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Nicole Wilson, of New Castle, recently had a “Short and Sweet” appearance in the limelight along with high school friend Dana Herbert.
Herbert, who owns Desserts by Dana in Bear, was chosen to appear on the TLC competition series Ultimate Cake Off episode that aired Oct. 12. When one of his team members got sick at the last minute, Herbert asked Wilson, owner of The Short and Sweet Café in Wilmington, to fill in.
“I was absolutely shocked, flattered, nervous and honored he would choose me,” Wilson said. “I really went into this thing blind. I never did anything to practice.”
In the episode, Herbert faced off against two other contestants in a challenge to create an edible masterpiece in hopes of winning $10,000 and to have their five-foot high cake creation featured at a marquee event.
Each Ultimate Cake Off episode revolves around making a cake within tight time constraints to suit a major client, in this case Legoland, Wilson said, which featured the winning creation at Legoland California’s 10th birthday celebration.
And while a birthday party sounds like a lot of fun, the heat is really turned up during the competition, Herbert said.
“You’re so focused on what your doing you don’t realize what’s going on around you,” he said. “There’s the stress of finishing in the time constraints. We learned a lot out there: you really have to keep a calm, level head.”
Although a cake with motorized parts and a working water slide eventually won the day, judges praised Wilson’s contribution to the team – expertise in fondant, a soft sugary material that can be rolled, poured and sculpted before it dries hard to create detailed art on confections – when they noted that Dana’s team’s strong points were “awesome attention to detail,” and being “great with the sugar work.”
Wilson said she will never forget the experience.
“It was exciting. I’m very proud of what I pulled off in a short time,” she said. “It was exhausting. I’m glad I didn’t break down and could pull through for the team. I just went in with a leap of faith.”
Nicole Wilson, of New Castle, recently had a “Short and Sweet” appearance in the limelight along with high school friend Dana Herbert.
Herbert, who owns Desserts by Dana in Bear, was chosen to appear on the TLC competition series Ultimate Cake Off episode that aired Oct. 12. When one of his team members got sick at the last minute, Herbert asked Wilson, owner of The Short and Sweet Café in Wilmington, to fill in.
“I was absolutely shocked, flattered, nervous and honored he would choose me,” Wilson said. “I really went into this thing blind. I never did anything to practice.”
In the episode, Herbert faced off against two other contestants in a challenge to create an edible masterpiece in hopes of winning $10,000 and to have their five-foot high cake creation featured at a marquee event.
Each Ultimate Cake Off episode revolves around making a cake within tight time constraints to suit a major client, in this case Legoland, Wilson said, which featured the winning creation at Legoland California’s 10th birthday celebration.
And while a birthday party sounds like a lot of fun, the heat is really turned up during the competition, Herbert said.
“You’re so focused on what your doing you don’t realize what’s going on around you,” he said. “There’s the stress of finishing in the time constraints. We learned a lot out there: you really have to keep a calm, level head.”
Although a cake with motorized parts and a working water slide eventually won the day, judges praised Wilson’s contribution to the team – expertise in fondant, a soft sugary material that can be rolled, poured and sculpted before it dries hard to create detailed art on confections – when they noted that Dana’s team’s strong points were “awesome attention to detail,” and being “great with the sugar work.”
Wilson said she will never forget the experience.
“It was exciting. I’m very proud of what I pulled off in a short time,” she said. “It was exhausting. I’m glad I didn’t break down and could pull through for the team. I just went in with a leap of faith.”
