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By Army Sgt. Sarah Stannard
Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Do you remember the last time you were excited about cake? Usually the cakes we encounter are grocery store types; dry pastries disguised behind icky partially-hydrogenated two-inch-thick icing. The cake itself just lays there – uninteresting and definitely unappetizing. For a nation so obsessed with food, we have seriously mislaid our pastry priorities if we're settling for this kind of food to mark our special occasions. "Let them eat cake!" no longer holds the power to incite revolution, only a collective shrug. No thanks, we'd rather have pie.
At least, that was a prevailing opinion before Guantanamo Bay met Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Patricelli and Petty Officer 1st Class Pat Williams. In a quest to ignite their creative flame and combine work with a passion for satisfying a sweet tooth, these two Coastie 'cake ladies' use their colorful creations, combining beautiful designs with heavenly flavors, to tantalize the taste buds and excite the spirits of their Coast Guard Reserve unit deployed here.
A self-proclaimed morale committee for Port Security Unit 313, the pair bakes sweet confections for their colleagues' birthdays and unit and other special events. They will even offer instruction to people who are interested in learning how to create decorative cakes of their own.
Patricelli, a Seattle area police officer, and Williams, a Wilton [esteemed decorating school] cake decorating instructor, met over cake. Patricelli had made the cakes for an Enlisted Person of the Year banquet Williams was attending. They talked patisserie and kindled a confectionary friendship that has taken them to events around the country.
"My dream is to open a bakery where you can get really good wedding cake by the slice," Patricelli smiled. "Everyone loves really good wedding cake, but, you know, you have to go to a wedding to get it. Here you could get just get one slice of really beautiful, delicious cake to eat with your coffee. I would call it, 'A Slice of Heaven,' maybe."
Both women are members of the International Cake Exploration Societe which is a non-profit organization that supports cake decorating enthusiasts around the world.
Recently the decorating duo took a 'cake cruise' down the Alaskan Inside Passage, taking in workshops, lectures and excellent food.
They soon translated what they had learned on their sweets sail into two enormous cake creations for their unit's transfer of authority reception, Dec. 6. Apple spice and black-forest cakes were complemented by home-made butter cream frosting and loads of flowers, glitter and edible silkscreen.
"This is the best cake I've had in 180 days," said Coast Guard Cmdr. Michael Hart, the outgoing commander of Port Security 308 who departed for home the following morning.
Swarms of Sailors buzzed around the dessert table, like bees in a honeycomb. Watching them was like watching hyenas take down a wildebeest. Hey, you would've had icing smeared on your face too!
| Date Taken: | 01.13.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.13.2008 16:24 |
| Story ID: | 15403 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 219 |
| Downloads: | 157 |
This work, 'Cake Ladies' take Guantanamo at Pastry Point, by SGT Sarah Stannard, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
