I took a class in trends in cake decorating today. The chef instructor was kind of mean. Not like my fourth grade teacher, Ms Steiner kind of mean. No, Ms. Steiner made a point of making everyone in our class cry at some point in time. I succumbed one day when she called me stupid for messing some grammar up. This from a lady who took in a stray cat (whom she named Junior), invited him to sleep with her on her bed, and proceeded to give her rabies. No, our Chef Instructor was just a bit eccentric. I think Gordon Ramsey has set the bar pretty high for kitchen totalitarianism. I think most people go into a culinary course half expecting their instructor to fall closer to the Gordon Ramsey part of the eccentric teacher spectrum (Julia Childs being on the far end). It was time well spent! I’ve seen all the tutorials online for rosettes, ribbons, ombre, etc. but not very many opportunities to practice them hands on. I have to practice the ombre as the gradient wasn’t quite what I wanted. But ombre cakes just have such a spectacular wow factor. Definitely worth the time to get it right! Now might be a good time to mention the new section of my page: Custom Cakes! After supplying friends and family with custom cakes over the past year and I half, I want to open it up to anyone in the NYC metro area who is looking for delicious, beautiful cakes custom designed for their event!I still love cooking and food and will continue that portion of the blog. But unless I start a full on catering company, I need hone in a little bit! So let me make your next event even more special by sharing one of my custom creations with you! Shoot me an e-mail at kitchen3n@gmail.com or use the form in the link.