Last week Chef Nicholas winning the Cake Hero Award had to be celebrated. But there was more to celebrate last week- brand new Nicholas Lodge products by Katy Sue Designs were released! First is a new product in the Nicholas Lodge Collection by Katy Sue Designs- the Blackberry and Oak Leaves mold, and second the Flower Pro Poinsettia mold and veiner! The timing is obviously perfect to make some golden autumn oak leaves, and with Thanksgiving one week away, Poinsettias and the Christmas season are a blink away! 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED CHEF NICHOLAS LODGE AND KATY SUE DESIGNS'

FLOWER PRO LAUNCH!

Last week was the launch of the Flower Pro line of molds and veiners, designed and created by Chef Nicholas Lodge and Katy Sue Designs. The product line contains 6 brand new products, and they were flying off the shelves like hot cakes! The product first launched in the UK, and Chef Nicholas was on HOCHANDA, and sold out of all of the products allotted for the viewers of the show! It was so exciting! People were (justifiably) very worried they would be unable to secure their own new Flower Pro products! Luckily, when the products were launched one week ago, here in the USA, there were plenty of items to go around!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!! HOORAY! Today is the day that Chef Nicholas Lodge and Katy Sue Designs launch their brand new, exclusive new line of flower molds! This is a huge deal you guys! Chef Nicholas and Katy Sue Designs have been working on this project for quite some time, and they are proud and excited to announce all five molds and veiners as well as the companion book! Chef Nicholas will be going live on Facebook twice today, at 8am EST and at 1pm EST. Both of these Facebook Live events will take place in the Facebook Flower Pro group. This is a closed group, and you have to request to join- please do so now so that you can watch. Don't worry if you are unable to watch either of those livecasts; you can always watch the playback at any time! But hey, let's check out the new Flower Pro line right here in this post!

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last couple years, it's impossible to escape the allure of rose gold. This warm hue has become omnipresent in tech gadgets, makeup, clothing, jewelry, and even cakes. Rose gold even inspired the 2016 Pantone Color of the Year 2016- Rose Quartz! Makeup artists and fashion designers claim that the warm shimmery rose gold is universally flattering on all skin tones, one claimed it will add radiance to your skin! Um, yes please! Who couldn't look more radiant? This color is literally everywhere. I recently visited Walt Disney World Resort, and you can find rose gold shirts, sparkly backpacks, jewelry, and even rose gold Minnie Mouse ears!  Ya know what? I am totally in love with rose gold. Growing up my grandmother had beautiful rose gold jewelry, and as a little girl I loved it because it looked pink! So seeing that rose gold have become so pervasive makes me giddy. While I love it, I was not the driving force behind this week's post. My illustrious co-conspirator, I mean co-worker, Molly mentioned that given its popularity, we should spotlight the color with a blog post. Done and done! 

This week I have a short and sweet blog post to share! I would wager that everyone who reads this blog knows that Chef Nicholas is the undisputed king of sugar flowers. So it should come as NO SURPRISE that Chef Nicholas has been named Cake Masters Magazine's August Cake Icon! This is a huge honor, and Chef Nicholas wanted to share the link for this month's magazine (see below). We hope that you enjoy his interview honoring him, as much as he enjoyed giving it! Chef Nicholas always says that he is dedicated to his students and clients, so it is so meaningful to be honored in this way. 

http://www.cakemasters.co.uk/product/august-2018-issue/

Now, as the king of sugar flowers, Chef Nicholas also has the best tools. He designs all of his own sugar flower cutters, and has them custom made by a company in the UK with a 25 year history in the business. These metal cutters are made of top quality, tin-plated steel; they are finished with a lead-free solder to ensure your sugar flowers are 100% safe for consumption. These cutters aren't flimsy, and they are not cookie cutters. They are serious cake decorating tools. Guess what? Chef Nicholas has been creating some brand new designs to go with some new techniques he has been developing. So, we have decided to offer a fantastic sale on some of our most popular metal flower cutters! 

Right now, you can get select cutters on sale for up to 50% off! This sale will run while supplies last, so hop on over to our online retail gallery and check out all these wonderful cutters! These cutters will help you create incredibly lifelike flowers that are sure to impress all your clients! I hope that you can all find some cutters that you just need to add to your collection! There are a lot of choices to look through! Click here for some retail therapy!

There are still seats available in these great classes this summer at ISAC! Click the links below to register now. 

