing the cakes in progress--the cakes are beautiful.

Like Mark and Reva ain't family? Stop it.

I love Mark--he's SO talented...and that green man thing was incredible!

I love how it is very obvious in Amazing Wedding Cakes that there are very different styles of cake decorating. It is something that a lot of people who have never decorated don't understand.

(Also, up thread I meant ChrisG's Cakes. I think that they are beautifully made, but are just not my aesthetic.)

I am amazed and thoroughly enjoy watching all these shows. Mark, Reva, and all the others are so talented. I hope that someday I just have the talent they have in their little finger! I so envy what Mark can do with buttercream. Some of the styles are not necessarily mine, but that doesn't mean I don't respect their talent and usually pick up some little tibit of info.

I can't imagine trying to work with a camera in your face and the knowledge that whatever you say and do is going to be seen by thousands, perhaps millions of people. That would give me the shakes instantly.

I am a longarm quilter by occupation (part-time) and when a quilter brings in a quilt top and mentions her imperfect piecing, I always say that no "quilt police" live here. Well, there isn't going to be any "cake police" in this house either. Strive for perfection but don't stress out if you just don't quite get there.

I used to work for a person who screamed at me for not producing perfection quality cakes like in the magazines. Being screamed at trained my eye for detail. And as a result I can safely say

Ain't just Mark & Reva by a long shot.

So I watched Cake Girl's and ChrisG's work very closely when I watched MerciB cakes on the latest show.

At ChrisG's there's fingerprints on the finished flower pots, you can so totally see the seam in the white fondant and one side is longer than the other at the join, the excesss fondant that sticks up over the edge of the cake is not level at all--they never trimmed it, there's a bubble under the fondant.

Cake Girls, that quilt pattern, the pattern is totally off on the second to the top tier which of course would be 'the back'--there's an extra wide section right next to a too narrow section--oopsie-- the piping all over is not anywhere near picture quality perfect, stops starts, blobs, wobbles.

On all these beautiful creatiosn the finished product is breathtaking to me.

But I hate it when people equate precision with quality.

Didja not see what Mark went through to produce that face? All of 'em are working from the heart and to me that trumps precision any day.

You can be precise when you put in 300-400 hours on a dummy cake. So what?

Monet wasn't precise.

And I agree and am quite sure that Mark and Reva have tough enough skin to take criticism.

If we said something like that to a poster here we'd be pummeled with piping bags.

I just think that we should give some benefit of the doubt along with the professional critiques. We of all people.

Everyone did point out that everyone, although not exactly clean cakes like Mark and Reva's, had their artistic abilities. I did notice the green face that Mark made and pretty much almost everyone mentioned here that it was very good. NOt too many people can do that with buttercream.

However, my original point at the beginning of this post was that every single cake they have made has been, to say the least, clean like the others. Messy here and there and very noticeable.

I do understand that all decorators have the "little" flaws here and there and that no one cakes are perfect, but Reva's and Mark's work have flaws that are anything but little.

I do appreciate their talent and Mark's excellent work with buttercream but I just think that when they say that they make high end cakes, that their work should be more clean.

I had noticedd this from the very beginning of the show, even when they used to work for Cake Divas, and wanted to see if anyone or some people was seeing the same thing I was.

Are you seeing the problem/s on their finished product? I saw a scarey uneven bottom border during the show on Reva & Mark's that was masked completely on the final product. I also saw a straight piped line same color as the cake icing but it made the brown textured ribbon nearby stuff look uneven.

There's a front & a back.

And the booboos I mention on the Cake Girls' is on the final product--but aside from the irregular piping the big piping booboo can go in the back.

And C Garrens' decor masks his booboos just like he's actually saying during the show.

I mean nobody (that posted here) saw the missing doo dads on my Kerry V. cake that I copied. The flower thing being off did not show like that in person 'cause I did that cake for 'Screamer' --I had him/her broke of that most offensive habit by then but I woulda/coulda never let it go out that off. It's the little tear drop doo dads that were missing.

Because everybody sees a pretty cake they don't get close ups of the booboos kwim?

If it was that bad the bride & groom were genuine dodo birds huh.

I think they look like real cakes.

Chris G (the guy) said it best on the show--I'm gonna go back & quote him when I get home.

Christopher Garren's irks me sooooo much!!! Everyone seems like they are working to impress "daddy" and it creeps me out. Their finished products are good, but I just can't stand the dynamic....and all that fake, nervous laughter. And the shop is so cluttered!!! ugh! I FF thorough most of his segments.
As for Merci, I aree that their stuff is....less than perfect....but I give them props for enjoying their work. Sometimes I wish I could let go a little and enjoy the process.
Cake Girls...good stuff. Not perfect, but pretty darn good for the cake medium! I certainly can't do any better!
My only wish is that they would mention exactly how long each cake takes and how much they cost. I can't tell you how many friends think I can do the same thing (which I can't) in about 2 hours and for $20.

I like watching the show for the different styles as well, there all so different from each other. However, when it comes to work environment I'd pick Reva and Mark's any day. They seem to have a blast at work.

Yes, I was referring also to the final product. When they delivered the cake you could still see it. Not as much as before because they added a whole of bunch of decorations. But still the final product, to me, looked somewhat messy. That's my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with it.

I know that cakes also have their front and back where the back is for the least flawless look.

The bride and grooms don't see what other cake decorator's may notice rigth away on a cake. I went to a wedding where I noticed things not quite4 right, right a way on the cake, and the bride said it look perfect. And for her it was. I am not an expert myself. She was happy and that's what it's important.

We have different perspectives and views on the cakes, so we don't have to go agree with each other on every single one.

So we don't really need to keep going bck and forth with this one. We have different views on it and we can move on to the other comments made here.

I'm almost positive I've seen Reva post here. Not sure how active she is, but I have seen her, so you couls all be talking about "one of our own".

I was right...she's registered as Revale....

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-forum-userprofile-648615.html

She posted and introduce herself in another thread about the show.