The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s (IDDBA) 15th annual Cake Decorating Challenge™ will be a featured event at the annual Dairy-Deli-Bake seminar and expo to be held June 6-8, 2010 in Houston. Three store-level decorators will create designs that display their artistic abilities, and they will compete for first, second and third place trophies. A separate trophy also will be given to the store of the first place winner.
To enter, decorators need to send a photo album of the best cakes along with an entry form, available from www.iddba.org. The more photos sent, the easier it will be for the selection committee to determine skill level. Photo albums will be returned. Retailers may enter as many contestants as they want. The deadline for entering is Feb. 14, 2010.
For the three contestants chosen, IDDBA will cover transportation, lodging and meals during the contest. Materials and tools will be provided and each contestant will be able to keep the full set of professional decorating tips and supplies used for the challenge.
Judges are looking for decorators who are skilled in three areas: production cakes, theme cakes and wedding cakes. On day one of the Challenge, contestants must decorate enough cakes to fill an 8-ft. display case. Day two is devoted to creating a wedding cake, and on day three, each contestant decorates three cakes of their choosing, one from each category: special occasion, theme/event and decorator’s choice.
For more information, call IDDBA’s Anne Terrien at 608/310-5000.
In other news, IDDBA established the W.T. Reese Memorial Scholarship to honor Willard (Bill) T. Reese, who became the executive director of the International Cheese & Deli Association (an earlier incarnation of IDDBA) in 1972. He held the post for 10 years and was known as Mr. Deli. Reese helped grow the association from a small Wisconsin-based cheese group to a multi-national association representing cheese, dairy, deli and bakery companies.
Two $5,000 scholarship will be awarded each year to college students in a food-related major. For more information, contact Karen Peckham at kpeckham@iddba.org or 608/310-5000.