NFA Culinary Scholars Build Life Sized Nutcracker and Learn from Celebrity Cake Artist

The Culinary Arts program at Newburgh Free Academy’s Main Campus created and decorated a seven-foot nutcracker model out of cake and rice krispie treat for the performance of The Nutcracker, that was performed by the Newburgh Free Academy Dance Department earlier this month. The life-sized nutcracker was made out of dummy cakes (Styrofoam), rice krispie treats, Satin Ice fondant, and Choco-Pan modeling chocolate – donated by Satin Fine Foods of Chester, NY. The base materials were provided by the NFA Construction Academy scholars and their teacher, Mr. Chris Cotton.

Scholars worked with Kim Simons, a multi-award-winning master level cake and food artist as they learn techniques to working with certain sizes, proportions, and supplies unique to large food pieces.  Additionally, Scholars worked with Satin Ice fondant and Choco-Pan modeling chocolate, learning how to work with special ingredients and materials for decorating large and small items for their project. Satin Fine Foods has generously donated all product and the artist who worked with our scholars. The project took the scholars two days and several periods to complete.

Ms. Jennifer Caron, teacher at Newburgh Free Academy, coordinated this project with students, outside organizations, and the Nutcracker production. Scholars in the Culinary Arts program have the opportunity to earn a Food Preparation Certification granted by the NYS Restaurant Association upon completion of coursework and required hours. Our Culinary Pathway is one of nineteen programs that offer technical education to our scholars right on their high school campus.

Upon completion, it is estimated that the life-sized Nutcracker weighed 300lbs.

The Nutcracker was performed by 250 scholars from Newburgh Free Academy earlier this month, under the direction of Ms. Amanda Clifford, dance teacher at Newburgh Free Academy.

More about Kim Simons:

Ms. Simons has recently been featured on the Food Network’s, "Cake Wars: Christmas,” "Cake Wars,” “Duff ‘till Dawn,” “Outrageous Wedding Cakes,” and “Sugar Dome.” Kim also has appeared on Telemundo’s, “Buenos Dias Nueva York,” where she presented one of her fabulous cakes to a live television audience to celebrate their first show. Ms. Simon has also performed and demoed live building huge food art pieces in Busch Gardens Williamsburg VA, SeaWorld San Antonio TX, Cleveland Ohio, Chattanooga Tennessee and NY City.

Ms. Simons has been recognized in “Dessert Professional” magazine as one of the Top Ten Cake Artists in North America for 2013. Her cakes have also been featured in the "ICES" magazine, “Cake Masters” magazine, the “American Cake Decorating” magazine, “Today’s Woman” magazine, and “Cake Design France” magazine. 

Ms. Simons is not a traditional cake artist. She enjoys creating sculpturally unique and beautiful cakes and food art while pushing the limits of construction and design. Her strength is in her designs, mastery of painting with edible colors, and the ability to sculpt incredibly realistic nature scenes. Ms. Simons has a reputation for creating amazingly realistic looking animals out of sugar and has earned the respect of her peers.

In addition to her work in cakes and food, Kim has an extensive following in the painting and sculpturing worlds. She has commissioned works for the private, public and government sectors over the years. Currently, Kim offers painting and cake decorating classes for students of all levels in the greater New York area. She also applies her un-conventional style to corporate projects including murals, signage and floor art. The public can also see her work in sculpture with her War Memorial located in Monticello, NY and her Centennial Monument created exclusively for the city of Liberty, NY outside of the Liberty Public Library.

More about Satin Fine Foods, Inc.

Satin Fine Foods, Inc. is a world-leading rolled fondant manufacturer, distributing to more than 60 countries worldwide. Established in 2001, Satin Fine Foods, based in Chester NY, developed the Satin Ice range of products to satisfy the demands of the world’s best cake artists. Known for its superior workability, consistency and taste, Satin Ice has become the premium fondant of choice for professional cake artists, cake decorators and home-bakers around the globe. More recently, Satin Fine Foods acquired CPMI, adding the cake icing brands of Choco-Pan and Dream to their portfolio. For more information please visit www.satinice.com. 

Photos from the process: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sKdC-d0Er6eC3ZEJvwrhTZd0jO_5bUp3

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!