WAY OVERDUE blog posts required!

Ok I'm going to GIVE UP on the "where has the day/week/month/year/time gone" rant!! Let's just say that I have NO CLUE and looking ahead at what is left of the 2012 calendar and seeing 2013 looming so close is making me panic slightly and making me think I must have been in some kind of sugar induced coma for all of 2012!!!

With all that being said - here comes a BUNCH of blog posts to catch up - so get ready!

Lisa

The Dog Days of Summer

In 1989, while working as a counter person in a local bakery, Debbie was asked to try her hand at making cakes.  With a background in art, but no experience with cake decoration, she simply watched for a week, and then proceeded to make and sell her first cake: instant professional!

Fortunately there is no photographic evidence of these early days! After many years and many attempts to leave the field of cake, and various bakery stints including one at an erotic bakery, a coworker urged her to start her own business with a focus exclusively on what she did best: sculpted cakes.
Buoyed by this exciting notion of makings cakes on her own terms, she launched debbiedoescakes.net in November of 2005. 23 years after her unlikely start in the field of cake decoration, Debbie has indeed made a name for herself, on her own terms.  With a business that offers sculpted cakes only, she has carved out a unique niche for herself in the field, garnering international attention for her often unusual, realistic cake creations.

Debbie has been featured several times in The Telegraph UK, The Sun UK, The Daily Mail, as well as in The New York Times, New York Daily News, PlayStation UK and Nintendo Power magazines, The National Examiner, People Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, National Geographic Kids magazine ... to name just a few.  She has also appeared on Food Network and various Morning and talk shows across the country. One of her proudest achievements were the inclusions in two editions of "Ripley's Believe it or not" books in 2011.

This Fall, her first book "Twisted Cakes, Deliciously Evil Designs for All Occasions" will be release internationally by Harper Collins. This step by step books of 20 off beat cake projects will offer a peek into Debbie's non traditional cake processes and quirky sense of humour.

We at Flour Confections are so proud to have this amazingly talented artist teach 2 classes in August.  Known around the world for her dog cakes, Debbie will be teaching how to create a life like sculpted dog out of CAKE!  The information on sculpting, structure and airbrushing will be priceless - don't miss out on this opportunity!

Debbie is also well known for her incredibly realistic food cakes and has used numerous techniques to achieve life like recreations of other food items.  Debbie will be sharing with us some of her most popular items: french fries, chips & salsa and the ever amazing chicken wings!! All of these items would make anyone drool!

Space is limited in both classes and registration will be closing July 15th to allow for adequate preparation.  We hope to see you all this August!

Registration on-line is EASY - click the link for Man I've got the Munchies - amazing food cakes with Debbie Goard Thursday August 9th 9am-5pm

or Why is that Dog on the Table? with Debbie Goard on Sunday August 12th 9am-5pm

Capturing Mother Nature with Jacqueline Butler

We had an amazing 3 days which would have made Mother Nature envious!  At the end of April we had the extreme pleasure of hosting the talented Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes.  For those of you who don't know her, be sure to check out her blog - and for those of you who DO know her, you were all eagerly awaiting this class since we announced it!  And was it ever worth the wait!  

Jacqueline taught us her signature peony flower, as well as hydrangeas, filler flowers and the ever popular ranunculus.  But it didn't stop there!  She also guided the students through her process of creating gorgeous sugar flower arrangements with the final result being a sea of sugar flower vases.  

Our fabulous students & their gorgeous arrangements - each one unique, each one stunning!

The lovely Jacqueline as she arranges her sugar flowers

The intimate class allowed each student to have one-on-one guidance throughout the 3 days

Watching the sugar vases come to life - each one uniquely gorgeous!

Our fabulous HD camera & TV was perfect for showing all the detail of what goes into arranging!

My favourite part - dusting!

Watch out Mother Nature!

"Be aggressive!"

I loved the apricot colour Bonny created!

Thank you Jacqueline for sharing your craft with us - and we cannot wait for your return in 2013!!  For those of you who missed out your chance this year, be sure to register right away when we post next years classes - they are SURE to sell out!

What's Happening in May?

If you are into all things sweet, then you are in luck because there are a few events coming up in the beginning of May!


The Cake Show:


The Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts has it's annual Cake Show on Sunday May 6th - there is lots to see from competition entries, live competitions and demonstrations - be sure to go and check it out!  

The Cake Show is an annual cake design exhibition presented by Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts. This exciting day will involve demos by our talented school instructors, a bake sale, a cake design competition and live challenges featuring fabulous cake designers!This year’s show is on Sunday, May 6th.Artscape Wychwood Barns.This event is open to the public.

Bakery Showcase:


The Baking Association of  Canada has it's bi-annual Bakery Showcase running from May 6th-8th at the International Centre in Mississauga.  

