Photo: jennifer gates/instagram
Jennifer Gatesis paying tribute toSylvia Weinstock.
Just a month before her death, Weinstock came out of retirement to design a wedding cake for Gates, who is the daughter ofBillandMelinda Gates. Weinstock created a six-tier cake topped with elegant off-white and light pink roses as Gates tied the knot with equestrianNayel Nassarat the couple’s farm in Westchester County, New York, on Oct. 16.
Gates remembered the late baker onInstagramTuesday and shared an intimate photo of Weinstock, wedding planner Marcy Blum, and chef Jimmy Leclerc sitting around a table at what appeared to be a cozy cake tasting.
“Getting to know this incredible woman, pioneer and baking legend was the biggest blessing,” she captioned the picture. “Sylvia, your zest for life, passion, creativity, and generosity will never be forgotten. We will be forever grateful for the gift you gave us in designing our dream wedding cake with@ladureeus. Rest In Peace ❤️.”
On Oct. 18, Blum shared anInstagramphoto of the lavish cake along with the newlyweds smiling at their reception. “My dear friend @sylviaweinstock came out of retirement to design the beautiful cake for this beautiful couple 💖,” she wrote in the caption.
Weinstock — whose skill at making intricate and extravagant confections earned her the title of the “Queen of Cakes” — was a pioneer in the industry, and is credited with modernizing the traditional white-tiered wedding cake thanks to her signature, towering, hand-crafted, sugar-flower work.
“We never count the flowers on a cake … rather, we add, and add, and add until it pleases the eye. That could be hundreds, or thousands,” Weinstock toldInStylein 2014. “To put it in perspective, one artist can create 100 roses in a typical (40-hour) week. They are all individually hand-crafted.”
Weinstock, who previously designed cakes for stars likeOprah Winfrey,Sofia Vergara, andRobert De Niro, announced she was leaving full-time baking in 2016 to focus on licensing and teaching fellow bakers.
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AnInstagrampost shared to Weinstock’s page on Tuesday said, in part, “While Sylvia was known for her A-list clientele, everyone who ordered a cake got Sylvia’s celebrity touch. Her work intersected the most intimate moments of her clients lives and she loved hearing their stories, never shy about doling out sage advice. She nurtured generations of adoring fans, and it was common for her to create celebration cakes for a couple, their children, and their children’s children, for all the milestones of their lives. Cake, she often said, was more than food. It was the centerpiece of an event — and the last thing the guests would eat — so it had to be memorable.”
source: people.com
