
He is one of the premier Wedding Cake Specialists in New York.
His cakes have been featured in the Top Magazines in the industry.
And, he has a Celebrity clientele.
He is Vincenzo Salvatore.
Q – Are you a wedding cake specialist, or do you bake other items as well, like cookies?
A – Though we mainly only specialize in wedding cakes. We have a second sister company that actually specializes in mini cupcakes and pastries. So Vincenzo Salvatore Cakes is strictly,wedding cakes. And then my second company does, so I’m not sure how you would wanna word that, but technically yes, we do other things.
Q – Do you have help in your kitchen?
A – Of course, yeah.
Q – If you were located in any other city but New York, would you be able to do this business?
A – Absolutely not.
Q-That’s what I thought. Because of the population right?
A – Yeah.
Q – How long does it take to get as good as you are at making wedding cakes? Did you go to some kind of a culinary school?
A – Actually I went to culinary school for a year. And I dropped out. So I like to say that I’m self-taught in a way. But how long will it take? I started doing this when I was 16 and I am now 26, but I’m a firm believer that when you have a passion for this, your passions are really what drive you. The business end is a whole different feel. So what I mean by that is, you can get as good as I am within let’s say a year or two, but in terms of growing a company, that’s a whole different ball game.
Q – It would seem to me like this is a very time consuming business of yours It’s really a labor of love, isn’t it?
A – Absolutely. Yeah.
Q – You originally wanted to open a restaurant, but you didn’t go that route. Why?
A – Honestly, from watching the show Cake Boss. Basically my father’s in the food industry. So my whole life I thought I was gonna open up a restaurant and go that route. And then it was ironic because as I kept watching the show, I kept making cakes. And the more and more I made cakes, the better I got it. And I realized I had a passion for it. And I just went with it.
Q – Your grandmother enjoyed baking, but how about your parents? Did they encourage you to pursue the career you’re in?
A – My parents are extremely supportive. When I went to my father and I told him that I was going to drop out of college, the first thing he said to me was as long as you have a job, I firmly support whatever decision you make. And they have me ever since. So my parents have been a huge supporting factor in my company for sure.
Q – I was told by one cake maker that it’s more about being an artist than a baker. So having a background in Art is very important. Do you agree with what was told to me?
A – Believe it or not, agree to disagree. So I do agree to the extent of what we do is art. So that’s something you can’t teach. You need to have an eye for that. You know, when you sit down and you start decorating these cakes if you don’t have the vision for it, it’s not going to work. But on the other extent, I’m a firm believer that what we do here, we actually are really big on our flavors as well. So I think you know cakes need to look amazing, but also tastes amazing ‘cause in my industry, one of the biggest things people always complain about is the wedding cake never tastes good. They say I’ve spent $1,000,000 on a cake. It looks beautiful but it does not taste great. And for us at my company we actually do both. So the taste is just as good as the look.
Q – Do you travel with your cakes?
A – So it depends on the client. To travel, it’s a lot more labor intensive, which means it’s going to cost more. So the furthest we ever gone is like the tri-state area, but if we had to travel, yes, you know, we could figure out a way to. I know Sylvia Weinstock used to travel all the time. I always say I don’t know how she did it the way that she did, but it’s definitely a different challenge in its own.
Q – I interviewed Sylvia Weinstock a number of years ago, and she would hire a private jet and she’d have some help with her. And I guess they took the basics and then they put the cake together wherever they were going.
A – She was amazing what she did.
Q – Do you have any famous celebrities that walk through your doors that you’re able to say that you bake for?
A -Yes, we’ve absolutely, you know, at 26 years old we’ve actually had our fair share in. pretty big magazine shoots and some pretty high end profile clients. If you want to include that in the interview, I mean, I haven’t done an NDA with any of them, so I don’t really think it matters. But you know, I also don’t want to sound cocky giving that information. So, that’s on your call if you want that in the interview, I’ll tell you.
Q – Would they get mad at you if it was included in the interview? I don’t want to get you in trouble?
A – I’m going to tell you no. I pretty much have the right to with these clients. When they sign the contract, it states that I’m allowed to use whatever for purposes. So I mean, you know we’ve done Robin Roberts wedding Dylan Prouse and Barbara Palvin. We did a movie cake for Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, the Netflix movie that is coming out. I worked with a lot of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Sammi Sweetheart from Jersey Shore Dancing with the Stars people, magazines, V Magazine, Vogue magazine, Sophisticated Wedding magazine. So we have, you know, a nice little line up under us within three years of being open. And I’m very proud of that.
Q – Well, I guess so. Boy, that’s quite a lineup. So, has anyone ever come in and asked you to bake a cake and you said I just can’t do it?
A – In what regard? Impossible to do or because of their attitude?
Q-Well, the attitude would be off putting to anybody, but they want a certain cake ,a certain cake design and you’d say I just can’t make that.
A – Well, I would tell them in advance So no, I haven’t had anyone come in here where we couldn’t make it work, but there has been times where a client requests a certain kind of style cake, and I’m very particular with what we do here. So there have been times where I just say, hey, our style on the line and here is XY and Z baker that I can recommend to you that their styles do align what you want. And going back to the comment you said before about the artistry, not every artist is the same. So cake decorators truly are artist and we all have our niche and I like to stick with what we’re good at .
©Gary James
Official Website: www.vincenzosalvatorecakes.com