Martha's "Apprentice" show task:

[ludja]

Thanks for the cool story Megan Blocker. I'm not surprised by it either, in the sense that she did really start from her own small business and went from there.

Did anyone else watch the show?

The pink-trimmed, off-set ovals cake did not get a single buyer.

The ivory cake with alternating round and square layers had five buyers. I think they grossed ~ $3500.

On an interesting note, the losing team (this time, and for the two previous tasks) is composed of people who grouped themselves together as having creativity as a particular strength. The other team self-assembled as the group with a strength in business.

In their planning stages, the second (winning) group did speak about making a cake that would be more classic in style in order to appeal to the largest cross section of brides and bridezillas. It seems like this strategy paid off for this particular setting as the winner was the group who sold the most cakes.

Guilty pleasure, I admit, but I've been enjoying the episodes of Martha's Apprentice I've seen so far... (I missed last week.)

Edited October 6, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Megan Blocker]

Thanks for the cool story Megan Blocker.  I'm not surprised by it either, in the sense that she did really start from her own small business and went from there.

Did anyone else watch the show?

The pink-trimmed, off-set ovals cake did not get a single buyer. 

The ivory cake with alternating round and square layers have five buyers.  I think they grossed ~ $3500.

On an interesting note, the losing team (this time, and for the two previous tasks) is composed of people who grouped themselves together as having creativity as a strength.  The other team self-assembled as the group with a strength in business. 

In their planning stages, the second (winning) group did speak about making a cake that would be more classic in style.  It seems like this paid off for this particular setting as the winner was the group who sold the most cakes.

Guilty pleasure, I admit, but I've been enjoying episodes of Martha's Apprentice I've seen so far... (I missed last week.)

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I didn't watch, but I would agree with the winning team's strategy - make something that will appeal to the largest group of people. Plus, pink is pretty out as a wedding color these days, isn't it? Seems like a risky decision (as opposed to, say, blue).

[ludja]

Can anyone remember what the cakes were mades of? (i.e. cake layers, fillings, frosting)?

At least one of them was a chocolate cake but I missed the other details.

[duckduck]

The pepto pink was something I could do without but I have to say that was a nice cake from a cook that said she's never done a cake before in her life. Very nice first try. I was glad to see Martha veto the team leader on choosing who would go home. I realize it's so called reality tv and we don't see everything but the cook didn't deserve the boot after all that work. She did her job.

The thing I didn't understand is that they are supposedly being thrown into a "real world" situation to sell this cake. I can't imagaine telling a bride "I'm sorry, it only comes in pink." Was it the rules imposed on them? I have to wonder because it's just not realistic. Why couldn't they sell it and tell the bride she could get it in blue? That's the way it really works, doesn't it?

Edited October 6, 2005 by duckduck (log)

[Tweety69bird]

I watched too, and was dissapointed with the amout of time dedicated to the actual cake making... it would have been nice to see them do the layers and maybe more footage on the conception portion of the cakes...

As for fillings, I do remember hearing someone mention lime curd, but I believe that one of the teams had a different flavour for each tier. I don't remember the others though, and am not even sure that they mentioned them.

I didn't care for the pink either and was pretty surprised that they didn't just stay all white. Any why would they have made is SO pink? Goodness, it seemed more appropriate for a (girl) baby shower cake!! You would think that someone on the team would have noted the correlation between cake colours and wedding colours... thereby limiting their potential clients to only those who had pink in the wedding.

And can I ask something? When they saw that they weren't selling any cakes, why didn't one of the team members suggest to bring down the 10$ per person cost down? I think 10$ per person is steep for a ""up and coming" cake company that has yet to sell one cake!

[lannie]

The pepto pink was something I could do without but I have to say that was a nice cake from a cook that said she's never done a cake before in her life. Very nice first try.

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When I saw the part about Marcela (the cooking instructor) saying that she'd never made a cake before, I thought she had done a pretty good job with the wedding cake. I also found it funny that the Project Manager instantly assumed that the two 'cooks' he had on his team would be best to come up with the creative design and production of the cake. Most of the time, in real kitchens, cooks are not exceptionally suited to the pastry kitchen (and vice versa).

However, I just read on the Martha's Apprentice web site that Marcela is actually very experienced in the culinary world, and is "a "Certified Cook" from the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and her training has taken her to Paris, where she graduated as a classical French pastry chef from the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School... a guest chef on the Food Network and a former food editor and recipe stylist for "Bon Appetit" Magazine". So, imo, she should have known a bit better about the trends...

[chefpeon]

her training has taken her to Paris, where she graduated as a classical French pastry chef from the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School.

Argh!

How does one GRADUATE from culinary school as a CHEF??