5-Day Ultimate Gumpaste Flower Class

French Macarons and Chocolate Bon Bons with Joseph Cumm, 8/25

Tea Party Pastries with Joseph Cumm, 8/26

Renshaw Academy Master Certification Class with Chef Nicholas Lodge, 10/13-10/22

Stephanie 

Our goal is for you to be completely satisfied with your Amazon order! If for any reason this is not the case, we would appreciate it if you would give us a chance to address your concerns, before leaving feedback or a review, by emailing us at customersvc@nicholaslodge.com. We would be grateful if you would leave us a positive feedback and review of your Renshaw Fondant. Leaving feedback seems like such a little thing, but it has great impact on our business and we would greatly appreciate your time in leaving it.

2017 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

WINNER of the 2017 Golden Tier Educator of the Year Award

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

Were you at the ICES convention in Cincinnati last week? If you were there, you may have enjoyed seeing the incomparable Ceri Griffiths demonstrating at our ISAC vendor booth. In fact, he was demonstrating his new collaboration with Katy Sue Designs, the Continuous Quilting mold. Chef Nicholas Lodge was the exclusive vendor of this brand new product (available in both large and mini sized!), and it was a HUGE success! The large molds completely sold out, and the small molds nearly sold out (Chef Nicholas is taking the remainder to CookieCon!). If you didn't get a chance to check out this AMAZING product, check out this video:

 So, why am I chit-chatting about Ceri Griffiths? Well, because we are lucky to be hosting him in Studio B this coming November! Chef Nicholas and Chef Ceri have been friends and colleagues for a long time, and we are extremely excited to be hosting him this year! This marks the very first time that Chef Ceri will be teaching at the International Sugar Art Collection! Read on for more details and dates. 

Cake, cookie, cupcake, and candy making is our business at ISAC (what, you guys didn't know that? HA!!). You may have also noticed we sell a lot of tools to make all those sweet and delicious treats. To the uninitiated, a cake supply store selling floral tape is a bit confusing, but we all know that Chef Nicholas is the all time reigning champ on finding sweet related uses for ordinary everyday products. Because Chef Nicholas is so creative, he sees things like  ice cube trays as flower formers. Things we mere mortals would never be able to envision ourselves. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Chef Nicholas pull out a mundane tool or household object, and then do something incredible with... the best part is hearing his students actually OOH and AHH during this mind blowing process.

My favorite example of this was a few years back at our Grand Holiday Open House event. Chef Nicholas had a cake on display that had fondant in the exact same texture as a comfy, cozy thermal shirt. Many people were murmuring that there must be a new texture mat out, because how else could you achieve that look. When Chef Nicholas presented the cake during his demonstration he whipped out a piece of drawer liner. Yes you read that right. DRAWER LINER. He simply pressed it onto the fondant and voila! Instant thermal cake. I mean, come on man! 

Many of our readers know that Sidney Galpern, of Simi Cakes, is a frequent guest instructor at ISAC. Sidney is a superb all around pastry chef, but she is best known for her isomalt designs. Many of our students have taken classes with Sidney in Studio B, and we are so excited to be offering two classes with Sidney this June. In the past, I had written a few blogs dedicated to different products that shape the cake decorating (and pastry) world. As I was brainstorming ideas for this week's blog, I reread some of these previous blogs for a bit of inspiration. I thought it might be fun to tell you all about this history and science behind isomalt. And, Sidney, if you are reading this- I hope I get it all right!

Yesterday, Katy Sue Designs debuted its Seaside Collection! I am so excited for these new molds; they are a mix of realistic designs as well as some whimsical ones! There are eight great molds that you will all love!

For several years now, ISAC has been making Edible Snow Globes during the holiday season. .We have even hosted several competitions for Edible Snow Globes; the submissions were pretty spectacular! This year the Edible Snow Globe Domes were part of our 12 Days of Christmas sale! I have good news. If you are still trying to decide on a gift for a co-worker or teacher, or would like a fun family activity to do over the holiday, you'll be pleased to know that we have extended our sale price for the Edible Snow Globe Domes! This set of 6 (which include the domes and the bases) is normally $12.99, but the sets are currently on sale for only $4.95 (plus S&H)! 

Last Thursday, Chef Nicholas shared some exciting news in a live broadcast on Facebook. As Renshaw Americas Brand Ambassador, Chef Nicholas is privy to lots of exciting news before the rest of us get to hear about it. For a while, Chef Nicholas and Renshaw Americas had been working together to expand and improve their rainbow of available colors. When Chef Nicholas became Brand Ambassador, Renshaw Americas had just developed their line of rolled fondant and gumpaste exclusively for an American market; red, black, yellow, green, navy blue, purple, and pink were seven colors available in the Renshaw Ready to Roll Fondant collection. Well, things just got a lot more colorful! (oh, and who wants to win a prize?!)

