Cake competitions #1: Cake competitions and things to know – From a newbies point of view!

Ok so here we go with my very first ever blog….and what many have told me will be my cake industry suicide. How sad is that? If you see something wrong in our industry and you think things should change and want to speak out to help others or hopefully help make a change to fix things, you have to worry that others around you will crucify you for it and the career that you have worked so hard to achieve, might all be lost.

But this is me…if I see something wrong I speak up. I believe things can always be better and nothing will ever change if we all sit back and do or say nothing. So just to be clear, before I start, there is no malice intended towards any individual(s), judges, or cake shows/competitions. I am writing only in the hopes to make a change and to help those that maybe considering entering a competition for the first time.

I am writing this from the view as a first time competitor, going into my first competition with no expectations except a fair competition with the hope of great feedback from the judges on where I can improve and learn to grow. I had no expectations of winning! I knew some of my fellow cake friends who have mad cake skills were also competing and that their cakes would be amazing and extremely hard to beat. For me this competition wasn’t about winning, it was just taking another step on my cake journey and having the courage to put myself out there like I had never done before.

Some of you may know that I am editor of cakesdecor.com monthly gazette. The latest issue that had just came out a few days before and in that I had written about why people should compete and the importance of competitions at cake shows. So I prepared myself to also be a “guinea pig” so to speak, to see if my views before a competition would still stand true after I had done one. Plus hopefully come back with some good input for others that might also be thinking about competing for the first time. So here are a few things that happened and also my overall view now a few weeks out and also things that have been discussed with me from others since.
First, let me say as a competitor you should know the rules, and know them inside and out. If you know someone else who is also competing ask them as well, just to make sure you have not missed something. It is better to be safe than sorry. I was printing out “in progress” pictures the day before as this was a rule that was in something I had read, so I checked with a friend and they too said yes, progress shots were needed. I did not want to have worked all those hours on a cake just to be disqualified by a small oversight.

Now the cake show I was attending was another new cake show, I had attended another just a couple of months earlier so I was very interested in how the two would fair against each other. I had also been asked by someone else to give them feedback on what I thought of them both as well. I knew the one earlier show had had some flaws so did not expect this one to be perfect either. Anything new has a learning curve, mistakes will be made, items over looked and just the plain old unexpected, will be bound to happen.

So here are the issues I had but I will go into more from other shows as well. The entrance that competitors brought there cakes thru was not hidden from view. I saw instructors/judges in plain sight of me, not knowing if they were going to be judging my cake or not. They did have the ability to see contestants bringing in their pieces. Did they or not, I have no idea but I would not think that this would be appropriate if they did, then they would know who is the decorator… which is against all rules in any competition that I have been told about! Would it not be better to have an entrance where this could not even be disputed…. I don’t know. Again my first competition so I have no clue how everything works. Once in the competition area I also noticed cakes that were much taller than mine and I knew my cake was ¼ inch below the rules, I had to remove a tier from my original design due to this rule. Another cake had a sign on it with their vendor and personal name on it, and another cake I saw entering after the show was actually open to the public and 20 minutes past the time we were given in the rules for set up. I saw some of these same problems at the other show with contestants rolling in their competition pieces thru the main entrance right past people who were actually judging in the show. Some even had their faces in their progress pictures, how can that be right ? Now the judges have seen who is the decorator. Just to be clear I was not the only person seeing these infractions at both shows, other competitors were also very concerned about the things that we were seeing as well as a few on lookers who seemed to think some things were a little odd as well.

Ok so now to the reason I am writing this which is …..What as a competitor, can we do if anything when things like this happen???? Should we say something… can we say something…and who do we say it too!

