| JEF “CAKEMAN!” BAILEY Professional Cake Designer / Decorator / Baker/ Instructor Serving the Metrolina Area & Beyond... “THE ORIGIN OF CAKEMAN!” Growing up in Rock Hill, SC, I remember the times that I would watch my grandmother baking and decorating cakes in the kitchen of her home on the “mill hill”. She would make birthday cakes for family and friends; cake squares and cupcakes for kids carnivals at the neighborhood center across the street; and pies and dessert cakes for bake sales and covered dish meals at the small Methodist church up the road. With every cake she decorated, I would watch and learn how each creation was made. Eventually, I began helping her out by drawing and coloring in cartoon characters as well as making basic flowers and writing when it became more difficult for her to do some of the more detailed work. I found myself getting more involved with the entire process and even began decorating my own birthday cakes at the age of 10. Little did I know, the time spent “working” in Grace Bailey’s kitchen, would later lead me into a career in the Culinary Arts. |
| My grandmother & first “Cake Instructor” Grace Bailey. |
About CAKEMAN!
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| CAKEMAN! |
| CUSTOM CAKE CREATIONS By Jef Bailey |
| Me (on the right ) & my brother, Lee, showing off a Star Wars cake that I made for my own birthday. ( Check out the “cool” 70’s tee shirts! ) |
| CAKEMAN! to the Rescue! |
| EXPERIENCE "Culinary Arts" Since 1990, I have worked as a Professional Cake Decorator & Baker with several regional Deli / Bakeries & Specialty Shops in NC & SC : "Performing Arts" Since the mid 1980's, I have worked with various Cultural & Performing Arts Organizations throughout SC, NC & NY as a Designer, Technician, Makeup Artist & Performer. Quite often, as "CAKEMAN!", I pull from my past "Theatrical" experience when I conduct Cake Demos, Workshops, as well as Special Projects such as ChristmasVille & Come See Me. |
| TRAINING Decorating Techniques: On-The-Job Training with the various bakeries. Baking Techniques: On-The-Job Training with the various bakeries & with national bakery company technicians. Advanced Cake Decorating Techniques ( Custom Designs & Wedding Cakes ) : HC Brill Icing Company of Georgia. Plus years of practice, practice, practice... |
| "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" After living in Charleston, SC for 10 years, My wife (Alison) and I returned to Rock Hill to escape the Wind, Heat, Floods & Tourist Traffic to make our home in the great "Upstate". Not long after we settled in, I started getting calls from friends & family for "special" cake orders. Folks kept commenting on how hard it was to find a cake that look great AND tasted great too. I then started my "mission" to develop a great tasting cake that would stand up to all the "sculpting" and carving that I do when I create some of my custom designs. Starting with the oil stained copies of Grace Bailey's handwritten recipes, I experimented with adding various ingredients as well as trying different baking techniques until I came up with what is now referred to as "The CAKEMAN! Cake" ( a moist, flavorful cake with a texture that people have compared to a cheesecake or a soft cookie). Word of mouth began to bring more people to "The CAKEMAN!". As orders started to increase, Alison & I decided that we would officially start our own "family business" and offer Custom Order Creations to the growing number of "Carolinians that Crave Creative Cakes". So help us spread the word that: "CAKEMAN!" is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!! "CAKEMAN!" bakes his custom cake creations out of the kitchen of The Cookie Café in Downtown Rock Hill. For more information on The Cookie Café, click on the banner below. "CAKEMAN! Custom Cake Creations" is a fully licensed & insured business owned & operated by Jef Bailey. Unless otherwise indicated, contents of the CAKEMANONLINE website are property of owner, Jef Bailey 2008. |
| A "Cutout" Cake from my Pre-Teen Years |
| Another cake from the 1980's!!! |
