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The distinctiveness and uniqueness of Chef Michelle Bommarito's cake designs have been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles including, Martha Stewart Living, Bride's Magazine, Oakland Style Magazine and the Detroit Free Press.  She was invited to participate in a Bride Magazine Special Edition spotlighting 20 Wedding Cake Designers from around the country, and is currently working with Bride Magazine on a May 2010 photo shoot that will showcase her talents.
Chef Bommarito gained nationwide exposure when she was selected as one of five wedding cake designers to compete in Food Network's first Wedding Cake Challenge television program.  She has won three of the eight challenges; bringing home one gold medal and two silver medals, and continues to accept invitations to compete in future Food Network Challenges.

She is a graduate of The Institute of Culinary Education and is accredited in the Culinary Arts.

While in New York, she had the privilege of assisting the Executive Chef at the historic and world-renowned Waldorf Astoria hotel.  She was a Freelance Artist for Martha Stewart Omni Media and at Living Magazine, and appeared alongside Martha Stewart during a spring 2000 program where she demonstrated assembly of an intricately themed "Spring Garden" cake.

Chef Bommarito was sole-proprietor of her own company Michelle Bommarito, LLC, however, in 2009 she stepped out of the Bake Shoppe and is now focusing on expanding her teaching opportunities throughout the United States.  She travels extensively offering inspirational Wedding Cake Design Workshops and frequently judges Cake Competitions across the country.

We enthusiastically welcome her as a bright, new addition to CalJava's team of instructors!

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Previous Classes

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Cake Decorating Class
2010

Chef Ron Ben-Israel's confectionary masterpieces have been featured in numerous publications, including InStyle Wedding, Modern Bride, Martha Stewart Living and Vogue, as well as network television appearances on Bravo and the Food Network.  Ron is also an Adjunct Professor at the French Culinary Institute in New York City.  He uses real flowers for his inspiration, but it is his unique, signature techniques that allow him to create amazingly lifelike sugar flowers.

We were honored to have Chef Ron teaching at CalJava International for the third consecutive year.

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Cakes for 2009 class

Bronwen Weber's stellar career in the decorating arts began as a small girl making mud pies on the playground. At fourteen, she accepted her first job in a small bakery in Acton, Ontario, where she honed her skills and learned the bakery business.

In 1995, Bronwen moved to Texas and started making a name for herself working in small, notable bakeries around the state. For almost ten years she worked in Randall's Food Market bakeries; moving up from production employee to management, and finally as a trainer for cake decorators and bakery management. But it was her involvement with the Food Network on cable TV that has brought her international notoriety. Both as a contestant and a judge in Food Network cake decorating competitions, Bronwen has demonstrated the skills, originality, and quick smile that have endeared her to millions of viewers.

As a former Pastry Chef Instructor at the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, Bronwen taught cake decorating, chocolate, candy arts and sugar work to the school's students in the Patisserie and Baking programs.

Her work has earned her numerous awards, including Best of Division and Best of Show in national competitions, and she took home the Grand Prize at the 2005 Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, the most prestigious wedding cake competition in America. Selected as the best from amongst a field of over 600 competitors, Chef Bronwen's winning Bombay Romance Cake was featured on Food Network's "Here Comes the Cake" production, broadcast in February 2006.

As the new Executive Chef of Frosted Art Bakery & Studio, Chef Weber is always busy with new designs of her wedding and specialty cakes. Her couture cakes continue to keep her culinary creations at the forefront of style.

Carol Webb has owned and operated her bakery, The Cakery for over 30 years. The Cakery is known for its award winning desserts and wedding cakes. She has the knack of taking tedious, complicated techniques and making them simple for production-minded bakers/decorators.

Carol has been a member of I.C.E.S. for many years, serving as Oregon State Representative, Treasurer and Secretary and also as the Co Show Director for the I.C.E.S. Portland Oregon convention in 2001. As an international judge, demonstrator and teacher, we can see some of her works that has been featured in American Cake Magazine and I.C.E.S. Newsletters.

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Maisie is the author of several published books including: Cakes with Character, Dough Craft Workstation, Sugar Dough Magic, and Marzipan Magic. In the United Kingdom, she has appeared on UK TV for The Good Food Show and also on QVC Shopping Channel.

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In 1990, Colette began teaching cake decorating and has traveled throughout the United States & Europe, sharing her expertise. She has instructed students at the Culinary Institute of America in California, The French Culinary Institute, The French Pastry School, The Wilton School and The Notter School of Pastry Arts. Please take a moment and view the Slide Show of photos taken during Collete's class at CalJava International last year.

She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The TV Food Network, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Discovery Channel, CNN, and Lifetime Television. She worked as a designer for Tiffany & Company for 8 years.

Creator of special cakes, Colette has delivered cakes throughout America, Europe, and the Caribbean and has created cakes for many celebrities, including Sting, Natasha Richardson, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Rivers, Tommy Trune, Al Pacino, Earth Kitt and Robert Altman, just to name a few. She created cakes for the wedding of Marie-Chantal Miller and Prince Pavlos in Greece, and also Alexandra Miller and Alexander Von Furstenburg. In 1996, Colette was chosen to create a cake honoring the Renwick Museum as part of 150th Anniversary Celebration for Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

In 1998, Colette was asked by First Lady Hilary Clinton, to create 3 "Sugar Scenes" for the Red Room, the Green Room and the Grand Foyer, as part of the White House Christmas decorations. She was then asked again to create decorations for the White House 2000 Holiday season.

