Kerry Vincent
| Kerry Vincent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1 June 1945 Wyalkatchem, Western Australia |
| Occupation | author, cake designer, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show director, Cake Craft & Decoration recurring contributor, |
| Known for | resident judge on Food Network Challenge, Last Cake Standing Seasons 1 & 2, The Best Thing I Ever Ate |
Kerry Vincent (née Flynn; 1 June 1945), is the Australian director and co-founder of the annual Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, author, and freelance writer.[1] She is also a judge on Food Network Challenge.
Career
Vincent is a specialist Cake Designer. She wrote the book Romantic Wedding Cakes which was published by Merehurst Press in 2002.[1] She was inducted into the International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES) Sugarcraft Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. in 2004.[2]
Vincent regularly appears as one of the judges on the reality series Food Network Challenge on the Food Network Cable television network.[3] 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.
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. She has taught at the El Atelier Del Azucar Bakery School in Santa Rosa District, Lima Province, Peru.[4] She demonstrated sugarcraft at The British Sugarcraft Guild in the UK in 2001, and she was a presenter at the Australian Association of Sugarcraft in 2003. Vincent has served as the voluntary International Publicity Chairman for the annual cake-decorating exhibition, ICES Conventions in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2006. She also made cakes for the PME book, 'Creating Wedding & Anniversary cakes.'
Vincent has taught at the French Pastry School in Chicago in the Master Instructor’s series. In May 2004, she taught at the Macomb Culinary Institute in Warren, Michigan part of the Macomb Community College.[5]
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."[6][7]
In 2013 Vincent was a judge at the The Great Australian Bake Off an Australian reality television baking competition.[8] Her appearance was panned by viewers, who deemed her "dry" and overcritical. She was replaced by Maggie Beer in the second series.
In 2014, Kerry Vincent hosted nine episodes of a show on the Food Network called Save My Bakery, in which she helped out struggling bakeries.[9]
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 taped a TV special at the show in 2006.[10]
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.
Bibliography
Romantic Wedding and Celebration Cakes (2001)[11]
References
- 1 2 3 "Sugar Artists test their talents in Oklahoma competition". Vanilla Vine newsletter (Nielsen-Massey Vanillas) (3). 2002. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Kerry Vincent". Food Network. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ↑ "Food Network Challenge - Episode CC0404". Food Network. 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Rosa Viacava - Pioneering in Modern Sugarcraft Art". Rosa Viacava. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Rosa Viacava - Pioneering in Modern Sugarcraft Art" (PDF). Rosa Viacava. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ Mikles, Natalie (2008-02-20). "Icing the competition". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ "Wedding Cakes: America's Favorite Cakes". Brides magazine. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8550663&id=8377378
- ↑ Matt. "Food Network Gossip: Save My Bakery - New Food Network Series". foodnetworkgossip.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ Parrish, Ashley (2008-11-15). "Oklahoma 100: Sugar Arts Show". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ McMillian, Grace. "Kerry Vincent".