only the strong survive

Ever wondered what it takes to judge a cupcake competition?

Well, the sight of Michelle adjudicating one of the design categories (Montreal theme) at last week's Cupcake Camp Montreal 2010 festivities looked something like this:

fig. a: nice app

armed with an iPhone with some kind of special cupcake judging app (no joke), Michelle made her way down a long, cupcake-covered table, assessing each and every entry, entering her data into her portable computing device, and trying vainly to avoid being blinded by the veritable barrage of camera flashes that were popping off around her. Rabid fans of "...an endless banquet"? Hardly. The slim gentleman to Michelle's left was none other than Ricardo Larrivée.

Most of the judges didn't get swarmed the way Ricardo and Chuck Hughes did. But all the judges had to find a way to pace themselves through the tasting of dozens upon dozens of cupcakes. Michelle came home with a truly legendary sugar high, but overall she fared quite well. After all, as a pastry professional, she inhabits a world of sugar, and her tolerance is now remarkably high. A solid meal, a glass of wine, some water, and she came back down to earth relatively gently. Others, whose professions are somewhat less sugar-centric, had a much tougher time. It's not everyone who can binge on 15 or 16 cupcakes in a single afternoon and live to tell.

Congratulations to all the winners in the various taste, design, and theme competitions (including C., who took Best Pro Taste!*). And congratulations to Cupcake Camp Montreal for having raised an astonishing $34,500 (!).

For more on judging cupcakes and Cupcake Camp Montreal more generally, check out Cupcake Camp Montreal's post-camp round-up.

aj

* "I smell a rat! Conflict of interest!," you declare? Yes, Michelle is both a good friend and a colleague of C.'s, and, yes, Michelle was there when C. was announced as the winner, but the system that was used to judge the Pro Taste category was so blind, so thoroughly objective, that Michelle had no idea which cupcake C. had actually made until she came back home and called her with the good news. The same went for all the other categories, as well. Each of the individual judges knew who they'd voted for (obviously), and they learned the names of the winners when they were announced over the P.A. at the end of the afternoon, but they didn't necessarily know if the cupcakes they'd voted for corresponded with the winning entries.

November/Novembre/Noviembre

fig. a:  "Bring on the cupcakes!"


1.  In spite of the fact that The New York Times announced earlier this week that it's "time's up" for the cupcake, the good people at Cupcake Camp Montreal are soldiering on, fully determined to prove to the world that although the cupcake may soon be yesterday's food fad, those little, iced mindbombs can still generate a whole lot of revenue for a good cause or two.


Last year, Cupcake Camp Montreal resulted in 3,500 cupcake donations, 700 attendees, and $8,000 in proceeds.  This year CCM is aiming higher--much higher.  If everything goes according to plan, this year's edition will result in 7,000 cupcake donations, 2,000 attendees, and a whopping $15,000 in proceeds (!).  The thing is, everything isn't going according to plan--Cupcake Camp Montreal has already received over 19,000 cupcake donations (!!).  That's one serious sugar high.


The fun takes place this Sunday, November 21st, from 1-5 pm, in the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel (900 Rene Levesque Blvd. W).  There'll be a cupcake sale, a cupcake competition, and a slew of other activities.  And the panel of judges for the cupcake competition is made up of a veritable who's who of local food biz celebs, a Dream Team, if you will, including Chuck Hughes (host, Chuck's Day Off), Nadia G (host, Bitchin' Kitchen), Ricardo Larrivée (host, Ricardo & Friends), Patrice Demers (chef, Les 400 Coups), Lesley Chesterman (critic, The Montreal Gazette), and AEB's very own Michelle Marek (chef, Restaurant Laloux).


Hoping to donate cupcakes?  Hoping to compete?  Just want to attend?  Need more information?  Look no further.


fig. b:  "Bring on the choucroute!"


2.  In more Michelle-related activity, Restaurant Laloux is hosting chef, author, and bread baker extraordinaire James MacGuire for two nights of Alsatian revelry, featuring tarte flambée, an elaborate, 100% traditional choucroute garnie made entirely from scratch (sausages, sauerkraut, cured pork belly, etc., etc.), authentic Alsatian rye bread, an all-star lineup of some of our favorite Alsatian Rieslings (Domaine Ostertag Heissenberg 2007 [Rézin], Barmès Buecher Herrenweg 2008 [Oenopole], etc.), and a dessert collaboration between Michelle and James:  Alsatian apple tart.


The fête takes place November 29th and 30th.  For more information or reservations, contact (514) 287-9127.


Restaurant Laloux, 250 Pine Ave. E.


fig. c:  "Bring on the tacos!"


3.  And, finally...  Taco lovers, rejoice!  Looks like the Grumman '78 posse has a standing engagement at Le Nouveau Palais, Friday and Saturday nights, from midnight till close.  For more information:  273-1180.


Le Nouveau Palais, 281 Bernard St. W.