That's a Wrap!

Our final day of shooting started in the morning and finished when we closed the doors of Cafe Luna at 3:30AM. Nancy joined us in the afternoon to construct Chef Nicholas' cake one last time. The final scene had to be shot after sunset, and we managed to attract a spirited audience from the Irish pub next door.

Thanks to everyone for the beautiful work!

Freezing in our Living Room

Today's scene involved a crucial moment when the sous-chef discovers several cakes in the walk-in freezer. The logistics of filming in Cafe Luna's walk-in refrigerated unit led us to the decision to build a replica off-site. We used metal shelving that matched Cafe Luna's and black cloth for the back wall. Christmas tree flocking simulated frost on boxes and shelves, and a fog machine through cold-toned lighting created the frigid atmosphere. Nancy Linstead, Tray Post, and Jodie Vandervort worked as a team to design and build six different cakes for Lindsey McCrumb to find.

Yesterday we visited Nancy's kitchen, which had been converted to a workshop. Tray Post had delivered two finished cakes made of pink and green/chocolate brown fondant. In keeping with Chef Nicholas' character, Tray had incorporated messages that had been stamped obsessively into the sides.

Nancy had already completed two cakes when we arrived. She was busy painting a blue fondant cake with edible swirls of silver, then applying fondant ribbons painted to match. Jodie was spreading icing on a chocolate three-layered creation, which would be covered in intricate red icing lacework after her fondant hearts proved too heavy for the icing. Once these cakes arrived on set, Nancy artificially distressed a few so that they would appear to have been in the freezer for some time.

Thanks to Krista Reckner, who took photos during filming, and also to Nancy for forgiving me when I dropped one of the cakes after shooting! We want to give extra thanks to Nancy, Tray, and Jodie for your hard work!

Stunt Cake

Most cake designers are used to the idea that their work is ephemeral; however, there are few who would willingly watch their creations fall to the floor...on purpose...on film...twice! That's precisely what Nancy Linstead did today.

This was the most elaborate stunt we had filmed to date. Tensions ran high as we practiced with the model, trying to plan how best to cover the shot with one camera. It was lucky that we scheduled this scene in the final weeks of shooting; everyone was super-supportive and kept us (and Nancy) laughing as we worked through the day.