Well everyone, here is the last blog post of 2016! I think it best to go out with a bang. Yes. People are always asking when Chef Nicholas will be coming to their town. Well, those of you in (or near) New York City and Orlando, Florida are in luck! Chef Nicholas is heading to both cities NEXT month! So, if you have Christmas money burning in your pocket, why not sign up for one of these great classes!
Do you know Karen Portaleo? Oh, right, of course you do. How could you not? She is so outrageously talented: she has been on Food Network Challenge (four times), Halloween Wars, and Cake Wars- winning all but one; and her client list includes Sir Elton John, Usher, Jane Lynch, T-Pain, Demi Moore, Andrew Young, Kasim Reed, AMC's The Walking Dead, The Cartoon Network, Coca Cola, Delta Airlines, Turner Broadcasting, CNN, The Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, The Atlanta Opera, Georgia Public Broadcasting, The W Hotel, and Westin Hotels.
WOW.
Karen has taught classes on cake sculpting and modeling chocolate throughout the world, but she calls Atlanta, Georgia home... Just like Chef Nicholas. For years Chef Nicholas has wanted to host one of Karen's classes in our very own Studio B. Sadly, when you have two superstars of the cake world, scheduling can be a bit tricky. But, it seems that the wait is over!
FINALLY, and proudly, I am happy to announce that Karen Portaleo will be teaching at the International Sugar Art Collection on December 5-6, 2016! Hooray!
In Karen's class, students will not only finish a lovely Santa Cake (see photo above) that can be used as a center piece to Holiday Celebrations, they will learn a great many techniques! Such as:
-Sculpting faces
-Working with modeling chocolate
-Painting on modeling chocolate
-Cake structure and armatures
-Draping and working with fondant
-Painting on fondant
-Using molds and cutters
While Karen will be demonstrating a specific color pallet for her Santa, students are encouraged to take the techniques they are learning and get creative with their Santa! This class will be informative and FUN!
This is a two-day class and a light lunch will be provided.
I cannot wait for this class, and this Santa is coming just in time for the holidays! When Chef Nicholas and I were discussing this class last week, he said it best, "This class is the ultimate holiday gift for sugar artists." I don't disagree- why not give yourself the gift of this class, or surprise your favorite cake decorator with a seat in this class! And after the class, you will be sure to impress all of your holiday guests with the Santa that you have created.
If you'd like to sign up for Karen Portaleo's Santa class just click here! We can't wait to see you in class..
Sweetly yours,
Stephanie
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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.
This weekend Chef Nicholas is teaching his Gumpaste Flowers for Fall class at ISAC. Wild Poppy, Fall Cosmos, Dahlia, Ginkgo Leaf, Chili Peppers, and several types of grasses will all feature at this class. These flowers, and especially their bold, warm colors, make me happy. I love the fall. But, what if you love fall and you aren't going to be taking the class with Chef Nicholas Lodge this weekend? Don't be sad, I got you covered.
Ok everyone- last week I told you all about the demo and classes being taught by Wayne from Swank Cake Designs at ISAC's Grand Holiday Open House and in Studio B, respectively. I also told you that we had to iron out a few last minute details, and the classes weren't yet live on our website. Well, I have got something to share: the classes are live, on our website, and ready and waiting for you to register! I just couldn't wait until Thursday to share the good news!
Today is graduation day for the 14 students in Chef Nicholas' PME Master Certification class! It has been 13 days of hard work AND fun! We had students from Nigeria, Curaçao, Bahamas, Argentina, and all over the United States. It will be so hard to say goodbye to all of our new friends, but I know that all of these wonderful students are going home having learned amazing skills to share with their own clients. Thanks to all of our PME students, we are going to miss you!
Normally I do photo blogs after our Open House events, but I thought I could share some of the photos we have taken over the last two weeks! I hope it might inspire you to take a class with us- from a quick 2-day class or up to our 13-day master class! (and yes, I share the winner of last week's blog at the bottom).
I'm always so sad to see summer go. I love hot summer days, and days by the beach and pool. Of course, in the cake decorating world, the summer can be less relaxing; it is wedding season after all. Weddings every weekend, and hot weather making buttercream melt and fondant sweat. Yuck. The end of summer brings in a calmer period for many cake decorators, and it also means that ISAC will be open on Saturdays again! Hooray! Starting September 10th, we will be in house every Saturday for your cake decorating needs; and I know you are all excited, because just yesterday on Instagram, one of our amazing followers lamented that she wished we were open on Saturdays.
Reopening on Saturday's isn't my only fun fall tidbit. Nope, I have some fun events, classes, demos, and guest instructors to tell you about!
Earlier this week the Cake Masters Awards opened their nominations for the 2016 awards! In 2015 Chef Nicholas was honored to be a finalist in the Cake Hero category. This year we are hoping that Chef Nicholas will be selected as a finalist (and eventual winner!) of the Best Learning Experience Award. With 38 years of experience, Chef Nicholas has reached an innumerable about of students around the world. On Facebook, Chef Nicholas shared the highlights of his teaching career, and I thought I would do the same here. It's our hope that you will consider nominating Chef Nicholas for the Best Learning Experience, especially if you have had the privilege of taking one of his classes!
