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

Last week I wrote about the rampant problem of counterfeit products flooding the cake decorating market. I am excited to tell you that the post received very positive feedback across social media. Countless people shared the post on their personal pages, their business pages, in their cake decorating group pages. It was a really encouraging sign that many in the cake decorating community not only agreed with our position on the dangers of these tools, but also encouraging to know that the community WANTS safe, high quality products!

Our excitement over the solidarity we felt was dampened by the fact that we discovered more shops on social media selling illegal knock-off products. This one page was selling items ripped off from Katy Sue Deigns, PME, FMM, and Lauren Kitchens! Some of the knock offs are even pictured as the same color as the original molds! Though, I wonder if the images of the molds were pulled off the original designers' websites and used in their shop (while the knock-off seller actually sends the cruddy, none FDA approved silicone!). I was just looking at the offending Facebook page before I began writing; it is so frustrating that they claim to sell high quality products when they are obvious fakes. I also noted that on this page, it stated the materials were FDA approved. In my last post I noted that if counterfeit sellers like about the design and quality, it's no stretch to assume they are lying about the products being food safe.

However, I had a thought since I posted the last blog. If a business in the USA is selling these products, they have done none of their own research, development, or design. They buy the knock-offs from an overseas manufacturer who may SAY that the material is food safe. Unlike a person like Chef Nicholas who will take all necessary steps to ensure the material is in compliance with all FDA rules and regulations, a business may just take the manufacturer at its word. In light of my last post, this could be dangerous and unsafe. Remember, that cheap price tag comes at the cost of quality and safety. 

Think of it this way. You own a successful cake business. You have loyal clients because you make yummy desserts with the very best ingredients. Then you notice that your clients stop ordering from you. You find out another baker has come into your town. They have a very similar name, have an identical business logo, use the same recipes, display cakes that look identical to your designs, but the cakes are a quarter of the price because they are using cheap, poor quality ingredients. How would that make you feel? You would hope your clients don't fall into that trap! 

Thank you again to all of you who shared the original Real or Fake blog post from last week. I encourage you to share the post (which can be found on Chef Nicholas' Facebook page) on your page, your business page, or in your local cake community page (like an ICES chapter). We need all in the cake decorating and sugar arts community to stand up and against these illegally made counterfeit products!

One final note- in last week's blog I did state that most knock-off silicone molds are pink. This is true, they also have a nasty chemical smell. I forgot to add that there are original, reputable product designers that use shades of pink as their signature color for silicone molds (that ARE food safe). However, as I said last week, if you are unsure if a product is legit, check the designer's website or social media page! It is very easy to reach out and get confirmation from someone like Chef Nicholas or Sidney Galpern or Lauren Kitchens. We are one big sugar arts family, and we rather you ask us or check our websites for an approved vendor list then buy a product that is hazardous to your client's health. 

Buy smart and buy safe! Please share the original post on social media by clicking here. 

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

Hanging Handbag with Mayen Orido

The Boombox Cake with Mayen Orido

Renshaw Academy Sugar Flower Module

5-Day Ultimate Gumpaste Flower Class

Tea Party Pastries with Joseph Cumm, 8/25

Tea Party Pastries with Joseph Cumm, 8/26

Sweetly yours, 

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

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! 

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!

With our Grand Holiday Open House just a few weeks away, I know that you are all looking forward to seeing all of the fun tools that Chef Nicholas, Chef Reva, and Chef Tunde will be sharing in their demos. Usually our Open House events turn into a bit of a shopping frenzy. But, never fear! I am here to share an easy tool that will allow you to make a list of all the cake decorating, cookie decorating, or sweets making tools that your heart desires!

I am excited to tell you all about the WISHLIST feature on our website! You can send the list to someone who may need help giving you a gift, or you can search for a friend's wishlist to surprise them with a gift, or use it to save items you'd like to purchase later. The ISAC wishlist is very easy to use, and I am going to show you how! So... who's ready to make some wishes?! 

First of all, you need to go to our website; if you are reading this blog, chances are you are on our website right this very moment! Just in case, it is www.nicholaslodge.com. Click on the shop button, and then once the shop page opens, you will click on Wishlist at the top.

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!

