Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I want my Cake TV!
Food related shows are pretty popular in the best and worst of times,with cooking demos and competitions galore but the one edible item that tends to make all TV viewers happy to tune is cake. Elaborate cake making and decorating wasn't always considered a spectator sport but it's hard to avoid the sugary goodness of cake creation as you channel surf these days.
Since they do have specialized sports and home decorating channels,I don't see why there can't be an all-cake,all-the-time network. It's not for lack of talented sugar and pastry artists out there,that's for sure. Let's take a peek at a few of the tastiest cake themed TV samples out there:
ACE OF CAKES: This show is without a doubt the king of the cake castle and the one place where anyone who is anyone wants to go and have a special Duff Goldman creation-Harry Potter,The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall,Oprah-the list goes on and on.
What really drives the show,however,is not the big names that pop in but the interesting interaction between Duff and his buddies at Charm City Cakes who are like one big happy(and at times wacky)family. The wonderful work atmosphere lends itself to the lively inspiration needed to put their world renowned cakes together:
CAKE BOSS: Fast on AoC's heels is Cake Boss,which showcases Food Network Challenge contender Buddy Valastro's family owned and run bakery in Hoboken,NJ. The show is very much like Buddy himself,loud and good naturedly humorous with that street smart approach to cake design we've all come to know and love.
The show has just finished it's second season and should have a couple more to follow. One thing that will keep fans tuned in are the offbeat opportunities that Buddy gets to make a cake that suit even the most unusual(and for some, unappetizing) of events:
AMAZING WEDDING CAKES: This series features the work of several bakeries such as Cake Girls,Cake Alchemy, Christopher Garren's and Merci Beaucoup as they whip up personalized pastries for one of the most hectic yet happy occasions that occur one(or thrice)in a lifetime for folks.
WeTV puts this show on along side their Bridezillas and other wedding related fare but I'd rather watch AWC,where the focus of the tension is on getting a beautiful cake down flights of stairs safely than some spoiled bridal diva throwing another hissy fit. That's a worrisome wedding dilemma I can get behind and root for a successful outcome for:
FOOD NETWORK CHALLENGE: I know,I know,they're not all about cake and I love many of the other edible scenarios FNC focuses on like chocolate landscapes and cereal bridges.yet the cake episodes are my absolute favorites.
It's those cake creation challenges where I got to see many of the top people working in the pastry arts today(not to mention my favorite judge,Kerry Vincent,aka Professor McGonagall)and the pop culture based shows are the best. Even if you're not a big fan of The Simpsons or Disney or even Dr. Seuss,you can't help being enchanted by watching such familiar faces come to life via fondant:
No doubt there are some others that I haven't seen yet but surely these four clearly make the case that a cake channel would have a wide audience and plenty of mass appeal. Maybe some enterprising TV executive will swoop down on this idea and take it to the glorious heights it richly deserves. Until then,we'll just have to savor all the sweet cake samples that our networks have to offer and try to leave some for others to enjoy:
I love this Tara, yours is my favorite blog!
ReplyDeleteYou are really an amazingly talented writer.
Kerry Vincent.