Interview – Lauren Kitchens
I recently had an opportunity to interview “Food Network Challenge” veteran, Lauren Kitchens, who will be joining us for our show this year. Here are the answers to the questions I asked her:
Q: Which sugar artists do you most admire?
I found Colette Peters’ books when I was new and hungry to learn, and I was struggling to find advanced cake guidance. This was before the internet when information wasn’t at our fingertips. For many of us, Colette Peters has been our teacher. She taught me how to approach wedding cakes and sculpted cakes the way I wanted to.
What cake decorator doesn’t have a Nicholas Lodge book? His gumpaste work is delicate and intimidating, but we all want to learn from him and be able to achieve that level of excellence.
The first time I heard of Mike McCarey was on Food Network Challenge. It was his Matador cake and it changed the way I thought about cake design, cake structure, and imagination. That cake changed me as an artist. Mike has raised the bar of excellence for cake sculpting and replica work forever. No one is better than Mike.
The biggest unsung cake artist has to be Wendy Kromer who has designed most of the wedding cakes seen in the Martha Stewart books and magazines since the mid-90’s. Not only has she set a style and standard of “customization” for wedding cakes across the United States, her work has been instrumental in structuring my wedding cake business since I opened my doors. With every third client bringing me a picture of a wedding cake from a Martha Stewart magazine, I have had to step up to the plate and perform to a Martha Stewart-standard.
How can I not mention Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes. Thanks to Duff and the Food Network cakes are cool, sought after, and admired. Duff has given cake decorating the attention and respect it finally deserves.
Mary and Brenda Maher seem to bring a personal artistic touch to every cake they make. They have an ingenious sense of concept and style…thinking outside of the box every time. In fact, I don’t even think they’ve seen the box. Those two are incredible.
From Marina Sousa with her ultra-stylish and imaginative wedding cakes to James Roselle’s modern gumpaste flower-adorned cakes…. Elisa Strauss and Kate Sullivan with their candy colors and artistic creativity to Polly Schoonmaker’s revolutionary topsy turvy cake…. From Ron-Ben Isreal and Sylvia Weinstock’s gumpaste flower-covered cakes to the delicate and ultra-feminine detailing of Kerry Vincent and Margaret Braun… From the delicate couture style of Gail Watson and Cheryl Kleinman to the large-scale sculpted cakes of Roland Winbeckler and Bronwen Weber, every cake artist has touched me artistically in the most impressive way.
Q: What has been your favorite Challenge so far and why?
After four Challenges under my belt my favorite one is Sesame Street. From Elmo to the Challenge parody to muppetizing the judges, I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity in Challenge to be as clever with a cake concept. All of the cards fell into place for me. Also, to compete against cake giants like Mike McCarey and Roland Winbeckler was an honor. It was an unforgettable episode for me.
Q: What inspired your interest in cake decorating?
When I was a little girl I would watch cooking shows on PBS and I was always fascinated by the French pastry chefs and their gigantic piping bags. That was the coolest thing ever and I had to have one!
Q: How did you get involved with the Food Network?
A producer at Challenge found my website and called to ask me to be on the show. I said no. Then after about an hour I called her back to talk to her about it. To participate in Challenge never interested me. Just to watch the show is stressful. And I knew how hard it would be to make a large-scale cake in 8 hours. Well, it’s harder than I thought, but being on the show has helped me to grow as a cake decorator in ways I never knew possible.
Q: What is your favorite type of cake to eat?
Anything chocolate. I mean I’ll put chocolate on a hamburger if no one is watching.
Q: Outside of cake decorating, what do you do for fun?
My husband and I have two small children and we’re both self-employed. To get a baby sitter and go to dinner together is a rare treat and our favorite thing to do.