Kerry Vincent

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Kerry Vincent, née Flynn (born in Wyalkatchem, Western Australia), is the show director and co-founder of the annual Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, author, and freelance writer.^[1] She is also a judge on the Food Network Challenge television show.

1 Career
2 Oklahoma Sugar Art Show
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Career

Vincent is a self-taught Sugar Artist and Cake Designer. In 2001 she wrote the book Romantic Wedding and Celebration Cakes .^[1] She was inducted into the International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES) Sugarcraft Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. in 2004.^{[citation needed]}

Vincent regularly appears as one of the judges on the reality series Food Network Challenge on the Food Network Cable television network.^[2] She was also the show host for four one-hour specials for the Food Network, highlighting the skill of winning contestants in the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition.^{[citation needed]}

Vincent has demonstrated sugarcraft at a variety of international venues and celebrity occasions, as well as making a number of television appearances to promote the art.^{[citation needed]} She has taught at the El Atelier Del Azucar Bakery School in Santa Rosa District, Lima Province, Peru,^[3] She demonstrated sugarcraft at The British Sugarcraft Guild in the UK in 2001,^{[citation needed]} and she was a presenter at the Australian Association of Sugarcraft in 2003.^{[citation needed]} Vincent has served as the voluntary International Publicity Chairman for the annual cake-decorating exhibition, ICES Conventions in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Vincent has taught at, amongst other venues, the French Pastry School, Chicago in the Master Instructor’s series.^{[citation needed]} In May 2004 she taught at the Macomb Culinary Institute in Warren, Michigan part of the Macomb Community College.^[4]

After the Wedding Style Director of Brides magazine was a guest judge at the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, Vincent was selected for a special feature in the March-April 2008 issue of the magazine entitled "America's 50 Most Beautiful Cakes," and a special cake she designed was included in the competition from which the winner would be named the most beautiful wedding cake in the United States.^[5]^[6]

[edit] Oklahoma Sugar Art Show

Vincent's personal mission is to elevate sugarcraft techniques for recognition as a true art form worldwide. To facilitate this, she directs the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, the largest judged sugar art show in the United States,^[1] which she co-founded in 1993 with her colleague Maxine Boyington. After four years, Boyington opted to drop out of the partnership in favor of competing and Vincent began an expansion with a vision that took the event to great heights. Under the sugar art show umbrella, "The Grand National Wedding Cake Competition" was founded – a specialty event in the USA. The event attracts competitors and participants from countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom.

In addition to the competition, the idea is to educate and encourage a higher skill level among prospective contestants. Vincent believes that competition is key to personal artistic growth. Creating this special forum has made participants push the envelope and grow beyond their dreams. The event is also used as a vehicle to provide free, continuing education to non-competitive sugar artists, cake decorators and designers by providing an opportunity to learn from the celebrated hierarchy of their chosen hobby or profession; all made available at no cost to the contestants and participants. This sustained attention to encourage and mentor up-and-coming generations has been ongoing for the past 14 years.

The Food Network filmed a TV special at the show in 2006.^[7]

The Tulsa World newspaper ran a special supplement celebrating the Oklahoma State Centennial, which concluded in November 2007. The citizens of Oklahoma were asked to participate in a statewide opinion survey for their favorite foods, cookbook authors and food events, one to apply for each of the past 100 years. The Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show was voted number 20 in a list of 100 state icons for the century.^{[citation needed]}