Question For Folks Who Do Cake Shows...
Decorating By DoniB Updated 3 Oct 2007 , 6:46pm by chelleb1974
After going to the ICES cake show yesterday in Pineville, NC, my best friend is begging me to start working on a cake for next year's show (she's getting me a membership as a Christmas present, apparently!).
So I have a few questions for you cake show veterans:
1) does everyone use cake dummies, or do some of you use real cakes? Which is preferred/required by cake show rules, or does it depend on the cake show?
2) Do you use buttercream or royal icing for the dummy cakes, or something completely different?
3) Do you have various cakes for various categories, depending on what show, who's expected to enter, etc?
4) If I'm not licensed for an actual cake business, am I considered 'hobbyist', or something else?? (I know that may seem like a silly question, but if it makes a difference, I need to know. I do make cakes for the cost of supplies for friends and family, so I don't know if that would fall under professional or not)
5) is it worth it??? Is it worth the investment in dummies, time, travel, etc, to start doing cake shows, if you're not licensed?
6) Are there any other organizations besides ICES that would be worth joining, and are there any publications that you'd suggest I start taking?
Thanks for indulging me! 
1) does everyone use cake dummies, or do some of you use real cakes? Which is preferred/required by cake show rules, or does it depend on the cake show?
2) Do you use buttercream or royal icing for the dummy cakes, or something completely different?
3) Do you have various cakes for various categories, depending on what show, who's expected to enter, etc?
4) If I'm not licensed for an actual cake business, am I considered 'hobbyist', or something else?? (I know that may seem like a silly question, but if it makes a difference, I need to know. I do make cakes for the cost of supplies for friends and family, so I don't know if that would fall under professional or not)
5) is it worth it??? Is it worth the investment in dummies, time, travel, etc, to start doing cake shows, if you're not licensed?
6) Are there any other organizations besides ICES that would be worth joining, and are there any publications that you'd suggest I start taking?
Thanks for indulging me!
1. some use dummies, some use real cake. if the show doesn't require it I use dummy because if no one is tasting the cake there and/or it isn't a sculpted cake the the rules require be made out of real cake to deomonstrate it would be possible, there is really no point to using the real cake.
2. i usually cover with fondant, but otherwise would use royal for a dummy
3. I usually only do a single cake. some people do many. depends on what time and $ you want to invest and what the rules allow.
4. read the rules and determine what that specific contest defines for each category. can be different for different contests, I would imagine.
5. Licensing doesn't have anything to do with it in my opinion - this is about people who enjoy this art and want to share and learn. any hobby costs money - if it makes you happy and you enjoy it then it is worth it. if you stress over it, then maybe not. something you have to decide for yourself, really.
6. I would recommend buying a single issue of any magazie prior to getting a subscription. personally I think you can learn an awful lot just by being on this website.
Don't know how qualified I am to answer this, since I've only done one competition, but here's my opinion.
I have to completely agree with jmt1714 - especially the dummy cakes. I entered the wedding cake competition at the Mid Atlantic Cake Show (MACS) and used real cake. I don't think many of the others were real cake! In fact, I decided while I was there I was never doing another real cake unless the rules required it - I ordered a set of cake dummies the week after the show!
The biggest advantage that I see with using dummies is you can do the cake months ahead of time. The MACS was in March this year, and I'm an accountant, so it was tough finding the time to bake and decorate the week before the show! Next year (200
I hope to have the wedding cake done by the end of January. Hopefully I'll find time to do some dummies to enter in the other catergories as well!
I am going to a cake show in PA in a month (sorry - don't remember the name) and am doing two cakes for it. Only reason I haven't started yet is that I only found out about it on Sunday!
~Chelle
edited for spelling
Also wanted to add, regarding your question of whether it is worth it to do all of this - that really depends on how you feel about it. I live in Massachusetts, and drove to MD, am driving to PA, considered driving to VA, NC - most people think I'm crazy, but I love decorating. I also would not do a dummy just for me - I have to have a reason to put the energy and commitment into doing one. I would consider going to any show that I could drive to in a day or so.
~Chelle
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%