I Swear.... If One More Person....
Business By thecookieladycc Updated 12 Jul 2010 , 7:27pm by linstead
asks me if I started decorating cakes because of watching Cake Boss or Ace of Cakes I'm going to scream.
No, no I didn't. Believe it or not, cake decorators actually existed way before their shows came on.
To be honest I have never watched either of the shows (nothing against those of you that do... seriously). I mean I've seen snippets of Ace of Cakes here or there because I have been following Duff since before his show started, but my "cakeness" does not revolve around what Duff or Buddy are doing this week. And why do people act so shocked when I tell them that I don't watch them. It's like I can't make a cake unless I watch the shows? I do admit, I enjoy Food Network Challenges (which I have been watching for a LONG time) and Amazing Wedding Cakes every now and then, but they are not the reason I started a business. It's not like because I watch Ice Truckers, I suddenly know what its like to drive a semi on a sheet of ice.
And why do the people who watch those shows suddenly become experts on cake decorating? Really? First off, its fondant, not fondu, and not fondont (for those Buddy lovers out there).... FONDANT. And second of all don't ask me to make a "Buddy Cake" for Wal Mart prices... ain't gunna happen.
Please stop asking me for my recipes, I'm not going to give them to you. And no I'm not going to teach you how to do it yourself, if I did that I wouldn't have a job anymore, I don't care if your sisters, brother in laws mama's aunt made your last cake for half the price, and that you are just "doing me a favor" by ordering from me. Guess what... don't need your help.
And please, for the love of everything that is good and holy, don't ask me to make you a cake, find out the cost then tell me its JUST cake. I may not make it for you after that. If it was "just cake" then you would be doing it yourself.
Sorry... just needed to rant. 
I just kind of let out a big sigh after reading this haha u had some great points.....a bit over the top but thats what alot of us cake decorators have to do! To bad only cake people are going to see this. lol
p.s.....i greatly hate (dislike MUCHO!) when people call fondant... fondu, i kind of give them a stupid stare. oops sorry
ha ha don't you just hate tv sometimes. My problem with Ace of cakes is the level of construction/joinery involved in alot of what they do- I make cakes not cabinets, if it needs drilling find someone else please. I also get the wearisome 'I can get it cheaper from blah blah blahh'... fine, if you want a cake less than 2 inches deep with more additives in the buttercream than you would find in my handsoap go get one from there. oooh I feel better too now.
Sorry... I just had a few really awkward conversations this weekend, and I was tired and blah blah blah. I'm really not THAT crazy. ok maybe I am... but don't tell anyone. 
People also keep asking me if I watch the cake the shows and I truly do not. They just stress me out because I start to question my skill level and abilities and that makes me just want to quit even hobby caking. It's hard to remind myself that they are a team with a full size bakery and I am 1 person in my home kitchen.
AND, I even emailed someone advertising on craigslist that said she makes "fondue cakes." I told her to research her definitions before she calls herself a business.
Oh, and my friends keep asking me my cake recipes and that really irks me.
So cookielady, rest assured, you're not alone.
If a cake muggle insists on a recipe I usually say, the recipe starts with 6 pounds of sugar, then you add 5.5 pounds of cake flour. ::innocently:: You do have a scale and a biiig mixer, right?
And whenever anyone starts to ask about fondue cakes, I immediately start trying to sell them chocolate fountain service. Just for my own amusement.
amen sista! it tends to get a bit old after a while. i simply nod and smile and then rant out at my husband when he gets home from work. 
Please stop asking me for my recipes, I'm not going to give them to you. And no I'm not going to teach you how to do it yourself, if I did that I wouldn't have a job anymore, I don't care if your sisters, brother in laws mama's aunt made your last cake for half the price, and that you are just "doing me a favor" by ordering from me. Guess what... don't need your help.
And please, for the love of everything that is good and holy, don't ask me to make you a cake, find out the cost then tell me its JUST cake. I may not make it for you after that. If it was "just cake" then you would be doing it yourself.
I just showed this to my family and they told me to use this as my signature in my emails to people who behave as described above!!!!
If a cake muggle insists on a recipe I usually say, the recipe starts with 6 pounds of sugar, then you add 5.5 pounds of cake flour....
I do the same thing with my chocolate chip cookies.
"18 cups of flour .... that's about 2 cups short of a 5-lb bag. By the way, how big is your mixer?"
That usually shuts 'em up! 
Oh, and my friends keep asking me my cake recipes and that really irks me.
So cookielady, rest assured, you're not alone.
Just curious why it bothers you that friends ask you for recipes. I guess I do not see the big deal. I could understand if there was some kind of secret that set yours apart from competitors that you did not want them to copy.
I also wonder how much of "your" recipes that your friends are asking about are based on someone else's recipe whose generosity in sharing their recipes is part of the reason your friends are asking in the first place.
On the flip side...........
I just bake for fun, and to keep my sanity. I find it therapeutic because I do not have the pressure that those of you in business have. It's another creative outlet for me. Everytime I bring a cake somewhere, people tell me to open a business. I would crumble under the pressure of having to turn out multiple stacked cakes in a short period of time. (One a month is more than enough for me.) They don't accept the fact that I don't want to run a bakery of any sort; I do not turn out perfectly level creations; our county does not allow home-based businesses (so what? they say); I don't want to write a BUSINESS PLAN!; I recognize that there is so much more to running a business than just baking and decorating cakes; I do not want to give up my weekends to bake on demand; I might throttle a bridezilla; and it would stop being fun for me.
