'Ace' cake designer dishes about his craft
"Ace of Cakes" wouldn't be what it is without Geof Manthorne.
Sure Charm City Cakes founder and visionary Duff Goldman is the lead character of the Food Network's wildly popular show, but Manthorne leads the supporting cast as executive sous chef. In that role he designs many of the extreme creations for the Baltimore bakery chronicled on the weekly reality series.
The eclectic crew at Charm City Cakes takes the whimsical fondant-covered layered cake to the nth degree creating edible works of culinary artistry.
Without Manthorne's design and model-making expertise, there wouldn't have been the sparkling Taj Mahal, an incredibly realistic miniature Army tank or an intricate replica of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Manthorne, 35, has no technical culinary training; he was working as a model maker at an architectural firm when his college pal Goldman tapped him to join the bakery crew. Manthorne heads to Harper College in Palatine next week to offer decorating tips and a behind-the-scenes taste of the show.
I caught him between cakes to find out what the audience can expect on Tuesday, April 13, and got him to dish a little about the show and himself.
Q. What's it like taping the show? A. It's pretty time-consuming. Emeril (Lagasse) tapes a season of shows in a week; we film a season in four to six months. Every episode is a week of time. We work five days a week, eight to 12 hours a day for a 22-minute show.Q. You're a musician, Duff's a musician, do you have to be a musician to work at Charm City Cakes?A. I think almost everyone here has been in a band or in an imaginary band. Music is a huge part of what we are here.Q. So what do you listen to at work? A. When we're taping, we're not allowed to listen to music. When we can I listen to Neil Young. The Beatles are very big here.Q. What else is on your iPod? A. Lately, because of my girlfriend, I'm getting into country music; older stuff like Reba McEntire and Tanya Tucker. I've always been a huge fan of Willie Nelson.Q. You don't have a baking background; what do you like about working at the bakery? A. I like the process of going from a picture and making that into a cake that is a recognizable replica of that picture. I can't do every nook and cranny, so it's finding what's special and focusing on that.Q. What's your favorite "Ace of Cakes" creation? A. Most recently we did a life-size motorcycle. We bought real headlights and plugged them in. That, by far, is the biggest cake we've done.I also liked our Taj Mahal, it's such a beautiful wonder of the world. It was a lot of gum paste and sugar work.Q. Any cake disasters?A. We made a Scottish castle and the delivery guy lost the whole cake going through the door. The only thing he saved was the little bagpiper. Thankfully (we had time) and we made new cakes and decorated them, I think in five hours.Q. What type of cake would you want at your own party?A. I would want something extremely elaborate - cakes hanging from the ceiling that someone's going to have to get on a ladder and cut - like acrobats in Cirque du Soleil, I'd make a whole show of it. The flavor? The baker here makes a fantastic chocolate espresso cake. I'd serve it with coffee and ice cream.Q. What's your take on cupcakes?A. I never like to get embroiled in battles. I love cupcakes; they have their place, but at weddings? I think there's still something comforting about a five-layer cake at a wedding.Q. What's coming up for "Ace of Cakes"?A. Every year it gets better and better. How long it will go, I don't know. I'm hoping we're going to go another season."Ace of Cakes" airs at 9 and 9:30 p.m. on the Food Network; check local listings for information.False20001339Geof Manthorne contructs a model of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral from foam board before the "Ace of Cakes" crew assembles the edible version. False <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Geof Manthorne</b>, sous chef at Charm City Cakes, the site of the Food Network's popular "Ace of Cakes," will demonstrate cake decorating techniques, answer questions and sign copies of "Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes."</p><p class="factboxtext12col"><b>When:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13</p><p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Where:</b> Building M, Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine</p><p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Information:</b> (847) 925-6100; harpercollege.edu</p><p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Tickets:</b> $15; discount for seniors and Harper students</p>