Colleen Coleman-
From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on March 5th, CAB will be hosting a Cake Wars event in the Heritage Room in the Campus Center. Based on the hit Food Network show of the same name, Gusties will be competing to decorate cupcakes however they like, with a secret theme in mind that will be shared at the beginning of the competition. The top two winning cupcake designs, voted on by the student body, will receive a gift basket prize, according to CAB.
Gusties will have two hours to decorate their cupcakes. CAB’s Arts & Entertainment Executive and First-year Rebecca Craig said, “Much of the cupcake contest will be centered around the chosen theme, but people are welcome to create their own masterpieces outside of the theme.” Gusties are already getting excited about the event, “Growing up, I always decorated cakes with my mom. We were also avid Food Network watchers, so I’m looking forward to attending,” First-year Abi Biermann said. “The Cake Wars event is going to be so much fun… “There will be lots of friendly competition and fun prizes for participants,” CAB’s Everyday Activities Executive and First-year Rae Holwerda said.
The original Food Network show ran from 2015 to 2017 to much success, with it being a spin-off of the hit show Cupcake Wars which ran from 2009 to 2018. The shows followed a general competition theme of three rounds, including incorporating unusual and unexpected ingredients into their cake creations, contestants creating their own unique creations according to the theme, and a grand finale of a one thousand cupcake creation for an event. Both shows were hosted for some time by Jonathan Bennett, most popularly known for playing Aaron Samuels in the original Mean Girls movie. The show surprised audiences and kept their interest by always including something wacky and creative.
Bennett described in a 2023 interview that one of the most outlandish creations from the Cake Wars shows was a group that created cakes based on different Girl Scout cookie flavors. “They had to take each one of the cookies and transform them into a cake version. They did a trail mix cake that still to this day was the best cake I’ve ever had,” Bennett said. While Gusties aren’t expected to create crazy flavor combinations in the same way, creativity is welcome and those participating should be ready to blow CAB and the student body out of the water with their culinary creations!