Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Help!

So, there is this cake competition coming up in April. It's the 5th Annual Seattle Edible Book Festival, sponsored by the Seattle Center for Book Arts--never heard of 'em until the other day when the CEO of our company walks into our pastry kitchen and says, "You guys should enter this contest" and hands us a flyer.

The idea is this: make an edible masterpiece that has some sort of literary theme. It doesn't necessarily have to be cake, but most are. Puns are encouraged. Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

Most pun-derful
Most drop-dead gorgeous
Most structurally book-like
Most appetizing
Best in show

I was looking through last year's photos, and I was totally bummed to see that my idea had already been done: I was going to make a George Forman grill and have a bird smashed inside--To Grill a Mockingbird. Get it? HA! Turns out I'm not as creative as I thought. However, my mockingbird idea was way cooler than last year's pathetic piece of crap. Whatever.

Anyway, here are some photos of last year's most punderful and best in show:

Best in show: Good Night Moon Pie



Most punderful: Huckleberry Flan



I can BURY these fools, people. All I need is a good idea. Help a girl out!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, you know I will put my thinking cap on for this one!! This is the closest I may get you to a Food Network Challenge, so I'm in! And you're right...those people won things with those pitiful displays of pastry and cake?? Puh-lease. They don't what's coming!!

Bekah said...

OK, if you're looking for something in the pun category, I have an idea. Back in college, my sister Karen had this great idea for a sub shop called "Literary Heroes", where all the sandwiches would have book related names. We spent several hours brainstorming great sandwich names like "The Flaming Miss Hamisham". The one that I think would best translate into pastry would be "The Joy Luck Club". You could make a cake that looks like a club sandwich, but present it with all sorts of clever nods to the book, like the paper placemat with the Chinese Zodiac, some mah jong tiles, etc all made out of fondant and gumpaste, of course. Or modeling chocolate.

Tamlynn said...

Neither of those look appetizing at all. You are going to win.

k.e.l.l.i.e. said...

I have some people thinking on this too! I will post this to my fb and see what ideas come-a-calling!!

k.e.l.l.i.e. said...

ok.... so now i have people at work thinking about it and here is a few that they said:
Gone with the Wind (have the cake be a builidng and the people attached to the side of the building parallel to the ground being 'blown away'. Dante's inferno (cake being a volcano)... (more to come i am sure.....)

k.e.l.l.i.e. said...

HERE ARE IDEAS FROM FRIENDS OF FRIENDS VIA THE EMAIL BROADCAST. :)

What about Harry Potter and the Gobbler of Fire:

A turkey burning in an oven?

A Turkey with it's tail on fire?

Little Fairy On The House? Tink sitting on a house?

Chocolate - The devils food went down to Georgia (little pitch forks, a map of
georgia)

Angel Cake - On a wing and a prayer

For Barbecue's = Kill 2 stones with 1 bird (propane rocks and chicken)

Serving Fish - Just for the Halibut

Turkey Soup - The gizzard of ahhs

Chili - Gone with the wind

Like serving Chicken - Poultry in Motion

Kam said...

Wow. Can't wait to see what you come up with, Rand. I have no helpful suggestions, because I have no creativity left in me at this moment. But I will think. And when I'm awake in the night (which is often), if I have some fabulous ideas, I'll let you know! In the meantime, good luck!!

k.e.l.l.i.e. said...

one more idea:
TIE-TANIC

k.e.l.l.i.e. said...

A ship leaning on a head of ICEBERG lettuce - Titanic

vegetablestastegood said...

Hey randi IM thinking you should do the "sword in the scone." or "lime and prejudice" or "Jacob Two Two and the Hooded Meringue" or "David Chocolatefield"

Bekah said...

hey rad--

i looked the competition up online & saw that it is coming up this weekend. good luck. i can't wait to see photos of your masterpiece and hear how you kicked some serious butt.