Creative baker constructs cakes of TV and movie characters
Baker Emilie Tosello creates a series of cakes that mirror TV and movie characters.
USA TODAY
Kim Simons, an award-winning, master-level cake and food artist from Liberty, New York, has been featured on numerous Food Network shows, including "Cake Wars: Star Wars" and "Holiday Wars," which her team won in 2019.
Now, Simons is set to be featured in an episode of a new Food Network show, "Cakealikes," where teams are tasked with creating life-sized cake lookalikes of celebrities.
"I was very shy growing up, to the point I wouldn't answer questions in school, and this has been a way to let myself grown," Simons said of her television appearances.
"It's like an adrenaline rush and I love being there and I'm just like 'this is so cool.'"
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"Cakealikes" premieres on Discovery Channel's new streaming service, Discovery+, on Jan. 4. Simons, along with her good friend and partner Blaque Shelton, will be featured on the show's second episode, Jan. 17, titled "Lady Gaga."
The show is hosted by chef Tregaye Fraser, cake sculptor Natalie Sideserf and comedian Kalen Allen. The winning team splits $10,000.
Shelton is also no stranger to television. The owner of Chicago's Black Rose Pastries, he was featured on season one of Netflix's "Sugar Rush."
"I'm grateful beyond grateful that I got the chance to compete again with Blaque on my team," Simons said. "We've always wanted to work together, and now we finally had the chance. He's so full of life and fun. The other teams were great, too. Everyone was making jokes and it was so much fun."
As she's usually called in for Christmas themed episodes, Simons said the show was a little tough as she had no clue what to expect.
"They basically tell you bring this, you can't bring this, you can't bring that, and when you get there you'll find out what you're doing. I brought the tools I use the most," Simons said. "I was so unprepared. I think we all were. It was cool because it took real talent to jump in without knowing the subject at all. We all really got to know each other."
Not to mention that Simons is gluten-free and has a variety of food allergies, which prevents her from tasting the art she presents to the judges.
"I can't eat 99% of the things I make," Simons said. "People are like 'you can't even eat the cakes you make?' The only time I got nervous wasin 'Cake Wars' Christmas because they put sugar and flour into jugs so you don't see what they are, and I can't taste what's in the jugs."
Simons added the "Cakealikes" shoot was very different from her other outings on Food Network due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All the camera crew were masked. They have strict protocols," Simons said. "This is the first filming that I have no clue what everyone besides the other contestants and judges look like. It was the hardest shoot I've had to do, mostly because of COVID."
But Simons is no stranger to a challenge.
The 'MacGyver of cake'
Eleven years ago, she watched a bunch of cake show competitions, paused them, bought the products listed and started experimenting with cake art. After six months, the Liberty native entered the New York Cake Show as a beginner. Simons was bumped up to professional and took first place.
As a master level cake and food artist, Simons has been asked to compete and judge various competitions. She was once tasked to create toast art for Busch Gardens with only a day and a half to deliver after the original artist fell through.
"I always joke that I'm the MacGyver of cake," Simons said. "You throw me a challenge and I'll make it work somehow."
After winning "Holiday Wars" in 2019 with her team, the Bah Hum Bakers, Simons was set for a full schedule of classes, shows and other events in 2020, including traveling to England for an international cake expo.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
"I'm a people person and I like to be around people in the food artist world. It's like family and not being able to see each other at all, other than through social media, is hard," Simons said. "But the creating level of having the cake shows where you're entering and teaching, that stopped and that's how we make our money."
Since most things were canceled, Simons turned to the virtual space where she hosted tutorials for people looking to dive into the world of food artistry. She also took her art skills to a blank wall on her house and painted a mural. Simons also painted a nature scene on a 500-gallon propane tank in Hurleyville, New York.
"I'm always creating," Simons said. "I'm the kind of person who is an artist inside and out. I sleep art. I dream of paintings and cakes."
Simons will be featured in the Jan. 17 episode of "Cakealikes" premiering at 10:30 p.m. on Discovery+. Check out some of Simons' cakes on her website, cakesbykimsimons.com.
Heather Clark covers business openings and closings throughout the Hudson Valley. Keep up on the latest comings and goings by joining our Facebook group at What's going there Westchester, Rockland, Putnam. Contact Clark via email, hclark@lohud.com.
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