The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) has announced the three contestants chosen to participate in the 17th annual IDDBA Cake Decorating Challenge to be held at IDDBA’s Dairy-Deli-Bake 2012 seminar and expo in New Orleans, LA, June 10-12. There were 86 entrants from 35 supermarket chains.

IDDBA Executive Director Carol Christison commented, “Artistic talent comes in many forms. I can only think of one art form that combines basic building blocks with painting, sculpture, carving, beadwork, and calligraphy. And that’s cake decorating. From the novice to the show-stopping, award-winning decorating veteran, the decorators entering this year’s IDDBA Cake Decorating Challenge, have demonstrated their skill, and more importantly, their passion, for all things cake. Every year, I say it can’t get better and it does. They heard the call and they stepped up to the challenge.”

The decorators receiving an all-expense paid trip to compete are:

Andria Chinander, Lund Food Holdings (Byerly’s), Edina, MN. Andria honed her cake skills on the job at Byerly’s, where she’s been working for 14 years and decorating the past eight. She enjoys creating displays and researching new cake techniques and ideas online.

Stacie Clawson, Walmart, Perry, UT. Stacie has been decorating cakes for 12 years. She is mostly self-taught, but has learned much from talented coworkers along the way. She loves making her customers feel special with her personalized cakes.

Amy Murtha, Hy-vee Inc., Belton, MO. Amy calls her 14 years of cake decorating “creatively rewarding.” She learned the basics from coworkers and continues to study new advanced techniques on her own. She uses her degree in graphic design to create original cake designs.

There are three phases to the Challenge. On Sunday, June 10, each contestant will decorate enough cakes to fill one multi-tiered, eight-foot bakery case. On Monday, June 11, each contestant will decorate a wedding cake. Tuesday, June 12 is a special “Decorator’s Choice” theme event.