Sugar Art Fashion Show

Posted on by Thor

The Sugar  Art Fashion Show took place during The Americas Cake Fair 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center, West Concourse Hall. Organizers didn’t know how to handle the crowd gathered, resulting in an endless wait to be seated. So I could get busy sketching, I slipped into the back row while the chaos to be seated played out. Everyone was desperate for front row seats. Perhaps people hoped some icing might fall and they could taste the fashion first hand.

A portion of the proceeds from the fashion show went to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The New York-style fashion show displayed mouth-watering haute couture. Gorgeous edible ensembles were masterfully designed by more than one dozen celebrated sugar, cake and chocolate artisans. The fashion designers were asked to base there edible creations on famous movies and the results were quite fun. The models strutted there sweet stuff down the catwalk during this one-of-a-kind event hosted by Food Network Star, Chef Emily Ellyn and Fashion Stylist/On-Air Style Expert Melanie Pace.

When I walked back to my car, I discovered that I had left my umbrella under the seat in the convention center.  I didn’t decide to walk all the way back. I tend to leave a little piece of myself everywhere I go.

Orlando’s Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel Spreads Holiday Cheer with Inaugural Gingerbread House Competition and Display

Posted on by Thor

Orlando’s Rosen Shingle Creek, (9939 Universal Blvd., Orlando, Fl) is well known for its exceptional dining
and artfully crafted pastries, handmade by world renowned executive
pastry chef, David Ramirez, and his team. But now, the hotel is inviting
other local chefs, pastry enthusiasts and members of the hospitality
community to share in the confectionery fun as it introduces the
inaugural Rosen Shingle Creek Gingerbread House Competition. The contest
will benefit the new Florida Hospital Transplant House, scheduled to
open in 2015.

The competition will be judged by Ramirez, former winner of the Food
Network USA Pastry Challenge and former team captain for Team USA in the
Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, or World Pastry Cup; members of the
Florida Hospital’s Gourmet Soirée committee, Chef Emily Ellyn and Bill
Sullivan; and other community leaders.

“We are thrilled to introduce this wonderful new holiday tradition to
Rosen Shingle Creek,” said Leslie Menichini, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Rosen Hotels and Resorts. “The Gingerbread House
Competition not only will provide a charming holiday backdrop for our
guests, but also, the proceeds will go to a very worthwhile cause, the
Florida Hospital Foundation to benefit the Florida Hospital Transplant
House to aid organ transplant recipients and their families.”

The gingerbread houses were on display Dec. 1-22 at “Gingersnap
Station” in the hotel’s main lobby. Judging took place on Dec. 18
from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Entries were judged on originality, overall appearance, choice and
use of materials, and difficulty of design. All gingerbread houses were original; no kits could be used. The main components of the house,
including the walls and roof, had to be constructed of gingerbread and all
components of the house must be edible

 The Gingerbread House Competition is just one of many holiday events at
Rosen Shingle Creek this season. Other festive holiday events
include a Holiday Entertaining workshop with “Retro Rad” Chef Emily
Ellyn; the Big Band Dinner Show Series, featuring a performance by
Michael Andrew and The Atomic Big Band, A Blast from the Past
Original ’50s Holiday Revue, as well as a Nutcracker Ballet Performance,
and a high Tea, performances by local choirs; and much more. A variety of
specially priced accommodations packages are also available for holiday
getaways.

I arrived after the judging was over because I got stuck in rush hour traffic, so I’m not sure which gingerbread house was the winner. There were about a dozen gingerbread houses in all. The most impressive was a replica of the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel. On an easel was a giant check for $5000 to the Florida Hospital Transplant House. Carolers in period costumes were packing their instruments to leave. As I sketched a huge chorus of children sang at a staging area across the lobby.

Shocking Magic Loss to the Pacers, or A Tale of Two Cupcakes.

Posted on by Thor

My wife loves to watch the NBA Finals.  If I sit down to watch, I like to joke, saying, “I hope the Magic wins this time.” Of course I know the Magic aren’t in the finals, but one team always seems to be wearing blue jerseys. Well, maybe next year.

I met Sunshine Woodyard Baker at the opening to my show at Snap. I knew of Sunshine from Facebook, because after a solid week of clouds and rain, I wrote “Hello Sunshine!” to express my joy at finally seeing the sun. She responded back by simply saying “Hello.” Somehow she and her husband scored tickets to a Magic game and she had an extra ticket so I could go and sketch. As she explained, “Lee St. John, the owner of Gigi’s Cupcakes and I would like
to invite you to Gigi’s Cupcake’s One Year Anniversary Partner
Appreciation night. Lee has the Presidential Suite at the Orlando Magic
vs. Pacers game on April 16 at 8:00 pm. We will enjoy food, drinks, and
the game with a small group of people who have been most helpful in
making Gigi’s first year magical. We sure hope you can come! Please let
me know if that day will work for you. It would be so cool to have you
there. We will get to the game around 6pm. My friend, Food Network Chef
Emily Ellyn will be there at the game. I think you’ll love sketching
her, and she’s great at cross-promoting to get your name out even more.”

Getting into the Amway Center involved the usual metal detectors and bag searches. I decided to streamline my art supplies so I could easily slip through security. I made a tiny palette using an old CD case. The circular CD holder is a perfect spot to arrange my daubs of paint into a color wheel. This Jerry rigged palette worked so well I’ve taken to using it all the time. I was one of the first people to arrive at the Presidential suite. Lee St. John was there to greet me. He explained that this wasn’t a very important game since the Pacers were already high enough in the standings where they could loose if they wanted and still move forward.

Lee had a small box of his award winning cupcakes. He had asked if he could bring the cupcakes up to the Presidential Suite, but there is a firm rule that no outside food or beverages can be bought into the Amway Center. This guarantees that Amway vendors corner the market. Lee tried to explain that the cupcakes weren’t for sale and wouldn’t be eaten. They were for a photo opportunity. No one listened to reason, so the cupcakes had to be smuggled in with stealth and subterfuge. To repay Lee for inviting me to the game, I decided to sketch one of the cupcakes ant put it on the jumbo tron in the center of the arena. When the sketch was done, I couldn’t help myself, I ate the mysterious black market cupcake. It was soooo good. No vendor in the Amway Center has anything half as good.

The suite filled up and I sketched through the whole game. There was a lackluster energy among the players. One Magic fan shouted out “We could win this if we wanted it bad enough.” The Magic didn’t want it enough. The game was a blowout with the Pacers winning 101 to 86. In the suite, people started posing with the cupcakes. Lee hadn’t lied about them being for a photo shoot. I had sinfully consumed a models sweet tasty prop. Luckily there were a few more cupcakes to go around.