By Whitney Kiepura

Staff Writer

Six years ago, Foods teachers Amy Collins and Lisa Curtin took part of the foods curriculum and decided to tweak the lesson plans. They took the cake decorating unit from an in-class project to an event.
“We wanted to get people into the [foods] class,” Collins said.

This contest exclusively featured the students in Foods 1 because it is the most popular level in the foods program.
This year, 23 cakes were in the running to be the best in three categories: Best Skill, Most Creative Idea, and Overall Favorite. The event, which occurred yesterday after school in the commons, generally attracts 100 to 200 kids to vote. The winners of the contest will be announced on Monday or Tuesday of next week, but the end results usually take about two weeks of preparation.
In groups of three to four students, they start planning out what their cake will look like. Collins said they can use a variety of sources for their inspiration. But the cakes are usually based off pictures they find.
“[The students] use their picture as a stencil to create the final cake,” Collins said.
This week was when all the pieces started comming together. On Monday the students baked the sheet cake that would serve as the main piece. Tuesday, they took the baked cakes out of the pans and dirty iced them. All avid fans of Cake Boss or Ace of Cakes know this baking term. For all others outside the baking world, dirty icing is when you put a first coat of frosting on the cake so that bits of the cake won’t come through on the final coat of frosting.
Wednesday, the students continue decorating, and on Thursday they put the finishing touches on their cake.
The students’ reward will be a chance to sit back and eat the cake they worked on for the week, while watching the Ultimate Cake-off from the Food Network. But the final prize, a Costco cupcake, will be handed out next week.
*To see the nominees, click here or see photo album on our homepage
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