Students checked out edible books at the library

Wednesday, April 17 marked Salt Lake Community College’s first annual “Edible Book Festival” and contest. Participants were able to show off their creative side through baking and literature. 

Each creation was shown on the main floor in the Markosian Library where people were able to walk through and see the edible literature displayed.

Judges were selected to critique each piece of edible artwork based on four different categories: most edible, humorous, literary and artistic. There was also a “People’s Choice” category, where the winner was chosen by the public.

“[The food’s] gotta be yummy,” says judge Jude Higgins from the Department of Anthropology. “The fruit looks good, but I might like the vegan cupcakes.”

The first two hours of the contest were open to the public, while judges took a stroll amongst tables of cakes, cookies, donuts and even pizza. Notebooks in hand, judges made note of their favorite creations and also did some taste testing.

One piece that consisted of pastries and jelly, was based on Mark Twain’s the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar was depicted by three different artists, each with a unique interpretation of the book.

In one piece, the caterpillar’s body was made of donuts covered in green and red frosting. A whole watermelon sat beside the caterpillar along with apples, pears, plums, strawberries and oranges.

Cupcakes made of devil’s food cake with rum extract and yellow cake with amaretto fondant represented Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve made cupcakes,” says creative services specialist Carol D. Acevedo. Half of her cupcakes were decorated as angels and the other half devils.

After the judges were done tasting, the public was free to taste the edible artwork. The winners of the contest were contacted with the judges’ results.