Wedding Cake Designer

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For a decade
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Kromerwalkedthe fashionrunwaysin
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Paris.When her careergoalsshiftedin
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1993,however,shefound herselfgravitating trN
towardthe very items shehad beenavoid' ed
ing for ten yearsasmodel. Sheleft Europe mi
and moved to New York City to join the
professional
pastryand baking programat lat
the PeterKump Schoolof Culinaryfut
St,
(now the Institute of Culinary Education), ha
"A11of a suddenit was my job'to taste M
all of the things I had to stay awayfrom
sir
while modeling," saysWendy, callingthe ;
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of the limelight, she soon startedcapturingl co.
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"I enteredmy first culinary art show 'f
about one year into my career,"Wend)'
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"I createda sugarpiecethat was
explains.
afreestanding,life-size corset;all in black,
red,gold, white, and nude tinted frosting
andfondant."
Wendy remembersfearingthe piece
wouldbe disqualifieddue to her stretch
ofimagination."Needlessto say,it looked
nothinglike any of the beautiful white
weddingcakesthat were alreadyentered."
The corsetcakeendedup winning not
onlyfirst place,but alsothe admirationof
afood photographerwho showedit to the
editorsat Martha Stetlart Lkting.They
wereso impressedwith Wendy's work they
trackedher down to seeif shewas interestedin creating a cakefor their new wedding
magazine.
Wendy,of course,agreedand 13 years
latershe is still working with Martha
Stewartin a number of different ways. She
hasworked as a contributing editor for
MarthaSteu;artLiaing since 1995, and has
since
producedmany of the wedding cakes
(as
picturedin Martha Steu;artWeddings
wellasother confectionaryworks of art for
and television).She alsorecently
magazines
her first book with Martha
co-authored
Stewart,called Martha Stetoart'sWedding
featuresmore than 100 of her
Cakes,which
fabulouslyartistic cakes.
What's it like working with Martha?
"She's
very much like my mom," says
Wendy,who moved back to her hometown
ofSanduskyin 2003 to open up Wendy
KromerSpecialtyConfections in the historicWater Street district.
Although the majority of Wendyt
customers
are from the lake region, shet
traveledas far asTuscanyto make a weddingcake,and hasworked for many famous
LakeErieLiving.com
clientsincludingBrooke Shields,Erin
Lauder (of the EsteeLauderfamily),and
Oprah Winfrey.
Famousor not, all clientsfirst meetwith
Wendy for a tastingappointmentand look
at her portfolio.
"Everythingis thought out beforethe
cakeis evenbegrrn,"Wendysays."We talk
aboutwhat their vision is for the wedding
day,how they met, how they got engaged.Is
therea themefor the wedding?Are thereany
specificcolors/fabrics/flowers
that arebeing
used?Do they haveany ideaof the styleof
the cakethey envision?What is their budget
for the wedding cake?I takea lot of notesl"
Although chocolateand vanillaarestill
the most popularcakeflavors,Wendy says
shestill cant pick a favorite."Cake flavors
arelike perfume to me . . . certain daysI like
certainflavors,"shesays,addingthat shelikes
to exploreunusualflavor combinations.
"My yearsof traveling,while I was a
model,enabledme to experience
a large
variety of flavorsand textures.When
I didnt haveto be on a diet I enjoyed
tastingmany of the pastriesand choco,i
latesthat wereavailablein the local
pastryshops."
.,.
''li
She creditsthosedaysasthe reason
sheoffers such a wide rangeofflavors
to her customers,
from rich chocolate
cakewith Grand Marnier flavoredSwiss
meringuebuttercreamto almond cakewith
apricot preserves.
No matter what the flavor or design,
eachcakeWendy Kromer createswill be as
dramaticasit is delicious.She saysthe best
compliment shecould receivefor her hard
work is "that the guestsloved looking at it
and eatingit." 7
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CoulureCakes
F o r m e rm o d e la n d
professionalbakerWendy
Kromerdescribesher
cake designstyle as clean,
elegant,and deliberate.To
see more of her work, visit
wendykromer.com.For a real
treat,visit Wendy Kromer
Confectionsat 137 East
Water Street in downtown
S a n d u s k yO, h i o .