Saturday, October 24, 2009

Catherine and Vincent


When I met with Catherine and Vincent, they immediately told me that "It's all about the taste". Now, anyone who knows us at Gateaux, knows that we can certainly wow with the looks of our cakes (that's what people tend to come to us for) but little do they know that it's the taste of our cakes that seals the deal!

These two were so very much about the taste, that they really didn't have much interest in designing the cake at our first meeting. So, we set them up for our next sample day, and casually flipped through our many albums of past cakes while discussing which cake flavors they should try.

If we successfully wowed them with our cake, the design would be classic. They were both drawn to our lace cakes, and Catherine was wearing a lace dress, so that most likely would be the basis for our design. We'd have to discuss specifics later, because she didn't have pictures of the dress yet.

Then, it happened...as Vincent casually flipped through our books, something caught his eye. I should have known. You see, usually fellow doggie freaks tend to recognize one another, but these two slipped under my caninephile radar. Vincent was looking at a most beautiful wedding cake in our book. A classic, elegant design topped with fresh orchids. But peeking out from behind those orchids was a miniature frosting pooch.

I quickly found out that these two were proud dog-parents to two Shi tzu's named Cosmo and Chili...

and the possibility of immortalizing them in frosting may just be the thing that made this couple realize that it is all about the flavor, but you can have an awesome looking cake too!

As it turns out, Catherine and Vincent chose a cake filled with Passion Fruit Bavarian Creme and Vanilla Mousse. I went to see her dress (a beautiful Melissa Sweet gown)

and realized that I was in for more than your typical lace pattern. As a matter of fact, my original plan of how I would reproduce the pattern on the cake only lasted until I had covered about a five inch area of the bottom tier with it. I took a step back, and did what makes my employees all simultaneously groan/grumble and moan...I scraped the design right off the side of the fresh fondant, and started experimenting with alternative techniques. Sure enough, once we all put our heads together, we came up with the perfect method(s).

This little number actually involved painting, piping, clay extruder work, and of course, my favorite, tweezer work! In toll, it took four of us a thirteen hour workday to complete the intricate pattern, a total of 52 hours of woman-power. That doesn't count baking, or the afternoon spent creating little fondant Cosmo and Chili.


So here's a riddle for you. How do you know you're on the right career path? Easy, when you can work a 13 hour day, and come back excited to do it all over again. I'll never tire of this. It's such a great feeling when a couple that you really enjoy chooses to include you in the plans for their wedding. Even better when they love the result. Add in the fact that I spent a full afternoon this year sculpting frosting dogs (as part of my JOB) and you'll not find a luckier girl in the world.

So here's to you, Catherine and Vincent, who have proven to all of us that you can, indeed have your beautiful cake and eat it too.

6 comments:

SweetThingsTO said...

That pattern is just gorgeous - it should be in a magazine as I've never seen anything like it! wow!

BellaLovesPink said...

I have no words. WOW!

Catherine said...

Hi Robin! It somehow slipped past me that you had a blog until just yesterday! Thanks so much again for creating a lovely, incredible and delicous cake for us to enjoy with our guests on our wedding day...and the top that we enjoyed just a couple weeks ago! You and your team are amazing and inspiring!

Vincent Jusuf said...

Since there were so many things that were going on during the wedding that we had forgotten to mention to the serving staff to save little frosting Cosmo and Chili. It was such a nice surprise when we opened the box containing the top of our cake to find those two sitting there guarding the cake. Catherine can testify to how I lit up when I saw them. They're now sitting in a plastic container guarding our freezer contents.

Candi said...

Just found your blog through a picture posted to pinterest. I hope I can do great stuff like that one day! I'm just a beginner, and that lace looks AMAZING!!!

Popcorn Recipes said...

Thanks for this blog posst