Ron Ben-Israel is known by many as the king of the wedding cake world, pairing a passion for his craft with an astounding attention to detail and beyond charming personality. It’s this very mix of high skill and warm charisma that has awarded him many titles: “America’s cake maestro,” “The Manolo Blahnik of wedding cakes,” or my personal favorite, “The Cartier of the pastry set.”
But beyond the grand titles, and the even grander cakes Ron carefully wheels into the Plaza, is something even more special: an art fueled by passion. I had the pleasure of chatting with the former professional ballet dancer cum culinary legend not only about his decadent designs, but the delight of creating one of his tallest, most magnificent, Plaza cakes to date…
You have designed a myriad of cakes for countless celebrity and society clients. You presented your cakes on Oprah and instructed Martha Stewart on her own show, and you have delivered your designs across all corners of the world. But through your varied experiences, you often speak of the “magic of The Plaza” – What does this mean?
There is really something fantastic about The Plaza – something that is not your everyday feeling. For example, one doesn’t come to The Plaza in jeans. There are very few places that can accommodate that caliber of people. The renovation of The Plaza meant a return of glamour to the event scene in New York City – a return of the grandiose. And that is very special.
You recently baked a magnificent 12-tier cake for a spectacular Plaza wedding. It was the focal point of the 750-person event. Tell us more about the cake. What was your inspiration for the design?
The cake the family chose was a vanilla cake with layers of hazelnut crème with praline crunch. There were two versions of the hazelnut; first we pulverized them to a smooth paste with the caramel, and than a roasted crunchy variation was sprinkled on top for a different flavor and texture sensation. The fillings were incased in moist layers of vanilla cake, so each slice had a total of 8 layers!
The cake had very intense flavors, but the look was clean and dramatic. I was tempted to add more embellishments to the cake’s surfaces, but the bride and groom requested a tailored look… we did go wild with the sugar flowers, though, adding hundreds of reddish and burgundy sugar roses between the glistening fondant tiers. It gave the illusion that the cake was floating.
The cake was spectacular. From a distance, it appeared to be touching the chandeliers of the Grand Ballroom. How was this possible?
For this cake, the devoted staff of The Plaza removed the balcony’s railing on the other end of the ballroom facing the stage, and then slightly elevated the cake, so that it started at eye level, and extended it to just over 6 feet tall. If you were standing across the room, the top of the cake was visually in the sideline of the chandeliers. It was the perfect perspective – The candles at the bottoms of the chandelier seemed to kiss the very top of the cake.
You carry cakes into The Plaza quite regularly. But needless to say, this one required quite a bit of special attention. Was it stressful to transport?
We are happy when we are challenged… That said, I am neurotic and obsessive compulsive, and I always have a Plan B and C. But once I hand over the cake to the trusted banquet department of the Plaza, I can relax completely.
You managed to create, install and then move the cake to the center of the dance floor for the bride, groom and guests to dance around it. How did you manage such a grand-scale design?
It required eight staff members to glide it off the balcony to a table that was specially constructed to support its weight. Of course, we were cautious and rehearsed transporting the cake into the center of the dance floor, but when we did, it was magical.
How did you feel when the bride and groom first tasted your cake?
The cutting of the first slice of a wedding cake is the first task the couple is doing as husband and wife. When they feed each other with cake, I get very happy and feel like I am part of their joy.
For this particular celebration, as much as it was about numbers and size, it was also very emotional and warm. Swarms of people were circling around the bride and groom in the middle of the ballroom, and in the center of it all was our cake. It was a beautiful moment.
While you provide stunning, large and luxurious cakes, there is also a social component to your designs – and this one in particular. Tell us about that.
We make, specialize and provide a luxury item, but that does not mean that it does not have social ramifications. For this wedding, the cake was very luxurious, and the families were so generous. We arranged to donate the leftovers in the name of the bride and the groom, and delivered 350 extra cake portions from this event to the needy through City Harvest. City Harvest normally has a hard time finding kosher food, so in this instance; we were able to share the joy and blessings with the needy of New York. I often encourage clients to do this. It is a fulfilling way to extend the happiness of their wedding towards those less fortunate.
And the cake was kosher. That’s important – and hard to come by…
We provide kosher certified cakes because there is a need for it in the Jewish community. Everything that comes into the bakery has rabbinical approval, and the production is supervised and sealed by special rabbis… some see it as over done, but on the other hand, every guest that comes to the event can safely consume it. It is good for our clients to know that we adhere to kosher laws. In such a celebration the cake will arrive sealed and only the rabbi at The Plaza is allowed to open the packaging. Just as we are meticulous in our attention to detail in the baking and the design process of our cakes, we apply the same standards to the process of Kashrus.
