A likkle but tallawah return for Sweetart Bake Expo
Published:Thursday | October 27, 2022 | 12:08 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
What’s a party without cake? Well, in honour of outside’s grand reopening, Sweetart Bake Expo made a delightful comeback over the weekend, which left young and old dessert lovers in a state of ambrosia, beckoning for more decadence.
“It’s not our usual time of year, and our typical big crowd wasn’t here, but we wanted to whet the appetites of dessert lovers. So there was a similar approach to the competition and the cake decorating class. Those who showed up were truly in for a treat,” the event’s conceptualiser, Andrea Wilson Green, told Food.
The team took a similar approach to this year’s staging, returning to its home venue, The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, while keeping true to the exciting fusion of workshops with the competition.
For the edutainment package, previous cake showdown winner and seasoned cake decorating class instructor Allison Balfour-Henry of Sweet Mischief Ja, hosted a fabulous and dynamic ‘diamond’ cake design class on Saturday. This allowed students to learn the intricacies of a complex but simple construct, and have their results on display for patrons to see the following day. “It was a great experience, and the students did so well,” the proud teacher highlighted.
The main event on Sunday consisted of cake art competitions, booth displays, and a kiddies’ corner to keep the little ones engaged. For the live decorating challenge, the sweet encounter between Shannakay Smikle of Shanna’s Pastry Craze and Okiem Dallas of Cakes You Like Ja saw Smikle emerging as the winner.
The pre-decorated competition carries the same element; the only difference is that contestants can decorate the cake beforehand from the comfort of their own homes. From there, with cake in tow, they take them to the competition and place them on display for judging by an esteemed pastry panel. The categories this time around included Jamaica 60th, bridal shower, cartoon, bridal bouquet (sugar art), and travel.
“We had 12 contestants in total. The criteria for decorating the cake included originality, creativity, neatness, and cleanliness. The points awarded are tallied and the highest marks within the theme would be declared the winners.” Wilson Green declared.
Entering the winner’s circle for the occasion included Cakes by Queata’s Laqueata Donaldson, who topped the travel category with her sugary rendition of Air Jamaica. Donaldson also copped the people’s choice award. Sydnia Miller of Syd’s Kitchen & Floral came second in the travel category.
For the Jamaica 60th theme, The Cake Queen Ja’s Toni-Gay Robinson received first place. She also emerged victorious in the bridal bouquet theme. The second place in the bridal bouquet showdown was Georgia Johson of Georgie’s Sweet Retreat for the bouquet in a box.
First place in the bridal shower category went to Leonett Brown with her mannequin cake, while second place was given to Knakita Clayton-Johnson of Kita’s Cake Artistry. She also won the best-tasting cake competition.
Main sponsors CPJ and Frozen Delights were not only on display, but were on hand to distribute several prizes to all themes winners.
The likkle but tallawah audience basked in the merriment of the sweet occasion.
Wilson Green is happy to make this comeback and she’s already looking forward to her next staging, which will feature the battle of the giants, next year.