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A perfect project for springtime, especially since a lot of us are staying home! Materials can be ordered easily online from Satin Ice (www.satinice.com)
https://riverreporter.com/stories/create-this-precious-easter-basket-out-of-chocolate,36620
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Follow this link to see Kim’s step-by-step tutorial for this month: https://riverreporter.com/stories/a-perfect-treat-for-st-patricks-day,35972?  Customized for a local birthday party....Thanks to Maressa Valentin-Rivera at The Sweet Chalet in Sanford, FL for the excellent edible paints! Kim will be teaching PAINTING WITH ROYAL ICING classes at The National Capital Area Cake Show (March 27-29). Visit www.cakeshow.org for more information. SANFORD, FL. Kim M. Simons—winner of Food Network’s “Holiday Wars” this past December—takes a deep breath in the warm morning sun on Monday, February 10. “I could get used to this,” Simons, a resident of upstate NY—where it is snowing—cracks. Simons, part of the team Bah Hum Bakers—the reigning “Holiday Wars” champions—is in town to teach classes at The Sweet Chalet on Bellagio Circle at the invitation of fellow cake artist Maressa Valentin-Rivera. Valentin-Rivera, who—with her husband, Sam—opened The Sweet Chalet in 2016, is no stranger to TV herself. “The Food Network has filmed here,” Valentin-Rivera notes, “plus HGTV. And a travel agency in Germany picked us as an artistic destination on their tours.” For Valentin-Rivera, booking Simons to teach classes is a no-brainer. “She has a great deal of passion,” Valentin-Rivera explains, “and it comes through in her teaching. She’s very expressive, and it shows in her work.” Classes are held in a spacious studio upstairs in The Sweet Chalet. Previous instructors have included Chef Nicholas Lodge, London’s own Jacquie Kelly, and “Halloween Wars” reigning champion Reva Alexander. Oh, and wiz-kid Jarid Altmark—who has competed on Food Network programs several times himself—works at the store as well. Simons’ mission at The Sweet Chalet? To show the basics of painting with Royale Icing...and to teach how to sculpt a Woodstock-inspired “Hippy Hare” out of modeling chocolate. For Valentin-Rivera, the combination of hosting classes and dealing in retail products has resulted in success. “We have had visitors from the Philippines, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Nigeria, Australia, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Vieques, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic,” her website notes. More recently, The Sweet Chalet has ventured into creating delicious Canelé pastries—a 200-year old French tradition brought home to Sanford. Simons, for her part, hopes to make teaching at The Sweet Chalet something of a tradition.” “It’s a great store run by great people,” Simons explains. “Plus, who wouldn’t want to be in Sanford when it’s snowing at home?” For more information on classes and products, check out The Sweet Chalet’s website (www.thesweetchalet.com) or call 331-363-4841.      MONTICELLO NY: It was five years ago that Joanna M. Gass suffered a heart attack. Three weeks later, she lost her husband to one of his own. Arthur Gass was 53 years old. “No one should have to hear a doctor say they’re sorry, but there was nothing they could do,” Gass says. Gass, an Activities Aid at the Skilled Nursing Unit at Catskill Regional Hospital—and a noted singer—has turned her sorrow into action. Every year since her husband’s death, Gass—now 53 herself—has been a tireless advocate for WSUL’s Heart-A-Thon, which benefits her hospital’s Cardio Pulmonary Department. To raise money, Gass got in touch with Carmela Foglia, owner of De Filippis Bakery on Broadway in Monticello, and Kim M. Simons, a local artist and part of the winning team on Food Network’s HOLIDAY WARS. The plan? Have Simons teach people how to decorate cookies baked by De Filippis on the premises. “All the money stays here in Sullivan County,” Gass notes. “It can help a couple celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. It can help and grandchild open Christmas presents with their grandmother. It can help a father walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding.” For Foglia, hosting the event at her bakery on January 26 was a no-brainer. “I love the sense of community here,” Foglia—who runs an open mic for local musicians on Sunday mornings—relates. “When Joanna asked, well, of course!” Both Foglia and Simons donated products and time. “It’s an important cause,” Simons says. “I’m always willing to help out with something like this.” A crew of folks aged five to more than fifty participated, decorating heart-shaped sugar cookies in a variety of creative ways. According to Simons, it was a “sweet way to raise money for something really worthy.” Donations to the Cardiopulmonary Department at Catskill Regional Hospital are still being accepted. Visit boldgoldnewyork.com/heartathon or call 845-794-9898 for more information.  L to R: Joanna M. Gass of Catskill Regional's SNU (Harris NY), Carmela Foglia, owner De Filippis Bakery (Monticello NY), and Kim
Local and regional news organizations are putting the spotlight on Kim.  
Cut-and-paste the link for a funny, informative interview. Kim shares Rowdy Reindeer cookies with Adam, who then shares hot sauce with Kim! (Originally broadcast Jan. 16, 2020)
https://www.radiobold.com/tastetestthursday/episode/254eb559/kim-simons-food-network-holiday-wars
A nice feature story by Jonathan Charles Fox!
https://riverreporter.com/stories/food-artist-kim-simons-baking-her-way-to-the-top,35034
Kim discusses the Bah Hum Bakers' victory on Thunder 102's Ciliberto & Friends... A few snaps of THE BAH HUM BAKERS on Episode 3 of FOOD NETWORK'S HOLIDAY WARS, which aired originally on Dec. 15, 2019! I talk about Episode 3 of HOLIDAY WARS with Thunder 102's Paul Ciliberto in an interview that aired on Dec. 17, 2019. Kim and the BAH HUM BAKERS barely survive Round 2--check out this digest version (originally aired on 12-8-2019)
Kim on Ciliberto & Friends, Thunder 102 radio Dec. 10, 2019 The tension was high on Food Network's second episode of HOLIDAY WARS (which first aired Dec. 8, 2019), but Kim and the BAH HUM BAKERS survived to compete in Round 3, airing on Dec. 15, 2019 at 9 PM (EST). |
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Hi! I'm Kim Simons, an award-winning specialty cake and food artist in the United States! 
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