Chef Nicholas at the ICES Convention
WAAAYYY back in 2015 ISAC held a little giveaway in which participants could enter to win a free four hour private class with Chef Nicholas. Not surprisingly, we had an overwhelming response from people eager to win this fantastic opportunity. Alas, only one winner could be chosen (to be fair, people could enter to win the class for themselves, or themselves and a friend); Ginia and Margery were selected as the class winners, and just a few weeks ago they cashed in on their winnings and enjoyed their private class! Margery was even kind enough to share her thoughts on her special class with me!
Attentive students ready for their private lesson to begin!
Several weeks ago, I shared our class schedule for January. This week I am revisiting our January class schedule because we have added some fun new classes! Oh, and I'll be sharing a link that you can click to enter to win Chef Nicholas' NEW Craftsy class that launches next week! I'll dispense with the small talk and dive right into it!
December is halfway done, our big sales of the year are all finished, so here at ISAC we are already getting ready to welcome 2016! Just like I said last week, Chef Nicholas will not be slowing down. In January alone he is teaching three classes at ISAC, three mini classes in Florida, and by the end of the month he will be in Chicago teaching at the French Pastry School! So, if you want to start the year with Chef Nicholas, let me tell you all about January's classes!
The man is a machine. Chef Nicholas does not mess around when it comes to his profession. He is currently in Chicago teaching at the French Pastry School, but what he was doing last week is what I think will interest you most. RIGHT after the Thanksgiving holiday the Craftsy team flew into Atlanta. They had a lot to get done...
Thank you to ALL of our Craftsy students!
Before Chef Nicholas became a Craftsy instructor, the only way to take a class with him was to travel to our location in Georgia for a class, at a cake decorating convention (like ICES or Cake Camp, or get lucky enough to live where he was a guest instructor. When Chef Nicholas started his relationship with Craftsy, he was able to connect with students around the globe, students who may not have been able to afford an in-house class, or those who were nervous about taking their very first class in person. Craftsy has allowed Chef Nicholas to teach, inspire, and encourage students from every walk of life. The entire ISAC family is grateful for this.
Chef Nicholas' India Adventure
This week has been very busy at ISAC. Not only have we been preparing for Saturday, when Chef Nicholas will begin teaching his three day Rolled Fondant Techniques class (with PME certification), the ISAC family has also been helping to prepare Chef Nicholas for his big trip to India!! The Rolled Fondant class ends on Monday evening and the very next day Chef Nicholas will be flying to India! Why? Cake decorating of course! Chef Nicholas will be instructing a four-day class at the Academy of Pastry Arts India, June 26-29, 2015! Honestly, I'm not sure if Chef is more excited to teach in India or eat loads of deliciously spicy Indian cuisine! ;)
Sidney Galpern AND Joshua John Russell at ISAC!
Is it too early to start talking about our Grand Holiday Open House this coming November? Nope, didn't think so. Well, this year our Open House will be a bit different. We will have two guest instructors! That's right, TWO!! Sidney Galpern and Joshua John Russell will be lighting up ISAC with their cake decorating super powers. So, if you haven't yet signed up for our Grand Holiday Open House it's never too early, especially since you are getting instruction from two highly skilled guest instructors andour very own Chef Nicholas Lodge! But wait, there's more...
Greg Cleary comes to ISAC
G'day mates: mark your cake decorating calendars! In August, Greg Cleary will be coming all the way from Brisbane, Australia to teach in Studio B! Yay!
Chef Nicholas has TWO NEW CLASSES this summer! HOORAY! These two classes are being offered for the first time; some of the flowers have been taught by Chef Nicholas years ago in discontinued classes, and are back by popular demand by our wonderful students, and some flowers are being taught for the first time ever! Let's not stand on pretense, I'll tell you all about them right now!
2015 ICES Convention
The 2015 ICES Convention is less than two months away, and this year we celebrate its 40th anniversary! If you have never attended an ICES Convention, why not start this year? There is a long list of classes, competitions, demos, and shopping to enjoy
Summer Camp is Better with Cake!
Who didn't love summer camp as a kid? Well, ok, probably a lot of kids, but only because they were too young to go to CAKE CAMP!! Every other year the California Cake Club hosts the weekend-long Cake Camp, and guess what? The 15th Cake Camp is this year: August 13-16, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada! There are demos, classes, and a vendor area (code for shopping!). There will be about 18 different retail booths in the vendor area, including our ever popular International Sugar Art Collection booth! There will be 29 wonderful instructors this year teaching a variety of techniques; all skill level classes will be offered, so there are classes for beginningers, experts, and everyone in between! Oh, and guess who will be teaching three 1-day flower classes at Cake Camp? That would be Chef Nicholas Lodge!
Chef Nicholas' Craftsy Class is ALMOST HERE!
There are only FOUR more days until Chef Nicholas' newest Craftsy class launches! Hooray! I know everyone reading this is doing a serious happy dance right now! How do I know? Because I see and read all the facebook comments, blog comments, and emails begging for Chef Nicholas to release new Craftsy classes. Hey, they don't call me the social media goddess for nothing. I thought since we have less than a week on the countdown, I would share a bunch of the project photos and tell you a bit about the class.
The Year of the Cake: 2015
Well, hello there! I've really missed writing fun blogs for you all! I did short blogs the last two weeks since both Christmas and New Year's Day fell on Thursday (my normal publishing day). I love all the readers, but hey- family comes first. With the holidays now behind us, I'm ready to dive into writing new, interesting, and fun blogs for all of you to enjoy! This week I am going to entice you with two classes and a special little sale that we have coming up.