May2015

LOCAL
by Ramishah Maruf
The Real Cake Boss
It was also his Grandpa’s birthday, so
a crude sketch of his face was painted
on the cake using cocoa powder mixed
with water. The hour-long car ride from
Margate to Miami disfigured the cake
even more. “Everything about (the cake)
was nasty. I’m surprised no one said
anything about it,” Altmark said.
High school sophomore Jarid
Altmark is not your typical artist.
He draws with pastry bags on a
canvas of vanilla cake. He paints with
edible food coloring and sculpts with
sheets of fondant. His final touches
are not with glitter or mod podge, but
with cake toppers and ganache.
“I guess the best
way you can say it
is that I’m a cake
artist. Instead of clay
or paint, I use edible
mediums to make
art you can eat,”
Altmark said.
Altmark got his start in the cake
decorating community two years
ago, when he was just 13. While
most middle schoolers spent their
Friday nights at the ice-skating rink
or Starbucks, Altmark was watching
the Food Network, living vicariously
through pastry decorating virtuosos
like Duff Goldman on Ace of Cakes. He
watched cooking shows for three years
until one Chanukah, when his mom
bought him a basic Wilton cake kit.
He laughs when you ask how his first
cake turned out. It was Passover, so
Altmark had to use a kosher boxed
cake mix that didn’t let the flour rise.
His homemade fondant was so hard it
tore through the top edge of the cake.
Altmark kept practicing, heading straight
to the kitchen after finishing his homework
almost every day. Eventually, he
started a Facebook page called “Jarid’s
The metallic finish on his dragon protecting a
heart is a homemade, edible paint.
Awesome Cakes,” where he posted
pictures of his projects. It gained 1,600
followers in just a few months.
It was a trip to a cake convention
in Austin when Altmark was 14 that
jump-started his prominence in the
cake decorating community. Hauling a
carryon in one hand and a 60-pound
cake in the other, Altmark got off his
JetBlue flight expecting a win in his first
competition.
“I was being pretty cocky. I researched
the past winners and I knew I could
be better than that,” Altmark said. “I
put hours of hard work into that cake.
Lily and Dog, at left, won first place and best of
division at a show in Austin. Mr. Centipede was
inspired by the oldie-but-goodie Atari video game.
At the hotel, I casually ran into my
decorating idols in an elevator, and
they were amazed that I created that.
Saying that made me feel good is an
understatement.” And Altmark did win.
He also won best in division, the grand
champion of all teen entries. The entire
awards ceremony was a blur, a moment
of pure exhilaration.
Even after his successes, he has
kept his gift hidden for years, denying
Facebook requests from his closest
friends and avoiding talking about cakes
in school. “Honestly, I’m afraid people
will make fun of me about it. I know it’s
not a typical passion for a teenaged
boy, so I feel some people might not
understand it,” Altmark said. “I’m not
ashamed of the work I do, but it almost
feels like I live a double life.”
Now, the Coral Springs High School
student has gained sponsorships
from brands ranging from modeling
chocolate to organic food coloring, and
he is a contributor to American Cake
Decorating magazine. He taught a
structure class at Cake Fest in Louisiana
this spring, where attendees paid $120
a class. “My major goal is to become an
international teacher, and barely own a
home and just travel the world,” he said.
“I don’t care about being famous. I just
want to help people find a passion for
this art like I did.” P
PHOTOS COURTESY JARID’S AWESOME CAKES
16
MAY 2016