Madison, WI — The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association™ (IDDBA) has announced the three contestants chosen to participate in the 18th annual IDDBA Cake Decorating Challenge to be held at IDDBA’s Dairy-Deli-Bake 2013 seminar and expo in Orlando, FL, June 2-4. There were 68 entrants from 31 supermarket chains.
IDDBA Executive Director Carol Christison commented, “I’m surprised that there are only a few cake-oriented TV food shows out there. It’s not for lack of talent. The number of contestants and incredible skills displayed by entrants in the IDDBA’s Annual Cake Decorating Challenge shows there are enough talented decorators for many more shows. While many of these decorators have had professional culinary training, many of them are self-taught and have learned their skills on the job. They know what will work, how to work under pressure, and, most importantly, how to WOW the customer. Supermarket cake decorators have to be multi-talented. They need to work at a fast pace to create production cakes and they need to work at their creative peak for custom theme cakes and spectacular wedding cakes. The entrants in this year’s contest meet those demands and demonstrate exceptional performance on all levels. They’ve met the Challenge!”
The decorators receiving an all-expense paid trip to compete are:
Kelli Coleman, Dillons, Lawrence, KS. Kelli has been decorating cakes for 8 years and has been with Dillons for 4½ years. Although she has taken some Wilton Cake Decorating classes, Kelli is largely self-taught. This talented decorator is also the district trainer for her company’s pastry cases and enjoys participating in events such as bridal shows and the Taste of Lawrence (a local food event).
Dawnette Costa, Giant Eagle, Erie, PA. A cake decorating veteran, Dawnette has over 30 years of experience. She has been with Giant Eagle for the past 11½ years and likes every aspect of her job. She loves to learn new techniques and is currently helping to develop a dessert program for her company. But, most of all, she enjoys the delight of the customers when they pick up their order.
Rebecca Lougheed, Food City, Greeneville, TN. Rebecca has been able to turn her hobby into a career she loves! She started decorating cakes in 2006 and joined the Food City team the following year. Over the years, with the support of her bakery managers, she has become a skilled decorator. In 2011, she won her company’s first annual cake challenge.
There are three phases to the Challenge. On Sunday, June 2, each contestant will decorate enough cakes to fill one multi-tiered, eight-foot bakery case. On Monday, June 3, each contestant will decorate a wedding cake. Tuesday, June 4 is a special “Decorator’s Choice” theme event.
The judges for the event will be: Luke Bender, Manager of Technical Service, Maplehurst Bakeries, LLC, and Jim Caliendo, Dessert Training Specialist, Rich Products Corporation.
A special thanks to the following decorators who entered the competition:
Suzanne Almeida, Longo's; Alfred Baratyan, Ralph's #17; Rita Barsoumian, Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc.; Heather Benson, Meijer #226; Cher Blamey, United Supermarkets; Jill Blancho, Hy-Vee; Jerri Anne Brown, Harps Food Store #111; Alyssa Bruha, Jewel-Osco; Latoya Carpenter, Marketplace Foods; Caroline Chiaia, Walmart; Shelby Cihon, Giant Eagle; Stacie Clawson, WalMart; Christine Cline, Market District/Giant Eagle; Kelli Coleman, Dillons; Jessica Collins, WalMart; Dawnette Costa, Giant Eagle; Keeann Cramer, Jerry's Foods;
Rebecca Dajani, Weis Markets #187; Emily Davies, Hy-Vee; Cassandra Dean, Giant Eagle (Scozio's); Angela DeVleming, Albertsons; Sandra Durigutti, Winn Dixie 2271; Jessica Foster, Hy-Vee; Natilie Fremin, Fremin's Food & Furniture, Inc.; Sandra Fridley, Hy-Vee #1138; Melissa Fritze, Rosauers; Amy Gray, Weis Markets, Inc.;
Heather Hansen, Hy-Vee; Wes Harbaugh, Weis Market; Isabel Catherine Hicks, Giant Eagle Market District; Carolyn Jenkins, Food City #630; Rochelle Jordan, Giant Eagle/Scozio's Bakery; Ann Kelly, Weis Markets #177; Jordan Kephart, Kroger Fort Mitchell; Lois Kleber, Reasors; Tracy Krueger, Pick N Save; Joanna Lassan, Giant Eagle Market District #43; Karen Marie Lindow, Giant Eagle #76; Mellissa Lombardo-Hartigan, Cosentinos Price Chopper; Rebecca Lougheed, K-VAT/Food City;
Efren Manabat, Fort Bliss Commissary; Sandy McNicol, Quality Food Centers; Sarah Moreno, PriceSmart – San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Stephanie Morris, Jewel-Osco; Katie O'Connor, Hy-Vee; Melissa Paulisick, Giant Eagle #6345; Sarah Pirron, Jewel Osco; Annel Prieto, Jewel Osco; Stephanie Reed, Jewel-Osco; Angeline Reese, Hy-Vee; Jeanette Reunilla, Walmart Supercenter #5151;
Nancy Schaudt, Hy-Vee; Jessica Schilling, Hy-Vee; Linda Schneider, Hy-Vee; Rhoda Schultz, Hy-Vee; Lynn Schwab, County Market; Jonahanna Siliezar, PriceSmart 6304; Angela Singleton, Food City #839; Dana Smith, Food Pyramid; Nellie Spindler, Giant Eagle; Katlyn Stechschulte, Schnucks Montvale (717); Nicole Taylor, Giant Eagle; Michelle Trahan, Food City #670; Maria Patricia Villarico, Longo's; Roxanne Ware, Hy-Vee 1474; Melissa Wiese, Giant Eagle #2108; Stephanie Ann Wood, Ingles Supermarket; Colleen Zander, Hy-Vee.
About IDDBA: IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket foodservice industries. Member companies enjoy many benefits and services including the annual seminar and expo, leading-edge research, training programs, management tools, and an annual trends report. For more information, contact IDDBA at 608.310.5000 or visit our Web site, www.iddba.org.
Source: The International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association