CSCA Graduate Lisa Raffael Stars on Food Network Challenge

Lisa Raffael, owner of Delicious Desserts in Falmouth, MA, recently competed on the Food Network's Celebration Cake Challenge in Beaver Creek, Colorado. For the competition, Lisa was one of ten chefs, all strangers, who were paired in five teams of two. In the first part of the competition, Lisa had to work separately. Then, in the final two hours, the teams worked together. The challenge: to design a cake worthy of $10,000. The big twist of the show was that Lisa didn't find out until minutes before the competition who her partner was and what the theme was. This competition tested creativity and cooperation between award-winning chefs, all under a ticking clock.

A graduate CSCA's Professional Chef's Program in 1992, Lisa worked at Davio's Restaurant as an assistant pastry chef and opened Delicious Desserts in 1993. She also consulted with the Windfall Market in the launch of its bakery department. In addition to owning Delicious Desserts, Lisa is the executive pastry chef at Beachmoor Inn and Restaurant in Buzzards Bay. Not your average cupcake baker, Lisa continued to study her love of all things pastry at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and trained under the guidance of Norman Love, Worldwide Corporate Pastry Chef of the Ritz Carlton Hotels. More recently, Lisa studied at The International School of Confectionary Arts in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with Colette Peters, internationally acclaimed cake designer and best selling author.

This is Lisa's second Food Network Challenge appearance. She competed on the Ultimate Wedding Cake Challenge, which aired in June 2006, receiving third place. One of her specialty wedding cakes was featured in Bride’s Magazine September/October 2003 issue, which led to publication in the book The Perfect Wedding Details by Maria McBride. In May 2005, Raffael was invited by Bride’s Magazine to participate in the Cake Walk at Grand Central, an event that highlighted the top 50 wedding cake designers in the country. Delicious Desserts was named by CBS Channel 4, Boston, as its A-List Best Wedding Cake 2006.

Lisa's website is www.deliciousdesserts.net

To see how well Lisa competed, tune into Food Network's Celebration Cake Challenge (all times listed as Eastern Standard; check your cable guide for times in your area):