Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network November 2014 | Page 82

Mrs. Weinstock interview with Photo credit: Carol Chan A love of baking and creating has always been a large part of Mrs. Weinstock, although it wasn’t until later in life that she created a stellar caking career for herself. Written by Marianna Saran There’s no mistaking that when A-listers want to order a cake, mediocre is simply out of the question. That’s where leading American cake designer, Mrs Sylvia Weinstock comes in. Mrs. Weinstock has created elaborate cakes for some of the world’s most influential people, including the Kennedy and Trump families. The Australian Cake Decorating Network was honoured that Mrs. Weinstock took the time to share her story with us, here’s what she has to say. You have had a very interesting career in the industry. Can you share with us all how you started on the path of your cake decorating career? My first career, after graduating college with a degree in psychology, was kindergarten teacher. I am the mother of three girls and when our children were growing up, there were many weekends spent at a ski house in upstate New York: I do not ski… so I baked. There was only so much my family could eat, so I made extra cakes for some local restaurants in the area – and lucky for my, some wellknown NYC chefs also came upstate to ski, and I was introduced to them. One in particular, Andre Soltner of the famous restaurant, Lutece, introduced me to other pastry chefs and bakers. When I was 50, I developed breast cancer and during the months of chemotherapy treatment, baking became my therapy. A New York bakery owner, William Greenberg Jr., asked if I could help him