Corporate Press Release Theater: TLC Takes the Cake, Again

To the growing list of TV Trends I Cannot Understand, add this: Shows about cake. First came Food Network's Ace of Cakes, then TLC's Cake Boss. Now the latter network breaks the three's-a-trend threshold by announcing new series Ultimate Cake-Off. 

Maybe it's because I'm a cook and not a baker, but the human drama of cake decoration is just one of those things that eludes me. Then again, I am out of touch with the tastes of America, as I discovered Saturday, on my birthday, when I insisted on a birthday pie, to the displeasure of the cake-loving Tuned In Jrs. 

Can I get an Ace of Pies? A Pie Boss? Alas, no. I guess Pushing Daisies taught us that pie-making is too narrow an interest to sustain a TV audience. In the meantime, details of TLC's plan to let America eat cake (again) follow the jump: 

TLC Launches a Prime-Time Food Fight With “ULTIMATE CAKE OFF” 
Competition series turns up the heat as bakers create outrageous cakes

Los Angeles, CA – Building off the success of CAKE BOSS, cable TV's #1 food show, TLC takes a bite out of the competition genre with the new series ULTIMATE CAKE OFF. Airing as a sneak-peek on August 3, and then continuing weekly starting August 31, each of the series eight episodes pits three different cake artists against each other as they create edible masterpieces in hopes of winning $10,000 and having their cakes featured at a marquee event.   

In each episode, three contestants meet their new client who set the stage for the competition – events range from the opening of a new shark exhibit at the Long Beach Aquarium to Legoland's 10^thbirthday to the July 4th Celebration at the Reagan Library. With only nine hours, these competitors must make cakes that are at least five feet tall and are creative enough to win the taste of the client and take the prize. To add to the pressure, the contestants also face two mini-challenges – a skills test and a taste test – that could give one team the ultimate advantage: being able to sit out another team for 30 minutes.   

The series is hosted by chef Michael Schulson, owner of Atlantic City's Izakaya. Joining Michael are judges Margaret Braun, an acclaimed sugar artist based in New York, and Leigh Grode, owner of Los Angeles' Cake Divas bakery.