On April 22, Salt Lake Community College Libraries and Culinary Arts Institute hosted The Edible Books Festival and Contest, in conjunction with National Library Week.
The event was held in the lobby of the Markosian Library on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus. This year there were 15 cake entries based on books such as “The Cat in the Hat,” “Curious George” and even “50 Shades of Grey.”
“Doors were closed and judging was difficult,” says Judge Ricco Renzetti. “I felt like there wasn’t enough coffee.”
Students, faculty and staff were able to vote and taste their favorites. About 70 votes were cast in total, with five winners in categories from Most Artistic to Most Edible.
One of the judges didn’t taste anything.
“I didn’t because I have seed allergies which means I can’t really eat anything,” says contest judge Curtis Larsen.
Darren Hendricksen made the Strega Nona cake which took about 3 hours to make.
People’s Choice Award – Alondra Garcia (“Frozen”)
Most Artistic – Carol Acevedo (“Woman in Black”)
Most Edible – Katie Lapp (“Curious George”)
Most Humorous – Alisha Valdez (“50 Shades of Grey”)
Most Literary – Lori Tucker (“Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy/Towel”)
“The preparation was easy, but then the last minute putting it together was a little stressful but it was not hard,” says Hendricksen. “Towards the end one of the classmates helped just because she was done.”
When asked what she would do with the prize money Alisha Valdez responded, “I will most likely use it on books.”
“When I picked [50 Shades of Grey] I had a good idea that I was going to be the only one that would do a non-children’s book,” says Valdez, who won the Most Humorous award for her cake. “This was 24 hours of being up. I am so tired.”
Photos by Angelica Garcia
