Nickel City Cake Challenge

Nickel City Cake Challenge: Sweet & Spooky, was the second in a series of cake decorating challenges developed by Feed Your Soul, a Buffalo, New York-based company that produces culinary competitions, food tours and more.

In late October, 200 audience members packed the stunning loft showroom of Artisan Kitchens & Baths. This live, head-to-head cake decorating competition featured three teams of our region’s most creative and talented cake artists. Each decorator had just two hours to complete a cake “Sweet & Spooky” enough to win favor from our panel of judges.

Elsewhere in the large refurbished 19th-century warehouse, guests learned specific decorating techniques in the training kitchen and sampled snacks from the Nickel City confectionery station which included a custom hot chocolate bar and a make-your-own candy apple station. Plus, our friends at Lake Effect Ice Cream, Niagara Popcorn, Niagara Culinary Arts Institute and Sarah Walley Events provided a dazzling array of treats.

Nickel City Cake Challenge celebrates the art of cake decorating and to drive home the idea that our region is flush with talented bakers and cake decorators who deserve the opportunity to truly showcase their talents in a public forum. The program also works to support small, independent businesses.

“Sweet & Spooky” competitors included:

Our First Place Winner: Lindsay Haigh and Kelly Sommerfeldt from Dessert Deli, Williamsville (
Zilly Rosen and Shannon Pilarski from Zillycakes, Buffalo
Lynne Hrotko and Eileen Brown from Muscoreil’s, North Tonawanda

“Sweet & Spooky” judges included:

Maria Iacovitti, Instructor, Niagara County Community College Pastry Arts
Carolyn Panzica, Cake Artist
Holly Hughes, Curator, Albright-Knox Art Gallery

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Nickel City Cake Challenge winning amateurs:

Best Interpretation of the Sweet & Spooky Theme: Anabel Rivera
Best Overall Cake: Daniel Robertson

Nickel City Cake Challenge: Wedding in Buffalo was a live, head-to-head cake decorating competition featuring three of Western New York’s most creative and talented cake artists, a team of professional judges and a whole lot of fun for our audience!

Check out the story on Nickel City Cake Challenge: Wedding in Buffalo in the January Wedding issue of Buffalo Spree Magazine

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Watch a video of the event produced by The Buffalo News!

On the day of the event, our hand-selected professional decorators had just two hours to complete a cake that met specific criteria and was in keeping with the theme “Wedding in Buffalo.” Our decorators were selected from a  pool of challengers who submitted applications and sketches to our panel.

Selected for their diversity and passion, Nickel City Cake Challenge: Wedding in Buffalo decorators were:

Zilly Rosen of ZillyCakes

Susan Spider of Pumpernick n’ Pastry Shoppe

Tony Concialdi of Panaro’s

We were confident that each decorator will bring their own style, skill set, experience and personality to the challenge, and that they would present our audience with an exhilarating and creative competition–and they did!

Nickel City Cake Challenge was held at Artisan Kitchens & Baths, home of the Nickel City Chef series.  In Artisan’s stunning loft showroom, each artist and their assistant worked from one of Artisan’s three $100,000 kitchens in front of a panel of professional judges and a live audience.

During the two hour competition, guests had the opportunity to enjoy our Custom Hot Chocolate Bar & Confectionery Station, view cake decorating demonstrations, sample sweets from our partners Lake Effect Ice Cream and Niagara Popcorn and vote for their favorite cake from the day’s amateur entries.