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

If you are reading this blog, you're likely into the sugar arts and decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and the like. That means, you MUST know about the Mirror Glaze trend that is dominating the cake decorating world right now. Basically, it is a glaze with a very shiny, mirror-like finish. There are tons of cake decorators using mirror glaze now, blogs are a buzz with directions on how to make the glaze. But I'm not here to tell you how to make it. Nope. I'm here to tell you that we are selling pre-made mirror glaze at ISAC, in three colors/flavors!

Chef Nicholas has been in "the biz" for quite some time, and he is always on the lookout for tools or tricks to make decorating cakes easier, faster, or more efficient. If you have taken a class with him in person, on Craftsy, or watched one of his demos, then I am sure you have had a moment where he uses a cake decorating tool (or even a common kitchen tool) in a new and innovative way! I cannot tell you how many times I heard, "Oh, man! Why didn't I think of that?!" or "That's going to make things so much easier!"

Well, sometimes you need something that just doesn't exist yet- necessity is the mother of invention after all.  Well, Chef Nicholas has recently debuted three new items in his exclusive NL E-Z product line to make cake decorating easier for everyone! Oh, and there may just be a fantastic special offer in this blog as well!

I just LOVE when we get new products in at ISAC! I think it's pretty obvious why, we get to check out brand new cake decorating toys, play with them, and I get to tell you all about them! I haven't shared new products in a while, and I am pretty excited to share these three new items with you today! 

Happy Thursday friends! After a CRAZY couple of months things are getting back to normal here at ISAC. Since there are no guest instructors or cake shows to write about this week, I am excited to share some really fun new products that I think you all will just love! 

A while back I shared a post on Chef Nicholas teaching at the French Pastry School (FPS) in Chicago. If you are a fan of Chef Nicholas' Facebook page, you'll know that his students finished up their Wedding Cake projects on Tuesday, and they are all spectacular! These students get wonderful instruction from Chef Nicholas (as anyone who has taken a class with him would agree), but they also have basic tool kits that provide all the essentials needed to make their Sweet 16 and Wedding Cake class projects. We sell these kits at ISAC specifically for the students at the French Pastry School, but I thought I would share all the included tools. Everyone needs to know the essentials to have in your cake decorating arsenal! Oh, and hey, maybe I'll give some stuff away too. Who doesn't love that?!

Tremendously Talented Friends!

Since this is, in fact, Chef Nicholas Lodge's blog, I spend a lot of time talking about Chef Nicholas. Today I thought we would take a short break from that, and talk about some of Chef Nicholas's friends: Marina Sousa, Lauren Kitchens, and Alan Dunn! Each of these cake-decorating extraordinaires are near and dear to the entire ISAC team, and I have some interesting tidbits to share about each of them!

It's been awhile since we had a Products We Love blog, and I thought it was about time to share a product that I've been dying to share with you since way back in November after our Grand Holiday Open House! Yeah, I know... I've been holding out on your for FOUR whole months with this product! Well, sit back, relax and allow me to share all the reasons that I love DecoGel!

When I worked in the retail gallery here at ISAC, one of my favorite things to do was restock all the dusting powders: petal dusts, pearl dusts, luster dust, hologram (or disco) dust, and highlighters. Why? Because the colors are beautiful, and it seems to me as if ISAC offers every color imaginable!

As beautiful as all these colors are, we very often have people ask which of the dust powders will best suit their needs. I thought it might be helpful to everyone out there who wondered if they should get the luster dust or the pearl dust if I explained how each of the dusts are different! You will never again question which product you should buy!

Petal dust comes in many colors, and produces deep, bold, matte colors. If you have taken a class with Chef Nicholas, you have seen how using petal dust can add dimension to gumpaste flowers, and give them a natural and realistic appearance. Colors can be mixed together to create your own custom colors; you can lighten a color by adding cornstarch, or if you are dusting on a dark color you can add white petal dust. Petal dust is most often used dry, but it can be mixed with vodka for painting, or mixed with a bit of vegetable shortening to color gumpaste or to stencil a design.

Pearl dust is a fine, pearlescent dust that can be translucent or can have a very subtle reflective color, and works like magic in the NL Pump Brush. One of our best selling products, Super Pearl, is a staple in nearly all of Chef Nicholas' classes! Pearl dusts come in colors or you can mix super pearl can be mixed with petal dusts for subtle color with a bit of luster.