You don't. You graduate as a pastry cook, at best. It takes years to be able to call

oneself a chef. The mis-use of the word "chef" and the casual way in which it's used

is really a pet peeve of mine. That's a title you must earn.....it's just not given to you.

Also, kind of hard to believe with all the training she supposedly has had, that she'd never

had to opportunity to make a cake? Puzzling.

[ladyyoung98]

to the person who asked:

is there something wrong with wilton?

Uhm....how much time have you got!? Their "Featherwight" bags are TO DIE FOR! The rest of their stuff......crap! And this is coming from a person who does cakes for a living.

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actually im the person who asked that question and frankly i have no problems with wilton..... i to love the feather weight bags..but i also us their tips and couplers and i even use their colors and ive never had any problems with the results...ive always got what i was looking for or something extremely close to it...i understand you have your opinion which you have expressed as being crap... and you are entitled to that opinion...but just because you dont care for it does not mean other people have that same opinion.... i know i dont... im not going to pretend they are the best thing on the market because im sure there are other names out there that are as good as or better..but also more expensive too.... and this is coming from someone who has and still does do this for personal as well as for business and has never had any complaints and lots of praise

Edited October 6, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[JeanneCake]

I think the pepto pink came from the conversation they had with Sylvia Weinstock. I had to chuckle as I watched that part - the team member came across (to me anyway) as being totally blinded by the celebrity of talking to the "best cake maker" in the city. Ahem. There are others and they should have done more research. For crying out loud, go on The Knot and look at all the cakes on there for some background info, inspiration or research! Just because Sylvia Weinstock says pink is an "in" color doesn't make it de riguer to use in your design! I did laugh out loud when I saw the expressions on everyone's face at the "fake it til you make it" comment.

And I agree, that in the real world, people would have the option to choose a different color and they should have allowed that.

[lapasterie]

Each team was "given" a cake decorator that worked with them. They were not given any credit or mentioned by name anywhere. I just know them both. The winning team has Elisa Strauss from Confetti Cakes in NYC. The other one was Buddy Valastro from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ. Just like Martha to not give any credit that I noticed. I was really suprised to see so much said about Sylvia.

[chefpeon]

Just like Martha to not give any credit that I noticed. I was really suprised to see so much said about Sylvia.

This is EXACTLY what I was talking about in my previous posts!!!

Those cake people should have had their names in LIGHTS for God's sake!

Of COURSE they'd get passed over for more attention to Sylvia....it doesn't surprise me a bit.

Not one bit.

But geez, it peeves me!!!

[tekna]

Each team was "given" a cake decorator that worked with them. They were not given any credit or mentioned by name anywhere. I just know them both. The winning team has Elisa Strauss from Confetti Cakes in NYC. The other one was Buddy Valastro from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ. Just like Martha to not give any credit that I noticed. I was really suprised  to see so much said about Sylvia.

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It was very misleading of Martha to not give credit and to not show who was actually doing the assembling and decorating of the cake. They made it look so easy, as if anybody can cover a cake in fondant, do icing designs, and make fondant bows (with cornelli lace), without having ever made a wedding cake in their lives, ever. And the way they didn't show who was actually doing these tasks made it seem like the actual team members had done them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they (the teams) didn't, right???

It makes those of us who actually do wedding cakes look like we can whip these things up in no time and thus not deserve to get paid what we charge.

[chefette]

As far as Martha goes - she's a style genius - even if she isn't she knows how to find and direct style geniuses. Heck, anyone who can suddenlt make rusty old collanders look like something everyone should have a collection of has real insight, You gotta respect it.

I think there are several interesting point to discuss here regarding the wedding cake episode:

- The value of conceptualizing/styling/designing the cake. How to create for different markets, judge trends and make a style choice

As Chef Peon has pointed out several times she feels that she has not really contributed creatively, somehow feels "cheated" when requested to execute a design created by someone else - so contributing the creative drive has value. If the teams did indeed style/design thye cakes and guide someone to execute that...

This task certainly was not about their ability to bake, roll anything out, or do anything at all except be judges of trends, marketers, and designers. In the show Martha said they would each have a 'Baker' and I saw that someone mentioned they knew the decorators - are you saying that they had both a baker and a decorator or is it possible that the 'baker' was also the 'decorator', and were these individuals cake artists or students at the Art Institute?

Karl Lagerfeld scribles a 9 foot tall anorexic is a swishy thing on a scrap of paper and a team of people spend weeks agonizing over how to interpret that, how to make a dress and it is a Lagerfeld design - so the designer is the value maker, and that is something we have discussed here in many forms in many threads - the value of DESIGN.

The other key element of the task - in fact the primary deal breaker was the marketing and sales. It seems that the teams should have thought really hard about where and how they were going to be marketing their cakes when conceptualizing. The winning team seems to have taken that into account on the basic fronts by having several flavors so that in tasting they had the opportunity to appeal to a wider array of potential customers - or at least more chances to win their affection.