Sweet Fest Business Convention is back in Atlanta, September 21-24, 2017! This is not your every ay cake show. Sweet Fest Con is aimed at helping aspiring and established professionals in the baking and sweets industry! Whether you make cakes, cookies, or candies, Sweet Fest Con can give you valuable tools to start, grow, and manage your business successfully!

At the 2017 Sweet Fest Con, Chef Nicholas was honored to be one of the seminar presenters; his discussion topic was branding and sponsorship. No surprise there- Chef Nicholas is the Brand Ambassador for Renshaw Americas! As one of the 2017 Sweet Fest Business Convention sponsors, Renshaw Americas is pulling out all of the stops! EACH AND EVERY conference attendee will be participating in a Renshaw Academy hands-on class!! Playing with all of the exciting Renshaw Americas products? Um, yes please!

Chef Nicholas, Renshaw Americas' Brand Ambassador, has been in Liverpool, England all week. He, and the nine Brand Ambassador Partners, have been having an amazing time visiting the Renshaw headquarters! On Monday they took a fabulous tour of the Renshaw Factory, seeing where all the amazing products are made (not just for us, but for the royal family as well!!). They also got to spend some time at the state of the art Renshaw Academy!

Well, I didn't think it was fair for those lucky ducks to get all the Renshaw love. Nope. So I wanted to share some of my own Renshaw goodness with you, including their new, and absolutely AMAZING, color guide! 

We always love getting new products in the retail gallery at ISAC! It is even more exciting when we know the product comes from a high end vendor like Katy Sue. In the past, I had written a blog post about the Katy Sue Creative Cake System molds. Now I am pleased to share three more Katy Sue silicone molds that are newly arrived to ISAC: mini butterflies, blossoms & birds, and rose stems. 

Chef Nicholas has been in "The Biz," for a long time. He has gained lots of friends, lots of products, and lots of respect. Not surprisingly, Chef Nicholas often gets to try new products that vendors send in order to gain his professional opinion. I love when I get to share these amazing new products with YOU! This week I am even more excited, because this is a product I have been dreaming of! The SuperSpatch, by JoSpatch!

Beautiful, rich, and vibrant colors are so important in the cake, cookie, and candy making world. The perfect shade of the perfect color means a lot to a bride, or a child with a specific birthday cake in mind. That means you need a gel color that will work as hard as you do. Lucky for you, ISAC is proud to announce that we are carrying Rainbow Dust ProGel gel colors and edible, double-sided, Food Art Pens!

Edible Food Art Pens! Photo: S. Ewing/ISAC

Last week we had two special blogs about the fabulous line of Creative Cake System molds by Katy Sue Designs. We were asking our readers to submit a comment for a chance to win FOUR molds from the Creative Cake System family! We had an overwhelming response, but I am excited to announce the winner of the Butterfly Trio, Serrated Rope, and Small and Medium Ruffle molds!!

Congratulations to Christine Great Banks!

"I would use the ruffle so many ways to use it to cover cakes, makes skirts for figures ruffled flowers what a great prize. Would love to have a go at the butterflies they look amazing."

Christine- please email us at customersvc@nicholaslodge.com so we can get your details and send out your great prize! We can't wait to hear what you think after you give them a try. I know you are just going to love them!!

You all left really great comments, and I think that nearly everyone was most excited about the ruffle molds! If you didn't win, there is no need to fret. We are carrying the Katy Sue Creative Cake System molds at ISAC- we got ya covered!

Congratulations again Christine, and thank you to everyone who commented. It's nice to know there are so many of you reading this blog each week!

There is still time...

If you are looking for something to do this coming Saturday (March 18, 2017), we still have several openings in each of our annual Spring Open House event! This year Chef Nicholas is joined by guest instructors Marilyn Bawol and Michele Sweeney! Marilyn will be creating and edible Easter basket, and Michele will be demonstration how to use wafer paper to decorate cookies! You can sign up online or by calling us at 1-800-662-8925.

Finally, there is also still time to sign up for Chef Nicholas' PME Master Certification Class beginning March 25! Chef Nicholas Lodge and the International Sugar Art Collection are excited to once again offer the PME certification master classes! This intense 13-day class includes all three modules of the PME certification program. Once completed students enrolled in this super class will be awarded a total of seven certificates: three certificates from Chef Nicholas Lodge, three PME module certificates, and the PME Master Certificate. The Master Certificate is awarded only upon completion of the three PME modules.

Days 1-3 (March 25-27): Rolled Fondant Techniques course - 9:00am-6:00pm

Day 4 (March 28) - Free Day for the Students to Sightsee!!

