Food Network Challenge...At Sesame Street!

The Food Network sent me and my competitors to New York on January 28th to visit the set of Sesame Street to prepare for the next Challenge we're doing in this spring. It's a Sesame Street themed Challenge and we are all making a muppet cake. Our Challenge will be filmed at the Food Network studio on March 25th.

From the left, this is Roland Winbeckler (one of the pioneers in American cake decorating and an incredible cake artist. Remarkably, this will be Roland's first Challenge), Mike McCarey (a master cake sculpter, a Challenge multi-winner, and my hero), Marianne Carroll (incredibly creative cake designer and a Challenge veteran). I'm up against some tough competition, but I can't wait!

Me on the Sesame Street stoop.

I'm making the Elmo cake for the Challenge. Each of us interviewed our muppet. This is me during my interview with Elmo. After the interview was over Elmo called my 4 year-old daughter, Stella, in Dallas. She LOVED it!

Here's Marianne interviewing Cookie Monster. What a cute couple!

Roland interviewing Oscar. This was a hysterical interview! Even the cameraman was having trouble holding the camera still. We were all laughing.

Mike interviewing Big Bird. He even prepared a custom "knock-knock" joke for Bird.

Roland snooping around Sesame Street. I'm sure there's some good stuff in that can!

Mike, Marianne and I wanted pictures in Big Bird's bedroom with his huge nest.

This was an amazing experience. I can't even explain how emotional I was all day. From Sesame Street to the brilliant cake artists that I look up to... I was overwhelmed!

Wish me luck for the Elmo cake I'll be making in March on the Food Network. All the cakes will be great. This Challenge will air sometime this year to head the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street.

More Food Network Pictures!

Behind-the-scenes pictures from my first Food Network Challenge

Disney Classics Cakes

This episode premeired on Food Network on March 15, 2009.

It will air in rotation. Check the Food Network website for air times.

All of the four competitors were assigned a film crew for the day. That's my cameraman, Greg. He saw and heard everything I did that day.
Judge Kerry Vincent is actually very sweet. Much unlike her stern persona on TV. I got her laughing early in the day. She's a kitten!

Half way through the day my assistant, Heather, and I were so tired already. I think this is the only laugh we had that day. It was much needed.

I love this moment. Heather is peeling off the red brick stencil from our chimney cake. The judges loved it. Our other judge, Patrick Coston, actually gave us a "wow."

The judges were always hovering around us. They never gave us many insights into what they were thinking. They would slip away throughout the day to talk smack about all of us to the cameras. We didn't know what they said until we saw the episode.

Putting Mary Poppins' head on. It all started to come together.

ARGHHH! I'm so tired at this point. Getting all my white gumpaste elements airbrushed black, hoping they would dry in time to place on the cake. With one hour left I felt like I wanted to give up. But I kept going and finished the cake in time.

Moving this heavy cake was the last thing we had to do. Then I faced the judges.

The winning cake!! "Pinocchio" by Richard Ruskell, Montage Resort in Beverly Hills, CA

"Sleeping Beauty" by Grace Chyun, Sweet Gems Cakes in Huntington Beach, CA

"Snow White" by Ashley Vicos, Atlanta, GA

Me with the host of Food Network Challenge, Keegan Gerhard.