In a bar mitzvah, you do the candle-lighting ceremony with the cake. Every birthday, the cake is the big moment.
The most successful person is the one who is most inspired. That is true in food and in life.
I have a crusade against fondant, also shortening. There's no reason why wedding cakes can't taste good if you know what you're doing.
I imagine I appear very outgoing, and I do enjoy people and parties and being involved in life. I am also a very private person, and I value my quiet time. I think people assume I am just a party animal, and in truth, I need to recharge my battery just like everyone else.
My parents were artists, so my salvation was to make pretty things - and ultimately delicious things at the same time.
Martha Stewart convinced me to have a business. She sometimes takes a very personal interest, and she kept saying, 'You have to open your own business,' and gave me chances. She took my cakes on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.' I met a lot of people through her.