Days 5-7 (March 29-31): Advanced Royal Icing Techniques course - 9:00am-6:00pm

Day 8 (April 1): Free Day for Students with optional afternoon demonstration on cake baking, filling cakes,  and working with real cakes in Studio B. This demo is included in your class tuition, but is not required if you would rather go sightseeing, sleep, etc. 1:00pm-5:00pm

Days 9-13 (April 2-6): Ultimate Gumpaste Flower course - 9:30am-5:30pm

The class tuition includes:

-Multiple booklets of handouts, recipes, etc.

-ISAC & PME aprons

-Water, soda, tea/coffee, lemonade, iced tea, lunch each day, and the ISAC signature sweet break in the afternoon.

-A celebration dinner with Chef Lodge and Staff after class on April 4.

This is the ultimate master class for any cake decorator!

This class is usually offered twice a year by Chef Nicholas. However, due to his heavy travel schedule in 2017,

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THE PME MASTER CERTIFICATION CLASS OFFERED BY CHEF NICHOLAS IN 2017.

If you have been considering taking this course with Chef Nicholas, do not wait any longer! We still have a couple seats open, and would hate for someone to miss this opportunity! 

Hope to see you all at our Spring Open House this Saturday, and maybe even in Chef Nicholas' PME Certification class too!

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

Don't just follow our blog! Follow Chef Lodge on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award. 

I was so excited about our blog this week, with our Katy Sue Creative Cake System giveaway and the debut of Scott's new cookbook, that I forgot to tell you all about the rest of the Creative Cake System line that ISAC is carrying! These molds are designed to work with rolled fondant and gumpaste to replicate the delicate string work of piped royal icing. The best part is that there are so many to choose from, and there is a huge set containing seven molds: the Creative Cake System 7-Piece Mold set! 

Cake by Ceri Griffiths Photo: S. Ewing/ISAC

Take a look at that cake, it was design by Chef Ceri Griffiths and it appears to have been painstakingly decorated it with royal icing! In reality, he used some of the seven different molds included in the set we have started carrying at ISAC! Included in this set are barrels, C scrolls, S scrolls, rope borders, scoops, serrated V, and shell border! This one set of molds will enable you to create perfectly composed cakes every time! Plus, your hands and wrists wouldn't get so sore. To buy all these molds separately would cost well over $125.00. But we are offering the Creative Cake System 7-Piece Mold set at ISAC for the insanely great price of just $99.00!!! This is a special price you won't be able to find anywhere else. The ISAC team just loves our clients and students so much, we want everyone to be able to snag a set of these molds!

Creative Cake System 7 piece mold set. Photo: S. Ewing/ISAC

As I mentioned, this set is part of the Katy Sue Creative Cake System, designed by Ceri Griffiths. The molds in our giveaway yesterday (butterfly trio, serrated rope, and small and medium ruffles) are also part of the Creative Cake System! Hold on to your hats, because there are two other molds too!! The Rose Medley (this can be seen on the yellow cake- the rose swag and individual roses on the bottom border) and the Micro and Mini Border set (teeny tiny versions of the barrels, C scrolls, S scrolls, scoops, serrated V, and shell border)! The Micro and Mini Border set is the perfect size for mini cakes and elegant cookies! The best news? 

ISAC is carrying EVERYTHING in our store!!!! The butterfly trio, serrated rope, and small and medium ruffles are so brand spanking new, that they aren't even in stores yet, but they are on their way!

Cake by Ceri Griffiths. Photo: S. Ewing/ISAC

If you would like to snag the Creative Cake System 7-piece mold set at the ISAC exclusive special price you can click here. If you'd like to buy any of the other components of the Creative Cake System, you can click their names above! We hope you enjoy these amazing tools as much as we have so far! 

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

Don't just follow our blog! Follow Chef Lodge on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award. 

Um... who loves NEW PRODUCTS? And who loves FREE GIVEAWAYS??? You do?! Well, good news, because this is the blog for you! Chef Nicholas has been trying out some brand spanking new Katy Sue Cake Design molds- the Creative Cake System designed by Ceri Griffiths. There are four sets, and they are designed to use rolled fondant, gumpaste, marzipan, chocolate, candy, boiled sugar, cold porcelain and salt dough to replicate royal icing piping decorating elements.

Oh, and we are giving one lucky reader ALL FOUR SETS! Do you want to be the winner?

All four Katy Sue Designs Creative Cake System molds. Photo: S. Ewing/ISAC

I love my job. I love being warm. I love the beach. I love the Caribbean. It would be a GROSS underestimation to say I am upset Chef Nicholas didn't take me along to Puerto Rico with him this weekend. Chef Nicholas was attending the Pastry Lovers Fest, and after seeing the photos, well... I'm even more jealous to be missing out! I normally reserve photo blogs only for after our ISAC Open House events or the National Gingerbread competition, but I just couldn't resist! Enjoy!

Part of the Renshaw Americas Alice in Wonderland themed installation