bakingbuyer - May 2007 - 18

DESIGN OF THE TIMES

BY JODI SCHWEISS,
DECORATED CAKE MANAGER
MCARTHUR'S BAKERY,
ST.LOUIS, MO

Get
Creative!

Those of you born into the
bakery business know you are
probably going to be a baker for
life. Being a third generation cake
decorator I can remember playing
in the back of my grandmother's/
grandfather's shop: Schweiss Pastry
Shop. When I was about six years old
I would see the bakers hard at work
while I would hang around the cake
decorator's station where all the "fun
stuff" was going on.
Today, the culinary arts have risen
to a whole new level, especially in

20 · BAKING BUYER · MAY 07

the past five years or so. Technology
has enhanced our art (and it is an art)
like emailing vintage family photos
or company logos to be printed out
on edible sheets of paper and placed
directly on the cakes. This has become
very popular and allows customers to
shop from their home or office.
At McArthur's Bakery teamwork
is key, like any other bakery, but
with 700 (on average) cakes a week
and 40 weddings (on average) the
decorators don't do any icing or
filling. That's right, we are spoiled.
The cake department headed by
Tony Onnaraj, sets up, fills, ices, cuts
any 3D cakes out and sends them
out to us. Some weeks we have 80
wedding cakes and others we may
only have 20 but together we get
it done. Cakes generate about 60
percent of our sales so the decorators
not only have to make them beautiful,
but in a timely fashion.
Wedding cakes have changed
the most because everyone now
wants something different and unique
- not so traditional. Although some
stick with the traditional "drapes
and swags" many want lots of color,
texture, and shapes. If someone sees
something on "celebrity weddings"
or out of a magazine we can do it.
Fondant has become very popular
and is now on about 25 percent

of our wedding cakes. It's a lot
more time consuming and we have
one decorator, Laura Barton, who
specializes in this area.
So decorators...think outside
the box...go for it! Get away from
the boring, mundane repetition and
branch out. Shop around at craft
stores, party supply stores, art stores,
and dime stores for "something
different." I find a lot of incentive even
in wrapping paper and wallpaper for
designs. Buy various paint brushes
and experiment with pearl dust and
luster dust. It comes in a lot of colors
now and adds that little "extra" to your
cakes. One of my favorite things to
do is buy or make my own stencils
and airbrush patterns into the cake.
Create new ideas and don't be afraid
to use them. People love NEW stuff.
Cakes are a focal point at parties and
milestone events. They're in wedding
albums FOREVER. People pay a lot
of money for us to provide them
with and edible centerpiece. My
boss Randy McArthur allows us total
creative freedom or I wouldn't be able
do what I do. I majored in Business/Art
in college and three of our decorators
have pricey culinary degrees. We can
make a decent living AND have fun.
So use your talents, create new ideas;
who knows what cake decorating will
come up with next.
bakingbuyer - May 2007

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