Instructors for 2023 Sweet Retreat
More instructors will be added at a later date
Peggy Tucker School of Cakeology & Cake Play https://www.cakeplay.com/
Peggy is a Certified Master Sugar Artist and is internationally known, not only for her unique skills in sugar art, but also for the fun demonstrations and quality classes, at which she inspires enthusiasm in everyone who attends. This reputation has opened many doors for her in the sugar world, has also lead to her becoming the owner of Cake Play Inc.
She is a Certified Master Sugar Artist, one of 32 in the world, and is the owner of School Of Cakeology. She specializes in teaching the art of Sugar, Cake Design, and Cake Decorating, and is an international instructor.
She has been seen on the Food Network, Fox news, has written articles published in American Cake Decorating Magazine, Edible Artists Network Magazine, ICES Magazine. The Minnesota Women Magazine and Rochester Newspapers have written many articles on her over the years.
Emerlie Miller Grandy - My Sugar Rush
Emerlie Miller is a Cake Artist from Utah who runs My Sugar Rush. She spent several years as a self-taught cake decorator, before gaining additional experience at a Harmon’s grocery store and the popular Cupcake Wars winning bakery One Sweet Slice. From there she moved to Toronto to earn a Confectionary Arts Diploma from Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts – a small scale, world-renown cake college. Emerlie learned the professional art of baking and decorating cakes and other pastries from current professionals in the industry who are the masters of their art. She is known for creating tall and trendy themed cakes using bright colors and a variety of edible mediums.
Emerlie has competed as a Cake Artist on Food Network’s Santa’s Baking Blizzard (2019), as a Sugar Artist and Pastry Chef on Holiday Wars (2020), and as Team Lead and Food Network Champion on The Big Bake
Emerlie has competed as a Cake Artist on Food Network’s Santa’s Baking Blizzard (2019), as a Sugar Artist and Pastry Chef on Holiday Wars (2020), and as Team Lead and Food Network Champion on The Big Bake
Chrissie Boon-Icing Inspirations and Too Nice to Slice
Chrissie Boon’s interest in baking started early on with an easy bake oven. By the time she was in high school she ran a small cookie business that had her doing thousands of cookies every Christmas from her parent’s kitchen.
It was only natural that she follow that love into a career. Having discovered cake decorating part way though studying for a psychology degree in university Chrissie opened a custom cake shop her second year of university.
That business is ever expanding and she is now the owner of Icing Inspirations and Too Nice to Slice in Ontario Canada where she teaches and hosts classes, creates custom cakes, and runs a small bakery - Sweets by Too Nice to Slice.
As a busy mom of four kiddos who keep her on her toes, she loves showing them the sweeter side of life. As the director of Icing Smiles Canada, she also shows them how to give back.
She loves to compete and was thrilled to place third runner up her first time entering the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show. The following year she took the second runner up prize.
Chrissie loves spending time with her cake friends around the world teaching and judging at cake shows. She believes the best part of the industry is the friends you make in it.
It was only natural that she follow that love into a career. Having discovered cake decorating part way though studying for a psychology degree in university Chrissie opened a custom cake shop her second year of university.
That business is ever expanding and she is now the owner of Icing Inspirations and Too Nice to Slice in Ontario Canada where she teaches and hosts classes, creates custom cakes, and runs a small bakery - Sweets by Too Nice to Slice.
As a busy mom of four kiddos who keep her on her toes, she loves showing them the sweeter side of life. As the director of Icing Smiles Canada, she also shows them how to give back.
She loves to compete and was thrilled to place third runner up her first time entering the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show. The following year she took the second runner up prize.
Chrissie loves spending time with her cake friends around the world teaching and judging at cake shows. She believes the best part of the industry is the friends you make in it.
Lucinda Larson-Olds https://www.facebook.com/LucindasIcingDiva
Renowned sugar artist Lucinda Larson is known for her lovely gumpaste flowers, and wonderful use of color. She is fondly nicknamed the Buttercream Queen and The Icing Diva. In addition to her 30 years of teaching at numerous prestigious culinary colleges and expos in the Northwest and across North America, she has received many awards and “best of shows” for her work. She has been featured in national and international magazines, TV, and on the cover of American Cake Magazine. Lucinda’s spunky personality and passion for cake decorating makes learning simple and fun…a real treat! (taken from http://www.creativelive.com/instructor/lucinda-larson)
Michele Sweeney www.epicdelights.com/pastry-chef-michele-sweeney
Chef Michele first picked up a pastry bag at the age of 6 and spent many summers as a child in the bakery watching her mother create works of art. She is a 4th generation baker and 2nd generation cake decorator.
Michele has a degree in Multimedia Design & Production. She also has a secondary education in baking, pastry and confectionary art. She's a graduate of the internationally acclaimed Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art in Chicago, IL, a former Wilton Method Instructor and an International Cake Exploration Society (ICES) approved teacher.
Michele's work has won several awards, and has been featured on a number of sites and publications such as Craftsy, Satin Ice, Lucks, Icing Images, ICES Magazine, American Cake Decorating Magazine and Edible Artist Network Magazine. She has also been featured on the Food Network as a competitor on Cake Wars Christmas.
Michele has a degree in Multimedia Design & Production. She also has a secondary education in baking, pastry and confectionary art. She's a graduate of the internationally acclaimed Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art in Chicago, IL, a former Wilton Method Instructor and an International Cake Exploration Society (ICES) approved teacher.
Michele's work has won several awards, and has been featured on a number of sites and publications such as Craftsy, Satin Ice, Lucks, Icing Images, ICES Magazine, American Cake Decorating Magazine and Edible Artist Network Magazine. She has also been featured on the Food Network as a competitor on Cake Wars Christmas.
