I was born and raised in Southern New Jersey in an American Indian town (not a reservation) called Morrisville now known as Pennsauken. Both my parents are of American Indian descent. Coming from a family of gatherers, food and good times filled my childhood. My mother being the Top Chef in our family and Dad always close by her side, my love for cooking and fond memories at mealtime runs deep. Mom loves to make all kinds of foods from all different cultures. I’ll never forget the first time I gave my first party. It was Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary I was six years old!!! Cut up hot dogs and cheese on a toothpick. What a night!

Needless to say that my love for cooking is a real passion in my life. It’s part of the reason why “no party is too small.” What I’ve learned over the years is that having help with a party allows you to have more fun with your guest. So when I have a party I get someone else to clean the house or decorate or whatever else I need to give me more time to do what I like to do – COOK!

I have always baked cakes as well, but working with Maria I realized how much time it takes to decorate a cake to get it just right. She has taught me to crumb coat, make buttercream (which she doesn't like to do), pipe basketweave pattern and even asked me to do some of the fondant work! She has even asked me to take the lead in some designs. It's a lot of fun, but a lot of work! The reaction when people see the cakes is amazing!

Tracee

OK, let me start by saying that I was very reluctant to write this bio because I consider the Once Upon A Cake to be totally my wife’s concept and did not want to pretend to be a “real” cake guy when I know I am not.

Over the years, I have dabbled in many hobbies. As a kid, I loved cars-the engineering and the art behind them. I took extensive automotive technology classes and read many books on them, and also on buildings, motorcycles, ships, planes, etc. I took music lessons and to this day pretend to be a bassist-though I know I am not that good at it.

Anyway, instead of following a career track in engineering, racing or anything like that, I ended up working in, and continuing my studies in insurance and business. So, in the shop, I am the “Business Manager” and basically make sure that the shop runs as closely to a “real” business as you can get cake people to do. Cake people do not like organized business concepts, let me assure you.

My duties include: Taking out the trash, scrubbing the floors at night, re-organizing the shelves, getting yelled at by Maria and Tracee, writing and responding to emails, creating internet ads (see my Craigslist Special!), answering the phone (it won’t kill you to pick up the phone ladies!), conducting over the phone descriptions/designs for customers, conducting designs in-person for customers (the preferred method), running the credit card, running to the store, get this, get that, deliver this cake, and while on the road stop in at this commercial customer to drop off samples, a few things that I am not allowed to write down here, and, my favorite: I design, carve and finish off all of the 3 dimensional cakes! Yeah, I did not plan it that way, but all those helmet cakes, car cakes, gas tanks, motorcycles and anything that looks like a Dude-Cake, yeah, that was me.

But for the record, I am not a real cake guy. Just pretending to be one. I gotta get this call....

Robert

onceuponacake@yahoo.com

Once Upon A Cake, LLC