Sparkle dust comes in white and several colors. This dust has larger particles than pearl and luster dusts, and it is often used on flowers like hydrangeas and amayrillas as a finishing dust, and acts as a diffuser. Chef Nicholas white sparkle in his NL Pump Brush in many of his classes; when he makes strands of pearls in the NL E-Z Strand of Pearls mold he mixes white sparkle with vodka to paint the pearls.

Luster dust is like the child of petal and pearl dusts! It adds not only color, but also shimmer, shine, and dare I say... LUSTER! Chef Nicholas often mixes it with lemon extract for painting on rolled fondant. I love using luster dust; I think it makes everything look a bit fancier with a satiny finish.

Hologram (or disco) dust is comparable to glitter, and comes in a huge variety of colors. It will not impart any color like brushing petal dust onto a surface will, but it will make your project sparkly.The best way to use get hologram dust to adhere to your project is spray laquer! Place your lettering, flower, etc on plastic wrap or other covered surface and spray it lightly with the laquer. The sprinkle on the hologram dust with a small shaker to ensure even coverage. If you want to make something red, start off with red gumpaste, spray it with laquer, and sprinkle on the red highlighter dust! Our most popular hologram dust is Snow Sparkle; it gives an iridescent sparkle that is really gorgeous.

Last but not least is highlighter dust! It comes in gold, silver, and bronze and gives a very high-sheen metallic finish. It is usually not edible and should only be used on decorative pieces that will not be eaten, like a plaque. Chef Nicholas usually mixes it with confectioner's glaze for royal icing pieces or with citrus oils (lemon or orange) for ribbons. In Chef Nicholas' Craftsy class, Custom Lettering and Monograms, there is an entire lesson on metallics. Hey, would you like the class for 50% off? Sure you do, just click here!

With the exception of hologram dust, which is sprinkled onto a project, all other dusting powders can be simply brushed onto fondant, gumpaste, chocolate, or royal icing. However, for more intense colors or even application, a few drops of grain alcohol or vodka can be mixed in. Water shouldn't be used as most dusting powder is not water soluble; mixing it with water would just create a sticky mess.

ISAC carries a HUGE range of dusting powders! Chef Nicholas even has a number of exclusively created colors that cannot be found anywhere else! Dusting powders are an important part of any cake decorator's arsenal, and knowing the difference is a necessity when starting new projects!

Only 11 days until my new Craftsy class, Nicholas Lodge's Sugar Flowers Out of the Box, launches on March 2, 2015! You can enter for a chance to win the class for free by clicking here, just be sure to enter by March 1, 2015!

Sweetly Yours,

Stephanie

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

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

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.

Cake Organization at its Sweetest!

If you have taken a class with Chef Nicholas, in person or on Craftsy, then you know how well organized he is while teaching and that he keeps a very well organized classroom. In classes, student workspaces neatly include all the tools needed for each particular class. This is a helpful and much needed necessity considering how many tools are used in the lessons!  When the Nicholas Lodge line of cake decorarting products were developed, more than just tools were designed- orginaztional supplies were created to work seamlessly with the tools in the NL line as well as the tools cake decorators already have in their tool boxes. While brainstorming for blog ideas, Chef Nicholas personally suggested sharing one of his favorite products- the NL Multi Purpose Holders!

Cake Decorating: Favorite Tools

Last week on the Chef Nicholas Lodge Facebook page, we asked everyone to share the one cake decorating tool they couldn't live without. There were a ton of great responses, a few funny ones, and a clear winner! I also have a favorite suggested by our very own Scott and Nicholas! Oh, and read to the end to find out how you can win a sweet surprise!

Patchwork Cutter Perfection

Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to take some great action photos during the Modern Marie Antoinette cake class. The cake had so many intricate designs, details, and embellishments- it was amazing to see how beautifully everything fit together. Half-way through the second day of class, Chef Nicholas demonstrated how to lace up the corset. What stood out to me once he was finished, was the adorable, and perfect, little bows at the top and bottom of the corset laces. When Chef Nicholas showed the students just how easy it was to make the bows, a light bulb went on, and I knew I had to share these bows with you on the blog!