Chef Toba's creation during the workshop: a cupcake with marzipan fruits

In her languid voice, Chef Toba Garrett talks to a group of amateur bakers one afternoon. “I must say that I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the Filipino people, and my wonderful host, the American Hospitality Academy (AHA). They have opened their doors and opened their hearts for me,” she professes.

Chef Toba Garrett is the Master Chef-Instructor of the Institute of Culinary Design in New York City. Her classes are so highly coveted, that these are fully booked months in advance. She has received several awards for her cake decorating prowess, and some of her awards include a trophy from Les Commandarie des Cordons Bleus de France and a gold medal from Societè des Chefs, to name a few.

She adds another arsenal to her already impressive resume by being an author. She wrote the books Professional Cake Decorating, The Well Decorated Cake, and Creative Cookies – Delicious Decorating for Any Occasion. With such a super woman in the kitchen, no wonder the AHA is pleased to have her as a guest instructor.

“There are a wide range of techniques for decorating cupcakes,” she begins, as she examines a plain cupcake. You could see in her eyes how she plans to build up the cupcake, one floral coat at a time. But still, when she starts putting on the icing, the crowd all leans forward, eagerly anticipating the look of the end product.

Chef Toba is extremely precise in her lessons. She points out the degree-angle turns of the hand so the designs would come out just right. Her movements are so calculated and precise, that the design of the cupcake, when handled by less-experienced hands, would probably result in disaster.

From the get-go, she said that she wanted to create “a cupcake that has a lot of pizzazz, a lot of attitude to it.” Her first creation features a cupcake towered with a myriad of green leaves. The second cupcake, she adds more color and drama with pink roses. However, the most complicated yet interesting of all her cupcake designs that day was topped with colored marzipan fruits.

As to why she meticulously designs cupcakes, despite its obvious consumption afterwards, Chef Toba explains, “Food is more than just something to eat for me. Before decapitation, or before consuming the food, you must also have a wonderful presentation.”

To reach her level of expertise, Chef Toba had to undergo 30 years of training and education. But Chef Toba digresses, “It’s not so much the number of years you put in to your craft, but rather the passion you put into the craft.”

And if her steep price tag (an original Toba Garrett wedding cake reportedly fetches a whopping USD 50,000) and numerous awards are any indicators, Chef Toba must really be passionate about the beautification of food, for she is truly a success in the world of pastry design.