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Peter Larkins |
The Appalachian
Senior exercise science major
Hillary M. Goode prepares a birthday cake before the break
for Appalachian Food Services. Cakes are made to order through
Food Services for many occasions and holidays. |
by Leslie Rasimas
Staff Writer
Appalachian State University offers its students many unique perks
including rental textbooks and free movies, but the home baked goods
served on campus are perhaps the sweetest perks of all.
Prepared with patience and care by the bakers of the university,
cakes, pies, cookies and doughnuts appear on the dessert bar each
day.
While students scarf down frosting and sprinkles, cooks and bakers
work diligently to create attractive and delicious treats for the
Appalachian family.
Appalachian Food Services Supervisor Elvene W. Tester has worked
in the university bakery for 27 years. She said she began her career
as a cake decorator.
“When I saw my first star-tipped novelty cake a woman I worked
with made, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Tester said.
Today, Tester and the other bakers make sweet breads and carrot
cakes from scratch and fill custom orders for brownies and cakes.
Baker Gregory A. Cook is a part of the Appalachian family.
He was born and raised in Boone, graduated from Appalachian and
went to work at Winn-Dixie’s bakery.
He now decorates beautiful cakes with great attention to detail.
“I’ve been in the bakery business for almost 30 years.
I graduated college with a degree in communications, and I realized
I could make more money decorating cakes,” Cook said.
Cook begins his days in the bakery at 5 a.m. Each morning there
are between three and 10 cakes that need decorating, he said.
On April 1, Cook carefully decorated a cake in the shape of a cross.
With spatula in hand, Cook spread the butter cream icing on the
cake that was baked the night before.
After 30 minutes of careful frosting, avoiding crumbs and globs,
Cook asked himself, “Now, am I happy with this?” before
he filled a pastry bag with yellow frosting and began creating roses.
On a small, flat pin held in one hand, Cook squeezed frosting out
of the pastry bag.
If the frosting is too soft, the tedious work can fail, and the
roses can fall, Cook said.
Cook outlined the cake with three lines of flowers. He delicately
drew green stems, and filled in empty spaces with tiny yellow buds.
“This is pretty much self-taught. Someone can teach you, but
you have to pick up your own technique. I’m left-handed, and
it’s hard to teach a left-handed person anything,” he
said.
Tester, Cook and the decorators have heavy orders to fill around
the holidays.
“This past Valentine’s holiday, we had about 100 cake
orders. Valentine’s Day is usually the busiest holiday, but
we can average 8-10 cakes each morning,” Tester said.
Senior exercise science major Hillary M. Goode is the newest decorator
to join the bakery.
“This job is fun and different from regular jobs. Decorating
cakes is something you can learn and enjoy for the rest of your
life,” Goode said.
Goode had no experience as a cake decorator when applying for the
job.
“I tried out for the job because a friend of mine said it
was really fun. Elvene taught me how to decorate the cakes. It can
be easy, but last week I had to decorate a clown cake, and it was
so hard to do,” Goode said.
Goode said cakes in the shapes of beer mugs and guitars are popular
and fun.
Despite what shape they take, specialty cakes must be ordered at
least 24 hours in advance.
The bakery has a book of pictures customers may choose from. To
order a cake for someone special, call 262-3061, Monday-Friday,
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
