It’s hard to imagine that the cakes in The Food Network’s newest reality competition are actually tasty. They’re draped in pounds of fondant, pierced with metal pipes for structure, and then coated in sugar flowers and gum paste ornaments that turn the simple white cake bases into the pastry equivalent of a drag queen. But that’s hardly the point; these gravity-defying confections have about as much to do with eggs and flour as a Chanel dress does with a cotton plant. Ultimately, they’re food for the eyes. And this show lets us ooh and aah over them while watching the contestants sweat it out in a race to be named "America’s Best Cake Decorator."
The trouble is, we’ve seen most of this before on a slew of other Food Network specials about "extreme" baking. And the Survivor-style eliminations, while entertaining, don’t exactly make the show a nail-biter. If it’s really going to become a must-watch for foodies, LCS needs to push the boundaries a little more and make its contestants think—and bake—outside the box.
What do you think PopWatcher? Does Last Cake Standing deserve to be put on a (cake) pedestal, or is it just a reheated reality leftover?
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I actually enjoyed it and am planning to watch the other three episodes. It was disappointing that my favorite, Michelle Bommorino (sp?) was “voted off the island,” but she actually deserved it with her black cake. I thought that the others did very interesting work. Watch it with an open mind, and you just might enjoy it. Myself, I am in awe of them.
I watched part of it, but I just don’t see myself getting into this. Why not just make decorative models out of clay and styrofoam, since these cakes are largely inedible anyway. I stopped watching Ace of Cakes b/c more often than not, the “cakes” were mostly foam cut-outs covered in colored fondant – not as impressive as when I was led to believe these showpieces were actually CAKE.
I am a food network fan from Day 1 and I hate the way the network is going. There is way too much attention to everyday Rachel Ray chefs out there and all types of Rachel Ray variations (I don’t mind Rachel but we don’t need 10 of her. Too much at home cook shows and not enough real chef shows that made the network awesome.
Confidential, many of us want things we can make at home. As for me, I love the travel shows (Rachel’s Tasty Travels, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, even the Deen boys’ travels) and the pastry/sugar competitions. And most of the people on the show are “real” cooks who have written cookbooks, owned restaurants &/or catering businesses, bakeries, etc.
Honestly, I love the Food Network Challenges and when I saw the promos for this show, I went straight to my DVR to make sure it would be recorded. The reason I love this show is not because of the faux drama, it is because of the competitors and the artistry they demonstrate. I’m only disappointed that my absolute favorite Challenge competitor Jason Ellis is not a contestant. If you’ve never seen a challenge, Jason is pretty much the biggest b*tch on reality TV right now and I LOVE HIM. His comments and facial expressions are priceless and I would watch a whole show of just Jason. My second faves, thanks to the show Amazing Wedding Cakes on another network, are Mary and Brenda Maher from Cakegirls in Chicago. I love their relationship as sisters and I always root for them to win (and then they do.) I’m on board for this show, but like I said, it would have been so much better with Jason on it! More Jason!
Flapdragon–I couldn’t agree more. The first thing I said last night while watching it, is “Where is Jason Ellis?”
I absolutely love these challenges and can’t wait to see how this one plays out. It is nice to see them do something different with the challenge for a change.
of everything on food network, challenge is my favorite series. especially when it’s CAKE! this show is pleasing to any fan of cake challenge, and brings back the superstars of cake decorators. i’m very into it…
So none of these cakes are actually edible? Or tasty? So what’s the point? If it’s just how they look, why don’t they just make them out of urethane or clay and call it sculpture?
They’re show cakes, so it really doesn’t matter if they’re edible or not (except for the “waste” of food aspect). This challenge is pretty much the same as all cake challenges on the Food Network, so I’m okay with that as I enjoy watching the caketestants working on their pieces. I love show cakes! My problem sometimes comes with the judges and their comments. I’d really like to see the judges become caketestants and then maybe their criticisms would hold some weight.
I am a cake decorator, so I have real interest in these kinds of shows. Maybe some of you should actually try to bake, sculpt, and decorate a cake before you can judge. Just because a small part of a cake requires styrofoam at times, doesn’t mean the entire cake is inedible. Any cake that is more than 4 inches tall HAS to have supports inside of it. I don’t think very many people realize how many servings some of those cakes would make (or how tasty they can really be). And the fondant comment was probably made by someone who has not had the opportunity to taste good quality fondant. It can taste really good.
I have never been able to actually taste these contestants cakes, but I can guarantee that even my crazy sculpted cakes taste just as good as any of my other cakes (which is really good).
I guess what I’m trying to say is appreciate the skill.
I enjoyed the show but I found the final voting gut wrenching. These are people who know each other and respect each other’s talent. To make them vote one of them off was very hard to watch, and they were all very upset to have to do it.
That being said, I read somewhere that The Food Network has all these competition shows because it encourages men to watch. I like them too!
I was disappointed in the outcome of tonight’s episode. I’m sorry I decided to watch the series due to the judges who don’t do a good job, nor are fair.
No way in the world Mary & that Courtney chick should’ve won the Superhero Challenge. Just no way. Even according to Food Networks’ own set of expectations, the pair didn’t meld their ideas into one cohesive theme, they certainly didn’t exhibit more EXTREME-ness than Bronwen or James — part of their design didn’t even come to fruition (the Firefly wing flaps didn’t happen). How the HECK did they win? No clue.
I hope Mary Maher is the ultimate winner! In addition to being a great cake artist, she seems to be a genuine person. So unlike Bronwen, who is full of herself and a poor, miserable sport!!!!!!!!!!!
Why don’t we have a contest where decorating is important but also taste of a cake.
The way it is now- why cannot they just use a cement or plaster. No body is going to enjoy the thing anyway. Maybe Ice Sculting makes more sense.