I don't do a lot of "architectural" cakes, but watching Duff, Buddy, and the competition shows on TV, when they make a cake, it seems like about 75% of it isn't edible...or CAN be eaten, but isn't meant to be. They (we) use so many wires and frames (metal pipes, PVC, etc), wood, Rice Krispie Treats, etc, to make the design...even gumpaste flowers and fondant which usually gets removed or pushed to the side of the plate...there hardly seems to be any cake! I'm not dogging it AT ALL - I know it's necessary to get the design you want - but just wondering if your customers ever get upset that they are paying for a lot of stuff that gets thrown away?

I don't use everything your talking about but People usually call dibbs on the rkt's and it's eaten before the cake

AnotherCreation - It sounds like you make the shapes without a frame and it's safe to eat, but it seems like a lot of their designs use non-edible frames. I was watching Buddy last night and he molded RKT right onto PVC. I've seen Duff make a frame out of wire and then cover it directly with RKT or modeling chocolate. And they (or their staff) NEVER wear gloves when kneading fondant and chocolate or molding with RKT!

I get requests to do some of my cake decorations with RKT!

I love being able to say, "it's 100% edible!" so I strive for that! I only use inedible things when NECESSARY!

I can understand someone requesting RKT IF they can eat them, but I'm wondering about when they are wrapped around PVC, pipes, etc, and therefore should NOT be eaten. Do they get upset when about 1/3-1/2 of what you deliver can't (or shouldn't) be eaten and just gets thrown away? But...I guess it's no different than gumpaste flowers that get removed. Ultimately, I suppose people pay for the design they want regardless of how you get there.

People order cakes from those particular bakers to get the designs they like, which most happen to be crazy structures that require using all different mediums. I personally can not imagine ordering a cake to serve 10 people and paying a minimum of $1000 though!

As far as wrapping RTK around PVC pipes, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you sterilize the pipes before use. You drink the water that comes through you house in PVC pipes. It is an NSF product.

crlovescakes - I guess you're right about the PVC! It just seems so unsanitary after sitting on the shelves at the home improvement store. And actually, the part that touches water is the inside of the pipe; the part that touches the RKT is the outside. Just doesn't sound appetizing to me. But hey...I could force myself to do it for $1000.

Yeah, I understand what you are saying about the PVC pipes. I personally use them for structure a lot, I soak mine in sanitary solution that all my dishes are required to be soaked in. I also use a bottle brush to clean out the inside before rinsing and sanitizing.

Yes, I use pvc for support and it is food safe. It gets cleaned better than what goes in my house. I also have all sizes of pvc that I use for rolling pins. Easy to find the right size and cheap to boot.