In the styling and color choices they made they also had diversity, and did what they could to avoid any real commitments in any direction at all so in the restrictions of that task they had the most to work with and the fewest limitations.

At the risk of getting some people irritated, there are several cake paths

- brides whole essentially pick a ready made model out of a magaine, or a catalogue, or a sample case. Assuming you created the design from which they select then you are a good designer.

- those who want somethinjg along these lines, more creative - who let you know who they are and what they want their cake to say about them and their wedding who maybe give you specific guidance and direction, or maybe just a few nuggets - but in this case I think that they have a real role in the design since they know pretty much what they want and it is your job to make it a reality

-then there are those who come to you because you are an artist and a craftsman and want you to create something special from them, for them with no real guidance. This is when you have an opportunity to create a real work of art, but it doesn't necessarily make you a good trendsetting designer, or a marketer, or a salesperson. Oh well, we are who we are.

My whole point here is that we shouldn't be getting all wraped around the axel about how the media has made it appear that almost anyone on the face of the earth can just whip up a great wedding cake. Because we didn't see that at all. We saw that 14 people could barely manage to come up with a decent idea for a cake and that even though they had professional help and apparently could get advice from anyone they wanted they failed to come up with something that would even cause you a moment's thought.

I think the more interesting thing to think about - that I always do, is this

If I were on one of those teams and this was the challenge, what role would I play? How would I handle the situation? What exactly are the critical wickets and what is the best way to blow through them to win?

I would think that you would want to know more about the wedding shop, their style, their demographic

Look at the trends in the current magazines since that is what the brides are looking at and see what sort of cake styles and flavors are being touted, maybe do a tiny bit of market research to see what brides are dreaming of

Look at price points in the market, like anything part of the whole winning strategy is in the pricing - enough to weigh as valueable, and worthy, but within reach especially in this challenge since sales were the discriminator

Probably look into how to connect with cake shopping brides - not just rely on those coming to the store but bring in some yourself specifically because of your cake

How would you assess and approach this challenge - assuming you were a contender on one of the teams?

[K8memphis]

As far as Martha goes - she's a style genius - even if she isn't she knows how to find and direct style geniuses.  Heck, anyone who can suddenlt make rusty old collanders look like something everyone should have a collection of has real insight,  You gotta respect it.

I think there are several interesting point to discuss here regarding the wedding cake episode...

...How would you assess and approach this challenge - assuming you were a contender on one of the teams?

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Yeah, I really like Martha & her new show. The previous getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the whole jail thing, and now her vulnerability that comes through the tube on her live show makes her very endearing. I think the live format is her bag for sure. I love her show.

I think the key to assessing and approaching the challenge was to not only communicate with your colleagues but do all the things you listed and sway the task to your way of thinking. That's the clincher, getting the other members to cooperate. & go with your flow. It would be easy for me to make both a marketable cake and an artsy one. Leading the team the right direction is the key.

Also the one team lost because they did not focus on the prize, as you mentioned, being a capitalist, making money. They made a striking cake but obviously, not marketable. Which interestingly enough illustrates the wedding cake world to a "t". We wanna do art art art but we gotta pay the bills bills bills so we gotta sell to enough brides who will part with their real genuine money money money.

Martha markets through K-Mart. She sells magazines and books. Sylvia is freaking Dior and is tremendously awesome, >>insert 'bowing down' smilie face here<<. Martha on the other hand puts the jelly on the bottom shelf. Martha is Martha and she makes more Marthas of the masses. That adage about there's no telling what you can accomplish if it doesn't matter who gets the credit??? $he'$ a great example of thi$. She is the brand after all. I always say, you cannot create your leadership (those above you). It's either there or it's not. She's an amazing leader. The 'fake it till you make it' quote gave the opportunity to illuminate why she's not only made it and kept it but rose from the ashes and it's still growing. She cares.

[lapasterie]

I emailed Elisa Strauss about the show. She was one of the two cake decorators.

She said it was very disappointing. She and Buddy did ALL THE WORK. Buddy was there all day and night and she was there for 17 hours straight. Someone upthread thought they were just students of the school that did the baking etc. Both Elisa and Buddy are well established cake decorators. Elisa has been in a FoodTV children's cake challenge a year ago or so. She really does not need the PR but it would have been nice to have mentioned their names.

[chefette]

I think I asked if the cake people were students

So, tell us about this - how did they get the gig? Were they invited? Did they get paid?

Did the teams spend any time talking to them about their work? Request recommendations? Or did they just tell them to make stuff?

For the cakes that actually got ordered, will they produce them, get credit for them, and get paid the full price for them? Or does that all go to Martha?

That brings me to the question of their association with Martha? Do they have and existing business relationship with MSL?

Do tell!