Awards:
The Societe Culinaire Philanthropique awarded Colette three gold medals and the Grand Prix de Paris Award. She is the member of The Baker's Dozen East, The New York Women's Culinary Alliance, and The International Cake Exploration Society.

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Kim Morrison has been creating stunning wedding cakes in the central Pennsylvania region for more than twenty years, and is the owner of Cakes for Occasions by Kim Morrison.

Originally an artist with a BFA in glassblowing and watercolor, she chose to become a cake designer and sugar artist since "chocolate tastes so much better than paint!" As Grand Prize winner in both the 2003 and 2004 National Wedding Cake Competitions held at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, Kim and her prize winning entries, "Roses for Besse" and "The Bridal Feast", were featured on the Food Network companion programs: "Here Comes the Cake" and the Challenge series "Wedding Cake Classic".

Kim's work has been featured in the magazines: "Here Comes the Cake", "American Cake Decorating", and in the I.C.E.S. Newsletter. She has been a teacher and demonstrator for several years. She maintains a full schedule creating custom-designed wedding cakes, serving as director of the Pennsylvania State Cake Show, and indulging in her love of competition sugar art.

Linda has owned and operated both retail and wholesale bakeries since 1974 and is a highly sought after culinary instructor.  She teaches students at Sweet Art, Inc. (her place of business in Indianapolis), Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis and travels around the United States giving classes and seminars on a wide variety of topics and techniques.  She has also been a guest instructor at Indiana University, Purdue University and International Sugar Art in Atlanta.  Linda has received many awards and much praise for her work as culinary artist including A.C.F. gold, silver and bronze medals and the prestigious Concepts In Food award.  Her works were published in 'Here Comes the Cake'.  In addition to her work as an instructor, Linda's product Choco-Pan has made an impact on the rolled icing market and has shattered the stereotypes of "rolled fondant" in general.

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Lucinda Larson was one of the first people in the U.S. to learn and use rolled fondant. She received her degree in Visual Communication Technology, has been decorating for 32 years and teaching for 24 years.

She owns Lucinda's Cakes of Distinction; has worked at the world-famous Cake Box and with Hall of Fame members Le King and Roland Winbeckler, as well as other top decorators. She has also worked in many in-store bakeries and privately owned bakeries.

Lucinda is a Lifetime Member, former Show Director and former Washington State Representative for the International Cake Exploration Societe (I.C.E.S.). She is a Member and Past President of the Washington State Sugar Arts, and is currently one of the Chef Instructors at the Art Institute of Seattle.

Lucinda is the "Buttercream Queen" and is currently working on her book called, "Beautiful Borders Book".

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Betty Van Norstrand is a legendary artist in the couture wedding cake business. Betty was featured in a Christmas television special for Victoria Magazine and the Food TV Network. She is a regularly featured artist in several publications including Brides, Modern Bride and Victoria.

In 1987 Betty was inducted into ICES International Sugar Craft Hall of Fame. As a specialty instructor for Culinary Institute of America for Advanced Cake Decorating and the International Pastry Arts Center, Betty has taught several famous cake artists nationwide and the world. Her impeccable reputation is truly second to none.

Her artistry has won her numerous awards including: Gold and Silver Medals from the Culinary Olympic in Frankfurt, Germany; Salon of Culinary of Arts; New York Coliseum & Javits Center; Gold Medals from the American Culinary Federation; the Societe Culinaire Philantropique of Switzerland; Recontres Professionalles of France, and many more.

One of Betty's signature projects was a collaboration with Chef Alber Kumin and the International Pastry Arts on creating a giant cake for the 15th Anniversary of Walt Disney World.

Teresa is a bilingual (English & Spanish), experienced and creative cake decorating instructor. She was a supervisor and head instructor for the Mercedes Vocational School in Los Angeles and was a Wilton Method Instructor.

Over the years, she has attended many well known courses to further her skills and knowledge in cake decorating. Her expertise in Cold Porcelain modeling is unique, and she enjoys sharing her easy-to-learn techniques to students of all skill levels. Her classes include how to make your own Cold Porcelain dough and how her gelatin works can be used when decorating special occasion cakes. When using these two style elements on a cake, they can make both beautiful and profitable selling items for your establishment.

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Kerry Vincent creates wedding and specialty cakes like no other. Kerry is an artist, specializing in stylish, haute couture, custom-designed wedding cakes.  Kerry will include techniques from her best selling book as well as the design on the cover of 'Here Comes the Cake'.  A renowned cake designer; her career includes creating a cake for the golden wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth.  Kerry, an international gold medalist has invented many innovative techniques and has won a host of best of show and blue ribbon awards.  In recognition of her skill and accomplishments, Kerry was recently inducted into the ICES International Sugar-craft Hall of Fame.