For South Jersey Gourmet Bakery, Smiles are the Icing on the Cake

Dec. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- VOORHEES, N.J.– Preparing 40,000 pastries can be a daunting task under any circumstances, but when it’s for a presidential inauguration party, the stress is that much greater.

“Failure is not an option,” jokes Mohan De Silva, head pastry chef and owner of Simplicity Desserts, a South Jersey bakery, recalling the project he undertook for George W. Bush’s second  inauguration in 2005.  “It is quite intimidating, but you can’t turn away the President.”

That gala is one of many distinctions in the career of De Silva, who has over 30 years of experience as a pastry chef, including stints as Executive Pastry Chef of the New York Marriott Marquis, Philadelphia Marriott, and Wardman Park Marriott in Washington, D.C.  De Silva has  won a total of 11 medals in the International Culinary Olympics since 1992 and countless other awards in different pastry competitions.

In 2007, he and his son, Suran De Silva, opened Simplicity Desserts, with the goal of creating a big city gourmet bakery in South Jersey.  The bakery specializes in special event catering, wedding cakes, and pastries that are as pleasing to the eye as the palate.  Spend just a minute in their retail storefront and you’ll see the pride the De Silvas take in their work.  Mohan De Silva is an accomplished sugar sculptor, and some of his creations are displayed in plexiglass cases.  Flowers, hummingbirds, swans, orchids – all completely edible – beckon to pending brides and event planners looking to add a touch of “Wow” to their parties.

For Valentine’s Day, De Silva creates red roses and other flower blossoms entirely of hard sugar.  But that’s nearly beginner’s stuff compared to the winter holidays, when the sugar snowmen come out.  Simplicity Desserts also does a buttercream cake that looks exactly like a Yule log.  It makes a great centerpiece for the table, until it’s time for dessert, that is.

“Believe me, it never lasts as long as a real Yule log,” De Silva says.

Then there’s the myriad of wedding cakes, some of which are embellished with decorative, edible flowers, but just about all of which are distinctive.  

“The traditional three-tiered wedding cake is no more,” says De Silva.  “Couples today want something different, something that reflects a little bit of their personalities.”

He is happy to oblige.  Simplicity Desserts has done cakes ranging from elegant to abstract to fanciful.  There are cakes with a gold sheen, cakes with spirals and ribbons jutting into the air, cakes where the “layers” sit side-by-side.  They are everything except ordinary – they are wedding desserts transformed.

Even though Simplicity Desserts’ creations are great looking, what keeps their customers coming back is the taste.  And what keeps De Silva interested is the smiles his confections put on the face of his customers.

“I love being able to make people happy with what I create,” De Silva notes.  “For me, that’s the icing on the cake.”

For more information on Simplicity Desserts, call 856-782-1800 or visit www.simplicitydesserts.com.

# # #

Swordfish Communications is a full-service public relations agency. We specialize in getting our clients messages out to their target audiences through the strategic use of media relations, social networking and corporate social responsibility.