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05/21/09
To put it simply...this is a GREAT store!
by kbomar at Citysearch
I have been coming to this store for about a year now. Every time I come in, I am welcomed by someone on the staff. If I have a question, everyone is helpful and knows exactly what I need. They have a great selection to choose from in pans, cutters, etc.
I am taking a class right now, taught by Sheila Brooks, owner of the store. She has been great! She's teaching us not only ways to decorate a cake and the different techniques, but also about running our own bakery. We've had some very good discussions. She's funny and gets along with everyone in the class. She will go out of her way to show us things that are not part of that day's curriculum. You only have to ask. She also helps individually for those that are having a bit of difficulty on a certain task. She watches everything we do and walks around the room to look at our work and give suggestions when it's warranted. I plan on taking the next 2 classes to get a PME Master's Certificate and I would not want anyone else teaching these classes!
Sheila has a wealth of experience for people to draw on and is more than willing to share information. She shows different methods without the "my way is better" attitude that a lot of people seem to have. She doesn't claim to know it all or to be the best cake decorator that God created. She is sincerely interested in helping us better our abilities.
I highly recommend her classes to cake decorators of any level!!!
- Pros: very friendly staff, knowledgeable instructor /owner
- Cons: it's a long drive from Spring, TX!!!
01/28/09
OMG...what a joke
by BrimBrim at Citysearch
I signed up for a professional piping class here and it was so stupid. Everything we learned, I could've learned for FREE from books, YouTube, even Martha Stewart! Sheila Brooks was such a bad teacher. When she was showing us how to pipe blossoms, she kept messing up. And she messed up for all the other stuff we learned too, but she'd just make excuses like how she was in a car accident or how she hadn't done this in months. Then please don't teach and take money away from eager students who actually want to learn how to decorate cakes!
That's the thing that I disliked the most. I didn't get the feeling that the instructor cared about us or cake decorating. She gave off this vibe that she was so money hungry. You pay her for her teaching skills AND you buy supplies from her store. It's all about money for Sheila and is that the kind of teacher you really want??
If you own a bakery already, you will only waste time here. She won't teach you anything you don't already know. Heck, you're probably better than her anyway! If you're a beginner thinking that this class will be lots of fun (like me), OMG...please avoid. Save your money or spend it on a lots of icing ingredients and books so you can practice on your own...and that's what cake decorating really is anyway! Just lots of practice and creativity.
This class was absolutely the biggest waste of my time and money. I've got nothing against the store (though I think the supplies they sell are overpriced) or Sheila or Cynthia, but really, you are not getting your money's worth with these classes. Don't say I didn't warn you....
- Pros: made friends with other classmates, learned that instructor loves Angus beef and nicknames her daughter "kamikaze"
- Cons: bad teaching, didni't learn anything, huge waste of money, expensive supplies, rude instructor, unfriendly ambience
01/27/09
You are better off learning on your own.
by YumSteak at Citysearch
If you are looking for specialty cake supplies, this will be it. HOWEVER, if you're interested in cake decorating classes, don't waste your time and money! Seriously, I'm only writing this review b/c I took a class and don't want anyone to make my mistake.
Shiela Brooks is the owner and the main instructor and as an instructor, she's very unprepared and unorganized. She was constantly rummaging through her notes to see what she had to teach us. But, shouldn't that be something she should already know?? She's also simply NOT a good teacher. She doesn't care about you and her work is also far from impressive. Ea. time she demonstrated a technique, she'd mess up and brush it off by saying "that's what you SHOULDN'T do." Or, she'd blame it on her bad back or the fact that she hasn't piped in months. Um, is this someone who you really want to be teaching you then? If I'm going to pay $200 for a cake decorating class, I want my instructor to BE COMPETENT. Showing me the wrong way to do something does not teach me how to do it the right way.
Instead of walking around, correcting our mistakes or giving us tips to do a better job, she just sat at the front working sending txt mssgs to her daughter "kamekaze". Remember, YOU are paying HER to teach you, but she makes it seem like she's doing YOU a favor. Instead of sharing business tricks and insider hints, she also spends half the time talking abt how great she is. The course I took was 6 hours long, but the two or three skills we learned each day could have easily been compacted into 3hr sessions.
If you're going to spend money, you might as well invest in books, supplies, and YouTube everything. Her "professional" classes aren't "professional" quality and definitely not taught by someone anywhere near professional. If you are still interested, at least visit and talk to her BEFORE signing up. Follow Shiela's own advice: If you don't like the teacher/baker's work, then don't take the class or buy from them. GOOD LUCK!
- Pros: good stock of specialty cake supplies, friendly students who take the class
- Cons: very poor instruction, waste of time and money
