Local Baker Looks To Take The Big Apple By Storm

April 25, 2012 - PRLog -- For the last year Todd Kennedy has created some of the most stunning, interesting and elegant cakes Indianapolis has ever seen.  Todd is co-owner of TODD by Thomas, Cake Creations, which is a joint venture with Thomas Caterers of Distinction owner Kelly Early.  He has been the exclusive provider of cakes at D’Amore Events of Indianapolis and The Scottish Rite Cathedral, but his creations have been featured all over Central Indiana.  
Most of his creations are wedding cakes, but he has also created many specialty cakes.  Some of the most notable were cakes in the shape of Tiffany boxes, another resembling a Channel bag.  One of his cakes, a “Topsy Turvy” cake reminiscent of The Mad Hatter which was created for a 16th Birthday party, was nominated for an International CATIE Award.  CATIE stands for Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence and the awards are sponsored by the International Caterers Association.  Though he did not win the top prize, his nomination gained Todd recognition on an International stage.  
His cakes have been featured in publications locally, but they have now caught the attention of the owners of City Cakes in New York City.  City Cakes has been featured on The Food Network and are considered cake celebrities.  On a recent trip to the Big Apple Todd was networking with bakers in order to get advice on pricing and help spark his creative juices.   A friend referred him to City Cakes NY where he had a conversation with cake designer Benny Rivera.  Benny is co-owner of City Cakes with his partner and fellow cake designer Mark Matthias.  “Benny was particularly impressed with the sugar work I showed him.” said Todd.  “Benny remarked that my work is incredibly intricate and precise, especially for someone who has only been crafting sugar work for one year.”  Todd’s specialty is sugar work.  He taught himself and his sugar flowers are stunningly lifelike.  Todd will study flowers on end and try to recreate their detail.  He worked in a garden center in his youth.  “Knowing their biology is helpful in the details.”
The two kept in contact, and would exchange ideas about creations, this lead to Benny asking Todd to consider working at his famous New York bakery.  Todd struggled with the decision of staying in Indianapolis or taking the position and learning from some of the best bakers in the world.  After some consultation with his partner Kelly, Todd decided that is was too good an opportunity to pass up.  He accepted the position and began making plans to move east.  
Todd was actually sought out by two cake companies.  Cake Alchemy, also in New York, was interested in Todd’s talent.  Owner Lauri Ditunno offered Todd a position as well, but that would opportunity would have started in May.  This was too soon for Todd to make the transition, as he wanted to honor as many prior commitments as possible.  Some lucky Indiana brides will still get cakes by Todd.  The position at City Cakes starts in the fall, so Todd will be honoring his cake commitments to the end of the summer, which is peak wedding season.  “We will miss him as a person, let alone his extraordinary talent and his fantastic creations”, says Kelly Early.  “However we are excited for him and his opportunity.  We are fortunate to have worked with him and wish him the best of luck.”

For more information on the ICA CATIE Awards: http://www.internationalcaterers.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=9
For more information about TODD by Thomas: http://www.toddbythomas.com/home.html
For more information about Thomas Caterers of Distinction: http://www.thomascaterers.com/