Canada's Largest National Baking Trade Show and Convention Event• Join 5,000 industry professionals including bakers (retail, wholesale, commercial), grocery and foodservice outlets • Visit the trade show - over 200 companies in 100,000 sq.ft. showcasing ingredients, equipment, services, technology and baked goods (fresh, proof & bake, par-baked, freezer-to-oven, thaw & serve)• Event format combines a trade show with Exhibitor produced Product Presentations• NEW Show Feature• Located in the Toronto area, the facility is easily accessible by public transportation (Mississauga Transit & GO Trains), major highways, 5 minutes from the Toronto International Airport and provides plenty of free parking

$250 Shopping Spree Contest - Facebook & Pinterest!

Want to win a $250 Flour Confections Shopping Spree?? Of COURSE you do!!

Simply LIKE our Facebook page via our Contest Link here and you will be entered to win!

Want another chance to win?? Well here goes - visit Flour Confections and browse through our products - find one that you like and PIN IT on Pinterest! Provide us with the URL link to your pin via our contest form for another chance to win - only one entry per day.

Our contest ends on April 30th - Good Luck!!

Internships in Ontario - Know your rights

In our industry (as with many others) the offer of "working" as an unpaid intern comes up from time to time - especially during the busy wedding season.

As employers and "employees" it is important to know the law and your rights.

Here is the statement made by the Employment Standards Act of Ontario:

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/is_unpaidintern.php

Internships in Ontario: What you need to know

• Issued: June 2011
• Content last reviewed: June 2011

There are no regulations pertaining to unpaid internships. The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)regulates paid employment relationships between employers and employees. Employees must be paid at least the Ontario minimum wage ($10.25 per hour for most employees).

An "employee" is defined under section 1 of the ESA to include a person who receives training from an employer. However, the definition excludes a trainee who is receiving training from an employer in the skills used by that employer's employees, if all of the conditions below are met:

1. The training is similar to that which is given in a vocational school.
2. The training is for the benefit of the individual.
3. The person providing the training derives little, if any, benefit from the activity of the individual while he or she is being trained.
4. The individual does not displace employees of the person providing the training.
5. The individual is not accorded a right to become an employee of the person providing the training.
6. The individual is advised that he or she will receive no remuneration for the time that he or she spends in training.

Section 3(5) of the ESA also excludes "an individual who performs work under a program approved by a college of applied arts and technology or a university" from the application of the Act.

This exclusion exists to encourage employers to provide the training that an individual enrolled in a college or university program seeks. If employers were responsible for providing ESA minimum standards for participants in these programs in the same way that they are for their employees, such placement opportunities may become limited. This could adversely affect both the students and the teaching institutions that currently benefit from these programs.

Section 3(5) of the ESA requires that a college or university approve the work to be performed under such a program, in order to help ensure that the school will give consideration to allowing placements where the learning provided is of benefit to the individual.

If someone performing work as part of an unpaid internship is unsure of whether they should be excluded from the ESA, he or she can call the Employment Standards Information Centre toll-free at 1-800-531-5551 for further information.

There are many interesting articles on the topic which you can read below:

http://www.yorku.ca/ddoorey/lawblog/?p=2169

http://www.kmblaw.com/news64.html

http://www.youthandwork.ca/2011/07/unpaid-internships-in-ontario.html

http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/732-your-internship-a-gateway-to-great-experience-or-questionably-legal-unpaid-labour

http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/archive/acov/acov11/acov1150.asp

The Flour Power Tour 2012

Part 2 of Looking back at 2011 is still in progress....in the meantime here is a look at my personal teaching & travel line up for 2012!

The first leg of travel will be to Denver Colorado where I will be judging & demonstrating at the Sweet Times in the Rockies cake show. The show takes place February 11th & 12th at the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

Next stop is the That Takes The Cake Show in Austin Texas. The show takes place February 25th & 26th and consists of a sugar art show, live demonstrations, vendors, mini classes and celebrity classes! I'll be teaching Eat Your Art Out - how to make fun faux foods as well as making a silicone mould.

Some of the fun treats from Eat Your Art Out

In March I will taking 2 more trips. First to attend the Extreme Flowers - Giants to Miniatures class with Ron Ben-Israel at Custom Cakes in Savannah Georgia.

Later that month I will be teaching 2 classes at the Great Lakes Mini Classes in Dearborn Michigan. Another fun show consisting of a sugar art show, vendors and guest classes - be sure to check it out!

In August I will be demonstrating at the ICES convention in Reno, Nevada August 2nd - 5th. Join me at the Snakeskin Lace Effect demo on Friday August 3rd at 2pm - I will be sharing the techniques I used to make my 3rd place sugar shoe at the 2011 OSSAS show. Looking forward to attending the convention!

3rd place Masters Sugar Shoe at OSSAS 2011

In September I will be making my annual trek to Tulsa Oklahoma to attend & compete in the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show September 29th-30th. The Grand Wedding Cake Competition theme this year is Hats, Headbands & Headgear - should be interesting!

The last stop on the tour for 2012 is in October where I will be attending & teaching at the Cake Love convention in Vancouver, British Columbia. Last year the first convention was a blast with tons of great classes - this year is proving to be bigger & better with an amazing line up! Be sure to check it out!

Display cake from the 1st Cake Love Convention