3 Days...3 Jays

School's out...time to head to Tulsa!! Wheee!

I was very excited to get out and leave Orlando for a bit...but what was John and I about to get ourselves into? MAJOR CAKE MADNESS...that's what!! :o)

DAY 1:
We got there a day early so that we could pick up our dummy cakes and check out the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show hosted by Kerry Vincent. I've seen it on the Food Network several times, but never knew that it was HERE that was where all the madness happened.

Outside there were food, games, and rides!! FUN!!! :-)

Inside, there were cakes EVERYWHERE!!!WOW!!! :-O

People from all walks of life, ages, and skill set lived and breathed for this competition and I could see why! The cakes were gorgeous!!!

At first we tried to check out some of the demos but it was way too crowded, so we just walked around in awe and checked out some of the coolest cakes EVER!! We even met with Paul (aka Chef Rubber). The man behind some of the greatest pastry products out there.

DAY 2 :
Bright eyed and bushy tailed, John and I loaded up the car with our suitcases filled with cake supplies.

As we walked into the conference room, everyone was rummaging through their cake supplies, kneading fondant, or trying to figure out what they still needed. There were about 50-60 people total taking the class. It was mass chaos at it's best! :o)

Up at the front though, were THE THREE JAYS (James Roselle, Joshua John Russell, and Jason Ellis)!! *gets all giddy*

It was extremely exciting to see these Food Network personalities live!!! If you think they look cute on tv, they were extremely adorable in person!! :o)

Immediately, we went up to James Roselle and introduced ourselves as Notter School grads. HA! One never would've expected THAT to be an immediate ice breaker but from that moment on, a new bond was built. James used to teach at Notter School when they first began the 24 week program. Boy oh boy did we have plenty to talk about. This was cool because he ended up taking great care of us. He even called us his "peeps". *mini claps* :o)

Between John and I, we tried to bring as much (supplies) as we could, but still, with what we had, we did not have enough. Have no fear, James was there to save us. THANK YOU JAMES for helping the poor pastry school students...YOU ROCK!!!

Because this was the first day, we just covered our dummy cakes in fondant, traced out the peacock, and made the gum paste flowers. Class ended at 5pm but some people stayed until almost 11pm. We, on the otherhand, made it to 6:30...then it was time for some good o'l Buffalo Wild Wings! :0)

DAY 3:

Time for some serious focusing!!! There was A LOT to be done!

Today we had to paint the mosaic peacock, decorate the sides of the tiers, and assemble the peacock. Time flew by extremely fast. Before we knew it, it was time to go. We never got around to completely finishing off the cake, but we got the star of the cake (The Peacock) done.

YAY TEAM CHILANDO (Chicago + Orlando)!!!!!!!

Taking a break for a special luncheon with James and Josh at Applebee's! :o) It was so cool that they went to lunch with just us!

I could honestly compare this experience to that of Wilton. The major difference was having to bring your own supplies. However, having the THREE JAYS definitely made up for all of it!!!