Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Portaleo.
Karen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in bakeries, my grandfather was a pastry chef. My sister and cousins and I would go in to work with him, which was usually at night after the bakeries closed. Even now, after working in a bakery for 15 years, every time I walk in and smell pastry baking, it still reminds me of Bampa.
In 2004, I suddenly became a single mom with a four-year-old daughter and a mortgage. I had been a stay at home mom, so was not out pursuing my freelance career, which at the time was prop and set making for the fashion industry, as well as working with clay. I needed to find a job quickly. A friend of mine had opened Highland Bakery, and I went in, under the guise of brunch, and asked for a job. At first, I got a bunch of no’s, but eventually I worked my way in. I was hired to frost cupcakes and plain birthday cakes.
This was around the time the big wild cake competitions had begun on Food Network and the idea that cake and chocolate could be creative and sculptural mediums was just beginning to percolate. I started experimenting, and posting pictures of these pieces on social media (which was much more limited at the time). Eventually I was invited to compete, and have been on many Food Network shows and competitions, even hosting my own special called Caketastrophe.
This exposure led to invitations to teach cake art all over the world, and at this point I’ve taught in various cities in 25 countries. This unexpected career has been more exciting and fulfilling than anything I could have dreamed, and I say that without hyperbole. It has been a sincere joy.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t always been easy, but as we sit here now, dealing with a worldwide pandemic and record rates of unemployment, and as I watch so many businesses in my industry struggle and close, my perspective on what defines a struggle had shifted immeasurably. But at the time, it was hard to start in a new career which didn’t pay much in the beginning, with a young child and a lot of responsibility. Many sacrifices were made. And while teaching abroad has been incredibly wonderful, it’s been hard to be away from my daughter during those trips. I missed a few important milestones, and as a painfully sentimental mom, it’s a tender subject to know I’ll never get those moments back. But on the whole, this is the almost universal story of the single working mom, and I was doing amazing things and enjoying rare opportunities, so I don’t really look back on those times with sadness or regret.
The steepest challenges I’ve faced are the ones we are all dealing with now, and knowing I am not alone in this helps me keep a modicum of perspective.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Karen Portaleo, Cake and Chocolate Art – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I make cakes that look nothing like cakes. My work is usually described as whimsical, and I’m okay with that. Working with modeling chocolate has afforded me the freedom to sculpt in great detail, and the recent advancements in edible coloring mediums has increased the possibilities to just about endless. I’m probably known for realistic sculptures of humans and animals, usually in unrealistic costumes. As someone who was raised going to Catholic school, it’s hard for me to use the word proud when describing myself, so I’ll talk about how proud I am of the people who come to my classes. It’s a beautiful thing, in my opinion, to carve out a few days in your schedule to take an intensive class. It’s an investment in your talent and creativity, which we are not encouraged enough to do. For many of my students, learning to build armatures and sculpt with chocolate, to airbrush and paint and to work strictly for the joy and enrichment is a big brave leap. I admire the kind of passion for learning and for cake that they arrive with, and I am always overjoyed at the end of class when we line everyone’s work up for the final photo, and you can see the wild variations that reflect the personal things each student brings to class. That makes me feel proud.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I think the biggest question almost everyone on planet earth is wrestling with right now is “what’s next?”. As for me, all classes and cakes were cancelled as soon as we all went into lockdown. I’m not sure when we will feel free to have the big gatherings and celebrations that call for big cakes again, or when people who make their living from cakes and celebrations will have the confidence or finances to attend classes again. But I am a restless artist, and even when I don’t have all the answers, I know that creating soothes my soul, and that is golden at this unprecedented time. So, I’m staying busy working on new projects. I started a candle company a few years ago, but that has suffered under the constrictions of the moment as well, as supply chains closed, and people weren’t focused on things like candles. But I am still moving, still sculpting. I am expanding my product line into two new areas in the giftware arena, and plan to have some exciting things to launch into the new world when the time is right. And I know that time will come. I also know that when the day comes that we can all get together safely; we will be so starved and so grateful to celebrate together again that cakes will be bigger and wilder than ever. And we will all deserve it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karenportaleo.com
- Email: karen@karenportaleo.com
- Instagram: @karenportaleo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karen.portaleo/ https://www.facebook.com/karenportaleocakeartist
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