COST: $897 (3 days)
SKILL LEVEL: Advanced
Renowned Italian sugar artist Claudia Prati will - for the first time - bring her award-winning “Silent Night” cake to the classroom! Claudia will guide students in the layering techniques used to create this stunning gold winner from Cake International, Birmingham 2016. Using royal icing in a layering effect, each student will create the ethereal winter scene on a personal cake dummy, and then hand paint the scene to create dimension. Students will create magnificent filigree runout collars that sit atop layers of collars, creating depth and a window into the winter wonderland. If time allows, Claudia will also teach the techniques used to create the curved runout panels on the side of the cake.
Class will run from 9:00AM to 5:00PM daily, September 14-16, 2019 (Saturday-Monday), in the Promenade Room of the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Edgewater, NJ. Students are requested to bring PME piping tips 1 or 1.5; all other materials will be provided. Light breakfast options, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and beverages throughout the day are also included.
Students may book guest rooms directly with the Homewood Suites by accessing the hotel's personalized group web page at http://homewoodsuites.hilton.com/en/hw/groups/personalized/E/EWREWHW-CPC-20190913/index.jhtml Blocks of king and two-bed queen suites at special rates have been reserved for students and will be available for booking through this link until August 23, 2019.
The Homewood Suites in Edgewater is conveniently located on the shores of the Hudson River directly across from upper Manhattan, and is easily accessible via the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, public bus transportation, or NY Waterways ferry (hotel offers complimentary shuttle service to and from the ferry terminal).
The hotel is located in an upscale modern commercial development with many shops, restaurants, and entertainment options just footsteps away. Parking is complimentary.
Claudia Prati started working as a sugar artist in 2010, becoming part of the birth of the cake design trend in Italy.
In 2012 she opened the “Claudia Prati Academy” near Milan and had the opportunity to plan classes with the most talented Italian artists like Mary Torte, La Belle Aurore, Silvia Mancini, Tommaso Bottalico, Laura Saporiti, Kristina Rado, and Barbara Regini.
She also took classes with several royal icing artist such as Eddie Spence, Kathleen Lange and Kelvin Chua.
In 2013 Claudia was contacted by the national television (RAI) and joined the team of tutors on the program “Detto Fatto,” broadcast on RAI 2, where she recorded 18 episodes.
Meanwhile, Claudia pursued the dream of writing a book about royal icing, as there was nothing similar in Italy. In 2014 she partnered with Chiriotti Editori and after more than a year of studies on the history and origin of royal icing, she published the “Manuale della ghiaccia reale.” The book was awarded “Best 2015 Book” during the Cake Design Italian Festival Milan. One year later, during the same show, Claudia was awarded the “Best Royal Icing Artist” prize.
In 2015 she entered the “Cake International” competition in Birmingham, England and won the first gold of the “International” category with a Venice-inspired cake made with royal icing and modeling. She won a gold in 2016 at Cake International Birmingham in the “Christmas” category with a blue-and-white royal-icing lace cake called “Silent Night.”
Claudia has served as a judge in many Italian cake decorating competitions, including “Glamour Italian Cakes” at the Sigep Rimini Trade Show.
In 2017, by experimenting with the palette knife, Claudia created “Materika,” a personal technique that utilizes a spatula, royal icing/buttercream, and painting. Flowers are a perfect subject to utilize this technique.