Essays

Ayisha Smith
For the past few years I have dreamt of being able to attend the Culinary Institute of America. My dream was finally realized when I received a scholarship from the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation. I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the CHTA Education Foundation for granting me the scholarship, Hilton Barbados, and the Culinary Institute of America.

The title of my course was Fundamentals of Cake Decorating. This course was very informative. It has enhanced and expanded the small resource of information that I already have. It has also given some more insight into my chosen field of Pastry. I chose this course because I wanted to refine my cake decorating and flower making skills. I also wanted to be able to learn different techniques for decorating cakes such as airbrushing and I did.

The course was scheduled from 2:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Check in time for the class was 1:00 pm. As this was going to be a very intense five days, we spent as little time in the classroom as possible. This way the instructor was able to incorporate more things into the course, such as airbrushing and elegant finishes.

DAY ONE
The class was conducted by Chef Kate Carvatti. On this day, I did a basic buttercream, equally cut a cake into layers, ‘crumb’ coat a cake, and fill the layers with buttercream. All of this was demonstrated first by Chef Carvatti and then we each had to follow.

Crumb coating is very important in cake icing as this helps to keep the crumbs from ‘flying’ as the other layers of icing are put on.

My partner and I were assigned to make a batch of buttercream, cut it in three and crumb coat our cakes in preparation for covering it with marzipan the next day.

Chef Carvatti then demonstrated how to do some simple decorations such as shells, basket weave and roses from buttercream.

DAY TWO
Chef Carvatti demonstrated the correct way to cover a cake in marzipan, trim the excess and even make a few borders to ‘finish’ the cake. She also showed us how to make a rose from marzipan and also some others pieces such as fruit and animals that can be made from marzipan.

After the demonstration, I covered my cake with marzipan, added a red band around the base and made a few roses (red, and two white roses that were airbrushed in peach) to go on top.

DAY THREE
On this day we made gum paste flowers. Gum paste is special. There is one ingredient in gum paste that allows it to be rolled very thin. It is called gum tragacanth. This allows for the flowers to look real. I made a rose, calla lily, a few stephanotis (filler flowers), and a tiger lily. These flowers are also the most challenging because the gum paste tends to dry really quickly. It is fun to work with because you can create so many different colors and many different flowers.

Chef Carvatti also demonstrated how to make pastillage. Pastillage is a type of sugar based dough that can be used to make edible decorations and/or centerpieces. Along with my partner, I made pastillage and I decided to make a triangle favor box, which consisted of two triangle pieces, one for the top and one for the bottom. A smaller triangle piece for the top and an outline of a triangle for the center. I assembled it and I used royal icing as an adhesive. All edible.

DAY FOUR
I finished the assembly of my flowers by taping them together and adding the finishing touches such as leaves or the calyx for the roses. Chef Carvatti demonstrated how to cover a square cake with fondant. You have to watch out for the defined edges of a square because they may tear the fondant.

I did something a little different this time; I colored my fondant with red coloring to give it a marbled effect. I decorated my fondant covered cake with what are called ‘run outs’. These are made from royal icing (icing sugar and water or egg whites) and can be very delicate. These are made by outlining the shape of a picture and can then be filled with more royal icing. I also did string work, which is also very delicate and hangs from the cake. ‘Flooding’ is another element of decorating, where you chose your design, make an outline of it and then ‘flood’ fill it in, so you have a solid shape.

DAY FIVE
Time was spent in the classroom, discussing the pros and cons of the business side of cake decorating. There is no formula to follow as with making buttercream or fondant. The costing of a cake all depends on how expensive your ingredients are, how much your other competitors charge and how much labor went into your product.

We also saw how cakes don’t have to follow a specific pattern. They can be as elaborate as you or your clients want them to be. Chef Carvatti also spoke about the importance of transporting the cake(s) and taking the necessary precautions such as using toothpicks and styrofoam to help secure the cake and to keep it from shifting.

Chef Carvatti demonstrated a few more ‘funtastic’ borders. The Chef rolled cut out stars and circles into a piece of fondant, which would be fun for children. The Chef made lace borders by using silicone pattern presses (which come in many different designs), a ‘swag’ which can be best described as resembling a curtain when it is pulled together and forms curves.

CONCLUSION
This course was very exciting. I was able to make icings, cover cakes, make flowers and borders and also learn about the business aspect of cake decorating.

On my first day back to work, I was very excited to find that there was a cake order to be done, on which I could display my newly acquired refined techniques. I have been able to gladly share these techniques with my colleagues as well as bring more innovative ways to decorate our cakes while keeping the high standards of the Hilton Barbados.

At the end of each class, the coating of cakes, making of flowers and borders, were critiqued by Chef Carvatti. This helped me immensely as she told me what was perfect and what needed more attention for improvement and how. I truly appreciated her constructive criticism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With the completion of this course, I am well on my way on the road of progress at becoming a well rounded Pastry Chef.
All of this could not have been possible without the help of:

• The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation – who granted me the scholarship
• Hilton Barbados Hotel – for providing me with the opportunity to exceed my expectations
• Mrs. Angela Garraway-Holland - Executive Chef Hilton Barbados
• Mr. Hugh Prince - Senior Pastry Chef
• Mrs. Kate Carvatti – Chef Instructor of The Culinary Institute of America
• My family
• Everyone who encouraged me in making this possible.

For more information please contact: foundation@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com