I Swear.... If One More Person....
Business By thecookieladycc Updated 12 Jul 2010 , 7:27pm by linstead
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.
My French born and educated pastry chef laughs at them for pronouncing it that way.
Do you think it could just be Buddy's Jersey accent? I only ask because I move to Arkansas from Connecticut - 19 yrs ago, and I still get made fun of, especially if I say "quarter". The really bad thing is I dont have a true Yankee accent any more either, so I dont fit in any where! Maybe Fondant is one of those words?
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!
Next time they mention his reasonable price just tell them that his buttercream tiered cakes (no filling, no elaborate decorations) start at $8.00 per serving---straight from the FAQ for Carlo's Bakery.
As for the recipes I do not mind if someone asks. Sure I put a lot of work into finding, tweaking and "perfecting" recipes--which was based on a lot of hard work done by someone else. I am thankful that someone posted their recipe for X so I do not have to do the work to get it to that stage.
For instance I never would have considered a shortening based buttercream--everyone I had always left a greasy film that I could do without. Then I found threads discussing a nice kind soul who posted a tasty shortening based buttercream recipe. If not for the work of her and others who have put time and effort into that recipe, how many on this site would be suffering with poor tasting, poor performing buttercreams? How many businesses (and potential) competitors have profited from that work? I know I certainly would be worse off without it.
Now I understand not wanting to give away trade secrets to a competitor. But really is the friend of the bride who is not in business and simply wants to make a tasty cake for her family really insulting you by asking for the recipe? Simply because she has the recipe does not mean it is going to be as good as yours. Baking a great cake is more than simply following the recipe (I believe Indydebi you made this point quite nicely on another thread). You have to be able to tell by sight when something has been mixed correctly. You have to be able to tell when the butter has been cream sufficiently, know how your oven cooks and adjust the time accordingly, etc.
My point is this being asked is a compliment, it is a recognition of your work and a desire to replicate it. And simply because they have it does not mean it is going to be as good as yours. Having only made Indydebi's buttercream a couple of times (and still learning how to get it right) I am sure hers and others like Momarobin (who have invested a whole lot of time into perfecting the recipe) is much better than mine. Still I am thankful for their sharing of that recipe with complete strangers.
My point is this being asked is a compliment, it is a recognition of your work and a desire to replicate it. And simply because they have it does not mean it is going to be as good as yours. Having only made Indydebi's buttercream a couple of times (and still learning how to get it right) I am sure hers and others like Momarobin (who have invested a whole lot of time into perfecting the recipe) is much better than mine. Still I am thankful for their sharing of that recipe with complete strangers.
I agree 100 percent 
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.
Well..
Fondant had been around for a long time before becoming popular in North America. Its pronounced fondant or fond-ant, fond-ent in the US and parts of Canada, but in France & Quebec, you would most likely hear fondon with maybe the odd fondont.
I don't think Buddy is off on his pronuciation that much, he just emphisizes the on or ont a bit more.
My 14 yr old niece who lives in Quebec has been here in BC visiting us and her Grand-Mere. She is fluent in both English & French. More than once she's commented on how she's amazed I could make such delicious fondon with ordinary marshmallows! 
Heres a link on how to pronounce fondant in French if you're curious.
http://www.forvo.com/word/fondant/
Do you think it could just be Buddy's Jersey accent? I only ask because I move to Arkansas from Connecticut - 19 yrs ago, and I still get made fun of, especially if I say "quarter". The really bad thing is I dont have a true Yankee accent any more either, so I dont fit in any where! Maybe Fondant is one of those words?
No..don't think that's it Karen. I have a very good friend that is from Jersey and even with the accent "fondant" doesn't come out "fondount". LOL....
Know what ya mean about the "yankee" accent. My sister in law is from New York and when my nephew was little she sent him next door to my sister's house to borrow a bowl. My nephew (about 5) told my sister he needed a "bull"... 
She had to go next door and ask my SIL what he was talking about. Hey we live in Arkansas he was only repeating he thought she said. Funny story..thanks for jogging my memory to remember that one. My nephew passed away in 2008 at the age of 21. I cherish any memory that I have of him and I had forgotten that one. So...thanks again.
I've never heard the...did you start this because of the cake shows...I often get the question if I watch them and yes, yes I do watch them...I still learn interesting things from them and enjoy the artwork that comes from them. The question I'm getting sick of...and yes, I know it's a compliment...is if I'm going to go on one of those competition shows. No..never, ever. When I explain what those shows compress into 8 hours of work people are amazed. The stress, the pressure of having someone watching your every move, the need to finish a cake that would take you three days in your own space in 8 hours AND to do it in front of cameras, an audience and under hot lights in a hot studio? Sure sounds like torture to me! Oh, and did I add Kerry Vincent into that nightmare!?! But I swear I get it with every single cake I deliver....first comes the "do you watch" and then "are you going to go on" questions...UGH.
oh, and Buddy's pronounciation of Fondant cracks me up but his pronounciation of Disney really cracks me up...it's Dis-ah-nee....LOL...gotta be the Jersey accent there.
Cat
First off, its fondant, not fondu, and not fondont (for those Buddy lovers out there).... FONDANT.
potayto, potahto...tomaytom, tomahto, fondant, fahndant...a rose by any other name......except fondu!!!!!
Oh, and my friends keep asking me my cake recipes and that really irks me.
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.
If someone were truly interested, sure, no problem. But it's because as soon as I mention the words "box of cake mix," it's almost immediate that they say, "Oh, you use a mix." It's like they are passing judgement and don't even hear me saying, "add a cup of sour cream, a cup of flour, a cup of sugar..." Then it elicits a whole discussion about box mixes vs. scratch, and UGH! I drives me nuts. I also live in an area with a lot of hoity-toity/preppy/trendy suburbanites who want everything from Whole Foods. I feel quite a bit of pressure to perfect scratch recipes if I'm going to keep supplying my network with preschool birthday party cakes. That's why I'd just rather avoid the recipe question altogether.
You know, it's funny... the first time someone said to me, "You're a regular Duff!" I was like, "Um, what now? Do I NEED to slap you?" I wasn't sure if I had just been insulted! I had never seen the show, believe it or not. Of course I've seen it now, so it makes sense. 
Honestly, I agree that these shows can set unrealistic expectations to people who don't know what it takes. It is creatively edited to make it look 'easy'. That, and these people are skilled, with a ton of experince usually, so they make it look easy anyway.
BUT, I will add something I really like about the shows, (aside from the pure entertainment value) is that sometimes you will see them cover a cake with fondant, and it's NOT perfect. It might have a small wrinkle, or they might have difficulty with it doing the 'elephant skin' thing that day. I've seen them have to pull the fondant off and redo it. Then, they show how even with those problems, they put the decorations on and it looks pretty much flawless. I feel good about my occasional problems when I see someone else having them, someone who KNOWS what they're doing!
I have to say, I was at WalMart the other day and saw all these do-it-yourself cake kits that had edible images and a cute little cardboard stand, etc. I had mixed emotions. While I am glad that caking is picking up poularity and making people more interested in cakes that require effort, it's a little hard to look at that stuff and know how many clients you'll lose to it. Oh well. Good for them for doing it themselves, hopefully there will still be enough customers to keep us in business, right?
My French born and educated pastry chef laughs at them for pronouncing it that way.
Mine too adonisthegreek1! He makes jokes about it in class! 
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.
Hey I just say "Baking Aisle of Vons" pick a box, plus some eggs oil and water. And don't forget to turn on your oven. Bake till done 
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