I'm looking for tips and teaching beyond what I can get in the Wilton courses. I've even looked at a few associates degree programs in MA.

While looking I found these summer classes being offered at the Culinary Institute. I think these classes sound just like what I need and am so excited I wanted to share. Here's the descriptions:

Advanced Cake Decoration:
Techniques of Fondant
$100.00
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
6:00pmâ10:00pm
In this hands-on class with Pastry Chef Lisa Raffael, owner of Delicious
Desserts in Falmouth,Massachusetts, students will learn to decorate
with fondant. Students will practice covering cake set-up, filling, trimming,
and icing. Chef Lisa covers how to prepare and color fondant and
how to design patterns.

Advanced Cake Decoration II
$100.00
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
6:00pmâ10:00pm
In part two of this series with Pastry Chef Lisa Raffael, students will
learn how to stack a three-tiered cake and decorate the cake using
fondant and simple border techniques. Other piping techniques
include basket weave, borders, pearl borders, and ivy.

Basic Cake Decorating
$95.00
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
6:00pmâ10:00pm
Lisa Raffael, owner of Delicious Desserts in Falmouth,Massachusetts,
demonstrates how to decorate like a Food Network Challenge pastry
chef! Chef Lisa begins the class demonstrating crumb coats, piping simple
borders, roses, basket patterns, stacking cakes, and cutting cakes into
different shapes. The class will then be able to fill their own piping bags
and begin practicing piping techniques. Lisa will also discuss different
types of cakes and the icings that best suit them. Please view our website
for a detailed course description at www.cambridgeculinary.com.

Wedding Cake Seminar
$100.00
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
6:00pmâ9:00pm
In this demonstration class, Pastry Chef Lisa Raffael, owner of
Delicious Desserts, will construct a three-tiered wedding cake.
She will discuss the process of meeting with the bride and groom,
designing the cake, and finishing and transporting the cake. Chef
Lisa will also share tricks of the trade as well as her appearances
on the Food Networkâs Challenge and her award-winning specialty
cake business in Cape Cod.

I may skip the basic cake decorating as I think the Wilton classes covered that, but the other classes sound great. What do you think?

Katie

Are these at Cambridge Culinary? I used to walk past there on my way to school all the time. I have a couple of friends who took some classes there and they really liked them.

Yep, they are at Cambridge Culinary. Sounds like the classes will be fun, and hopefully advance my skills.

Katie --

These appear to be just what you are looking for. You might even want an "internship" at some of those shops to after taking the classes. Best wishes.

They sound very cool. What I'd be worried about though. What if the class is packed, and you get someone that is there just for the "fun" of it. Or the person that needs the instructor's complete attention. For 25 bucks an hour. It does sound very cool, and a whole lot cheaper than J&W.

Mike