-Firstly if this is your first ever competition as it was mine, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions. Just because you are a newbie to competitions does not mean you do not have a voice. Don’t sit back thinking the organizers or judges will catch whatever it is you are questioning, I made that mistake and then kicked myself afterwards, by then it was too late. If you think one of the rules has been broken then ask for it to be addressed, find one of the organizers and ask them about the rule and if they can help you with your concern. Always be kind about it of course there is no need to be rude but you must speak up before the judging as I am sure no show will change any decisions after the winners have been announced. Believe me it is better to speak up and get these issues solved rather than being called a cry baby or sore loser when you ask questions later. Then people just think you are upset because you did not win, people won’t see it as you having a right to question what was wrong and by then any wrongs also cannot be righted.
-Take lots of pictures of your piece once it has been set up at the competition. A fellow competitor’s piece was all string work and she had people poking at it, breaking her strands all day long. We sat and watched people touching our cakes over and over again while the girl who was supposed to be there telling people to not touch did nothing. So if you have a delicate piece I would also suggest you make your own “DON’T TOUCH” signs just in case the show you are attending does not have something in place to prevent that from happening and would allow you to put them. I know that Cakes international and many other shows will not allow those signs but then they do have measures to keep people from touching the cakes.. If your piece is damaged by on lookers I would ask for them to tell the judges, in many shows there are description sheets where that could be written for the judges to see that it was intact when set up and you will have the pictures to prove it. Again this is my first show so honestly not sure of all the rules and many shows vary. At another competition a gal’s cake was damaged and yet nothing was written for the judges so as they could see it happened after her setting up her cake. Her cake also had wafer paper pictures on the cake that started to bubble as the venue could not get their air conditioning under control and the heat effected them. Her cake was in perfect condition when she left it set up the night before. So here is what I suggest…will any of it help??? Honestly I don’t know but it is better than doing nothing… it can never hurt to bring these items and be prepared.
- Bring a tape measure with you, just in case that is an issue with your piece or a point you are asking to be questioned.
- Print out the rules and have them with you in case you need them and don’t be afraid to ask someone to help you if you have questions about another cake it is your right to ask!!! You worked just as hard to create your piece and deserve to have the rules followed no matter how big or small your piece is.
- Don’t be intimidated by a more well-known competitor, if the show and judges are doing everything correctly it will not matter who they are and if it is their cake you see a problem with don’t let that effect you speaking up, remember rules are rules, they are there for everyone to follow not just you.

All competitors put a lot of time and money into their competition pieces, but more importantly is the time they take away from their families. Many spending much more money competing than what they can even win. Hotel rooms, gas, airfares, meals and sometimes entrance fees to even compete, they all add up. All in the hopes that they can have their cake judged fairly and that is where the competitors then rely on the judges and organizers to fulfill their side of things.
So for this first time blog I am going to leave it here and start on the next sections that will follow. I will be addressing judges/judging and shows/ competitions as well. This problem is not just one thing, so I want to try and address it all. But the answer is yes I still believe in cake shows and yes, still want to compete again. But more than that, I want to try to see if we can start making a change and improve on the things that are obviously going wrong.

I also want to state that I did, as I know many other competitors also did, email the organizers of my competition stating these same things I just stated above. They were very apologetic, with great regret for the things in their show that went wrong. They were very kind and open to all the suggestions and complaints that I had about their show and how I think we can make it better next year. And for that I am so very grateful! We all have room to grow and learn, which really is the entire point of competing. So I am just very grateful that the organizers are also open for that same growth and learning curve. So from new competitor and new cake show it just goes to show we all have room for improvement as long as we stand with open ears.

I am not bitter I did not win, I never expected too but I did go in giving my best piece possible. I was told some of the cakes I mentioned above were told they could do the things they did by the organizers, some I am sure were just oversights or getting stuck in traffic. I am not here to blame anyone, just to help anyone new who is wanting to compete feel they have a voice and hopefully give them some advice that will help them thru this very nerve racking first competition.

Remember this is all just my opinion from what I saw and learned as a first time competitor, I can only tell you things I saw at my show and another show I attended. I am not a seasoned competitor nor do I know all the rules of every show so please understand that before sending anything nasty. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion on these things and I will respect your views, in fact love to hear them, all I ask is that you please do the same to me. Big hugs and keep on caking, Shags