It's just a hobby for me. People think that because I can produce a cake that's somewhat impressive, I should go pro. Those shows plant a lot of seeds, but not all of them should be fertilized. But I can see how people can get swept up in the craze. The compliments are flattering, but they're made by people who have never operated a mixer.
I salute those of you who do this for a living!
Can i get an Amen on thecookieladycc post. I will scream with you!!!!!!
Oh, and my friends keep asking me my cake recipes and that really irks me.
So cookielady, rest assured, you're not alone.
Just curious why it bothers you that friends ask you for recipes. I guess I do not see the big deal. I could understand if there was some kind of secret that set yours apart from competitors that you did not want them to copy.
I also wonder how much of "your" recipes that your friends are asking about are based on someone else's recipe whose generosity in sharing their recipes is part of the reason your friends are asking in the first place.
I don't mind my friends asking me, its complete strangers asking. No, not all of them are my own made up one of a kind recipes, but they are recipes that I had to find and perfect on my own. I didn't just google chocolate cake and stick with the first one I found. Crap it took me almost 2 years to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. If people think I'm just going to give that up they have another thing coming.
And whenever anyone starts to ask about fondue cakes, I immediately start trying to sell them chocolate fountain service. Just for my own amusement.
LOL I was just thinking this would be a good reply to fondue cakes!
Crap it took me almost 2 years to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. If people think I'm just going to give that up they have another thing coming.
Amen, sista!!
I'll bet I've only given my choc chip recipe to about 5 people ... my own sister doesn't have it and it took me months (!) to give it to my daughter!!
My oatmeal cookies? Eh! Big deal! You can get it off of the side of box, same as I did!
I couldn't agree more and I can't stand when they call it Fondont.
Although that's still not the exact pronunciation, I think they're trying to say it the original French way.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fondant
JGMB, looks like you're right. There's a pronounciation listed that looks 'french'. (or what some in my family would call "Fancy Talkin'!")
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fondant
If you go to this link, you can hear how it is supposed to be pronounced in ENGLISH!
Have you ever seen the episode of Cake Boss that is at Disney? The French chef has NO IDEA what Buddy is talking about when he says Fondahnt. Cracks me up!
I was just at a party this weekend where someone was "explaining" to me how Buddy is such a great decorator and must be reasonably priced because the store is always packed and why can't you (me) do cakes like that? After picking my jaw off of the ground, I explained Buddy has like 50 employees, walk in coolers, a sheeter, uses fondant rather than buttercream (people freak out when I use fondant cuz it tastes yucky) and I could go on and on. I just couldn't believe this person said this to me. Then, another cake decorator was there and she asked me for my buttercream recipe! As was said above, I have toyed with that recipe for years and thought it was inappropriate for a "competitor" to ask for my recipe. Maybe I was overreacting, but I gave her Wilton's recipe (which I used for years, with decent results).
Back to Buddy, I love watching the show and I love how his show does show some of the disasters that come with cake decorating, but if you want a Buddy cake from me - you had better hope he delivers and be ready to pay a steep price!
Back to Buddy, I love watching the show and I love how his show does show some of the disasters that come with cake decorating, but if you want a Buddy cake from me - you had better hope he delivers and be ready to pay a steep price!
In this article, a 200 serving cake costs $3000. That's $15/serving, which means her little wedding cake to serve 100 people would cost her $1500.
Suddenly my price of $450 didn't look shabby!
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-07-28-cake-boss_N.htm
I think these TV cakes shows are giving the public a unrealistic idea about cake decorating. A lot of the people who watch these shows think that us "small bakery or one person cake decorating business", can whipped up something like what is being created in these show with the same ease. Most of them have a large crew of people who each do a different thing, some of the contractions use to set up some of these cakes requires power tools that could be dangerous if you are not use to them, they have a baker dedicated to just baking, they have model maker etc.. also I think they should mention what they charge for these cakes, that way customers would appreciate our work and our prices, I understand from a previous post that The Ace of Cakes doesn't take orders for less than $2000.00!
Lomikesa,
...they have a baker dedicated to just baking, they have model maker etc..
I remember a Buddy show where the baker only baked one 18" round instead of two. Buddy called down to "send up the 18 inch!". That's another difference. His baking is all done on another floor and the baker just sends up the cakes as they are needed. Me? I had to juggle space to put all of those baked cakes and cakes that were in various stages of icing/decor. Add'l space is add'l overhead, which has to be met with increased volume or increased pricing.
I never turn down an opportunity to learn something. I watch them as often as I can. Just like I read on here as often as I can. It's just another means to learning for me.
...they have a baker dedicated to just baking, they have model maker etc..
I remember a Buddy show where the baker only baked one 18" round instead of two. Buddy called down to "send up the 18 inch!". That's another difference. His baking is all done on another floor and the baker just sends up the cakes as they are needed. Me? I had to juggle space to put all of those baked cakes and cakes that were in various stages of icing/decor. Add'l space is add'l overhead, which has to be met with increased volume or increased pricing.
Amen! That's what I was trying to say too. Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge, but I don't have an art degree, don't have a freezer where I can pull a chocolate cake from cuz you changed your mind the day before your event, etc.
Again, I mean no disrespect to Buddy or Duff or any of them. They all struggled (most likely) to get to where they are, I just wish my customers would realize there is a big difference between what you see on TV and what I can do by myself.
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