(from left) Anne Freeman, Hy-Vee Inc.; Ray Burke, IDDBA president; Kim Oburne , Publix Super Market; and Charra Jarosz, Quality Food Centers.

Kim Oburne of Publix Super Market in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. won the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s (IDDBA) 14th annual Cake Decorating Challenge held at the Dairy-Deli-Bake 2009 seminar and expo in Atlanta, June 7-9.

Second place went to Anne Freeman, Hy-Vee Inc., Ames, Iowa. The third place winner was Charra Jarosz of Quality Food Centers, Seattle.

“Grace under pressure is the best way to describe the unique, multi-talented competitors in IDDBA’s 14th Annual Cake Decorating Challenge,” said IDDBA Executive Director Carol Christison. “If you’ve ever been involved in a contest where your skills were being judged and your every action scrutinized by hundreds of people, you have an inkling of the challenges these decorators faced.”

There were three phases to the Challenge. On Sunday, June 7, each contestant decorated enough cakes to fill one multi-tiered, eight-foot bakery case. On Monday, June 8, each contestant decorated a wedding cake. On Tuesday, June 9, each contestant decorated three cakes of their choosing, one from each category: special occasion; theme/event; and decorator’s interpretation of the IDDBA’s Dairy-Deli-Bake ’09 show theme, “The Show of Shows.”

Luke Bender, Maplehurst Bakeries, Inc. and Jim Caliendo, Rich Products Corporation, served as judges for the event.