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22 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 23, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Artscene Oakville Beaver · WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008 Oakville cake decorator out to prove she's the best By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF When it comes to decorating ice cream cakes, Helen Marsolais is hot. And later this week, Marsolais, 55, will be feeling the heat ­ and turning it up a notch ­ as she competes in Dairy Queen's international "Iron Tip" cake decorating competition in San Antonio, Texas. If she wins, Marsolais, a Burlington resident who is dubbed "the esteemed cake decorator" at the Dairy Queen located at 295 Hays Blvd., will win $1,000. "Really it's the trip that is the best prize," said Marsolais, adding she hasn't had a vacation since 1995. Marsolais, who got into cake decorating as a second career -- she spent most of her life grooming horses at Woodbine Racetrack -- is one of six finalists in the cake-decorating competition that is patterned after the Iron Chef competition on Food Network. More than 2,400 photos of the best cakes made by 406 Dairy Queen decorators from around the world were submitted late last year for the competition. Entries were judged on color scheme, placement of decorations, cake borders, decorative writing and overall appearance. There was a flower design that's traditional on birthday cakes, a design created with gel colours and decal packs that use toys to decorate and convey a theme. Next came the video portion of the competition, again in late December, in which the decorators were captured on film as they went about their craft. Just before Christmas, Marsolais learned she was a finalist. "I was very surprised because there were more than 400 people competing," she said. Now Marsolais advances to the final competition at the DQ Pride 2008 EXPO to be held Jan. 24-27 in San Antonio, Texas. International Dairy Queen (IDQ) is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen stores in the United States, Canada and foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. It belongs to the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by legendary investor Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. "Cakes are my passion," said Marsolais, admitting, however, that as much as there are beautiful flowers and designs on her cakes, she has a good helping of butterflies in her stomach as the competition approaches. Marsolais was born in Malta where her parents were stationed with the British navy. They moved to Canada the day before Marsolais celebrated her fourth birthday. After growing up in Scarborough, Marsolais and a friend took a course for grooms at Humber College for fun. She landed a job at Woodbine out of it, married her now exhusband, who was a horse trainer and spent most of her years working as a groom. "This job is a complete turnaround for me," said Marsolais, who noted she even spent a year working at the Toronto Zoo LIESA KORTMANN/ OAKVILLE BEAVER See Cake page 23 ONE OF THE BEST: Oakville Dairy Queen cake decorator Helen Marsolais plies her craft at the Hays Boulevard DQ before heading to the Iron Tip competition in San Antonio, Texas this weekend. Introducing New Polysatin Shutters No Payment s! O.A.C. for 6 Month SUMMERWIND TM INSTALLATION Call Store For Details FREE Also Available: ·2" Wood & Aluminum Venetians ·Roll Shades ·Cellular Shades ·Luminette ·Roman Shades Family Owned Business For Over 20 Years ·Duettes Silhouette MATHESON HWY 10 BRING THIS COUPON IN AND PAY... Visit our Showroom or Call for FREE Shop at Home Service NO GST 9 0 5 MON-WED 9-6pm, THUR-FRI 9-8pm, SAT 10-6pm 629-9575 EGLINTON TOMKEN 1011 EGLINTON AVE. EAST, Unit #6 MISSISSAUGA