Barb Evans Master Sugar Artist - Owner of Stable Mabel
Since 1981 Barbara Evans has owned and operated the Wedding Cake Connection located in Peoria, Illinois, offering custom designed wedding cakes. She is a past Show Director, Board Member & State Representative for ICES. She earned the title of ICES Certified Master Sugar Artist and has served as a Certification Adjudicator. In 2010 she competed on a TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off team. She was instrumental in the product development and design of the new Wilton Gumpaste Kit. Barb’s work has been shown in several publications including: ICES, American Cake Decorating, British Sugarcraft, Chicago Brides & Florist Review. She is an ICES Approved teacher and has taught a variety of classes including fondant, gumpaste flowers, quilling, stenciling, chocolate, gingerbread. She is best known for her intricate string work and run sugar designs.
Barb is also the owner and designer of Stable Mabel Cake Support Systems. Laura Saporiti
Laura Saporiti is an Italy based International pastry chef and cake & cookie artist, with a past as Historian of art, who loves to travel the world teaching her passion, on a mission to raise the professional consciousness of the art of decorating.
Laura has had the privilege of being published in several international magazines, like Italian Pasticceria Internazionale, American Cake Central, British Cake Masters, Indian Sugar Magazine or Chinese Café&Gateaux. Throughout her career she also has had the opportunity to participate in a large array of International exhibits and has received many awards and recognitions for the quality of her work: from the first prize at the Cake Design Italian Festival (2013), to the special prize for aesthetic at the Italian Cup of Cake Design (2014), followed by a gold medal at the British Cake International Show Competition (2014), to the 2017 Rising Star award received at the Golden Tiers Awards organized by American Cake Decorating magazine and the New York Cake Show. She also won two times in a row the title of Best Italian Painting Artist in 2015 and 2016. At the same time, her international reputation led her to be invited to judge several competition, like the Italian Cake Festival, the 2015 I’m Chef Bakery Master Championship in Shanghai, the Istanbul Cake show in Turkey and the NY Cake Show in 2016, the 2019 Indian Cakeology Fest in Mumbai. She was also appointed judge for the cookie section of the Soflo 2020 competition in Miami. She proudly badge herself of winning first place in the 3D category of 2020 Julia Usher’s Cookie Art Competition hosted at That Takes the Cake Show in Austin and being invited to be a judge in Julia's online international edition of her cookie competition in 2021 and 2022. In May 2021 she has been selected by magazine Dolcesalato as one of the 50 best Italian women pastry chef of the year and she was also a finalist for the Cookie Category of the 2022 Cake Masters Magazine Award. |
Leslie Foster The Cake Room
Leslie Foster of Leslie’s Cake Room took her first cake decorating class after retiring from the police force because of an injury. She fell in love with the sugar arts and soon she was teaching classes not just taking them. As the chairperson, Leslie grew the Oregon State Fair’s cake competition from just a few entries into over 100. She also has been active in growing the local cake community.
Leslie has been published in many publications and has competed on the Food Networks show Cake All.
She is in known for her detailed sculpted cakes.
Leslie has been published in many publications and has competed on the Food Networks show Cake All.
She is in known for her detailed sculpted cakes.
Rhoda Sheridan
Rhoda started taking her first cake decorating lesson when her boys were young. Being the wife of a military officer and moving from base to base, she couldn’t always assume that there would be a local bakery to supply cakes for her family. So the passion with sugar began.
Rhoda lives for teaching beginning cake decorators and children. She specializes in chocolate and butter cream piping, but she also loves all other sugar forms of sugar art and is always increasing her knowledge base.
Rhoda is also passionate about quilting and embroidery and sometimes will try and mix techniques. We are very happy to have Rhoda as one of our member and her vast knowledge that we are able to draw from. Rhoda is also known to share her knowledge freely with all.
Rhoda lives for teaching beginning cake decorators and children. She specializes in chocolate and butter cream piping, but she also loves all other sugar forms of sugar art and is always increasing her knowledge base.
Rhoda is also passionate about quilting and embroidery and sometimes will try and mix techniques. We are very happy to have Rhoda as one of our member and her vast knowledge that we are able to draw from. Rhoda is also known to share her knowledge freely with all.
Mary Richelt
Mary is a teacher at Blake’s Decorettee , She is known to teach several different mediums including butter cream, royal icing, fondant and gumpaste. Mary has an educational background in food science and brings that knowledge into her art.
Mary is also a graduate of Nicholas Lodges Renshaw Academy Master Certification Class.
Mary is also passionate about quilting and embroidery and sometimes will try and mix techniques. We are very happy to have Mary as one of our members who is willing to share her knowledge freely.
Mary is also a graduate of Nicholas Lodges Renshaw Academy Master Certification Class.
Mary is also passionate about quilting and embroidery and sometimes will try and mix techniques. We are very happy to have Mary as one of our members who is willing to share her knowledge freely.
Graciela Guzman
Graciela is a talented and creative bi-lingual sugar artist that made Oregon her home 20 years ago after moving from Mexico. She teaches classes in both English and Spanish. Graciela studied at the Oregon Culinary Institute (OCI) and obtained her Pastry Chef degree. Being one who is always striving to keep her art and decorating skill at the forefront she is constantly attending classes and workshops to learn the newest techniques.
Not only is Graciela known for her yummy Mexican pastries she is also renowned for her figure modeling and use of color on her fondant figurines, 2D and 3 D Cookies and Cakes. Graciela is now also a brand Ambassador for Ma Baker and Chef out of Mexico.
Not only is Graciela known for her yummy Mexican pastries she is also renowned for her figure modeling and use of color on her fondant figurines, 2D and 3 D Cookies and Cakes. Graciela is now also a brand Ambassador for Ma Baker and Chef out of Mexico.