Yelping to our Yelpers!

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Festivus ...! 'Tis the season to think of others and give thanks, and today we have lots of thanks to give, Big Yelps, to those who have taken the time to write such generous reviews for cakelava on Yelp. You know San Francisco based Yelp. Real People. Real Reviews. This is the real deal. People who, out of the kindness of the hearts, (or sometimes out of spite) write the kind of reviews that can either make you look REALLY good or not-so-good.

As a business, Yelp reviews are helpful. They tell you what you are doing right and what can be improved upon. In our Yelp reviews, we recognize the name of each person who has reviewed us and also noticed at least a couple reviews which have been removed by Yelp, who thought they weren't "real" customers, even though they were. Our client Rachel comes to mind -- sorry Rachel!

When we consider that our cake studio which has a storefront but is By Appointment Only, and we don't sell any baked goods aside from custom cakes, we don't expect to be Yelped too frequently. It's not like someone will walk into our shop, buy a cupcake or pastry and write a review on Yelp. The reviews we have received we cherish because they all came from people we have worked with over months, some on numerous occasions, and they wanted to share their experience with others. A couple have told us they posted a review on Yelp shortly after, but most have not. They take the time to mention the impact the cakes had on their party, and the level of service we offer as well as the taste of the cake. Some are wedding clients, and some birthday clients, and one, Margaret D. is not a client, but rather a novelist who interviewed Rick for an upcoming novel she is writing, and decided to Yelp about us. It was a total surprise and we were touched by the gesture, as we were with the other reviewers.

Thank you, thank you Mel, our first Yelper in 2007, and what a Yelper she was! Kendra, Elizabeth, Rachel, Stephanie, Carly, Margaret, Christopher and Yun, Thank you for spending the time to Yelp us! Each of you brought a smile to our face as we read the review, remembered your cake and our fond memories of working together. A Big Yelp to all of you!! -- Sasha & Rick

Aloha, 'til next time!

Challenge Completed!

Now that we're back and starting to catch our breath, we've had some time to reflect on our experience at the Food Network Challenge which we filmed last week. Many of you have been asking how everything went, how Rick and Annie fared, and what the Challenge topic was. We're not at liberty to discuss any details of the Challenge until it airs, nor would we want to ruin the surprise of what is sure to be a great episode! As of now, it's looking like a Spring air date. In a word, the experience was AMAZING! All the preparations and travelling and meeting of the producers, competitors, crew and judges was an unforgettable experience. Rick and his assistant Annie competed against Challenge veterans, which you will no doubt recognize as soon as the show airs, and for first timers, "newbies" as they are called, they held their own beautifully! As someone who watched it all unfold, you'd never know Rick was new at Challenge. Their Challenge was part of a new season, complete with a spanking new BEAUTIFUL set that blew us away the first time we saw it. This set means business and we can only imagine how incredible it will look on TV!

Everyone treated Rick and Annie with respect and they felt the support as soon as they walked into their kitchen. Rick had a grueling work schedule while away, between the set-up and competition, and interviews with the producers, it was pretty exhausting, but inspiring at the same time, and the adrenaline took over from the get-go. Challenge is of course a food competition and in this case a cake competition, but what truly made it an experience we will never forget was the people we met. We were already "fans" of our Producers before we even arrived as we've had regular contact with them for what seemed like ages, and to finally meet them was such a treat. Meeting Keegan Gerhard, Kerry Vincent, and other new people associated with the show was fantastic! Keegan is very insightful and kind and it was a pleasure to meet him. Rick said that suddenly having Kerry Vincent watching and judging his work after seeing her on TV all these years was a surreal experience. Kerry Vincent impressed Rick and he was happy to be "judged" by her. Probably not the reaction you were expecting. He said she is a woman that commands respect when she walks into a room and really knows her stuff, so he wasn't scared and felt honored to have met her.

We want to give a "shout out" to the following people. You all enriched our experience! The host of the show; our Line Producer and Cameraman; the husband of another competitor who sat next to me and for hours we stressed over our spouses; our server at our hotel restaurant who gave his support the morning of the competition; the photographer who complimented our work, the woman who has 36 years experience making cakes and her husband were tremendously knowledgeable, and the woman and her daughter who knows everything about every show on Food Network. Thank you and Aloha! -- Rick and Sasha

Hawaiian Wedding Cakes on Project Wedding

We were approached by Project Wedding a while back to contribute to an article on Hawaiian Wedding Cakes. I was asked to comment on how wedding cakes in Hawaii differs from other regions and to give advice to brides looking to have their wedding cake made in Hawaii. It's an informative article and many of our cake photos were used. We would like to thank Project Wedding as well as the photographers for their beautiful images. Chrissy Lambert Photography, Bianca Photography and Blufotografica. Hopefully this article will help destination brides planning their Hawaiian wedding!

We are back from our first Food Network Challenge and are looking forward to getting back into the swing of things here. We can't divulge any specific details about the Challenge but can say it was an amazing experience and we hope to do more in the future. For clients trying to reach us, we ask for your patience as we catch up on emails and calls.

Aloha, 'til next time!

Hello Kitty Doll Birthday Cake

It's a good thing Rick likes making the Hello Kitty cakes because we sure get a lot of requests for them. We've found the interest in Hello Kitty spans all ages and ethnicities and isn't limited to just birthdays. Last year Rick made a Hello Kitty themed wedding cake, that sat next to a Miami Dolphins football helmet groom's cake. What a fun couple! Just recently Rick sculpted a super adorable Hello Kitty doll cake for Lyn's 26th birthday party. Lyn ordered the birthday cake for herself, which we thought was just great, and she was a lot of fun to work with. She specified colors (black and hot pink) and the color of the bow on her left ear. She chose her flavor, Strawberries Chantilly, which she would share with her friends and co-workers of the restaurant she managed, where the cake was also delivered.

Rick sculpted his Hello Kitty completely out of cake, which is a difficult task considering how large her head is, but that is also what makes Hello Kitty so darn cute! No rice cereal treats or styrofoam was used. I'm glad we weren't there to witness the decapitation of the cute little kitty as Lyn cut into her birthday cake. I'd probably have to look away.

For more Hello Kitty and other character cakes check out cakelava.com.

Aloha, 'til next time!