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vendor reviews: cakes
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JoRa wins out for over twenty years with buttercream recipes, double fillings, flavour tastings & versatile designs Reviewing Joanne Vincent & Hans Raess, Owners and Pastry Chefs, JoRa Wedding Cakes
JoRa Wedding Cakes is not just another cake shop. Joanne Vincent and Hans Raess, the Owners and expert Pastry Chefs, know what it takes to deliver a great wedding cake because they've been doing it since 1987. They're old fashioned in the kitchen (where it counts), contemporary on the design table and open hearted when dealing with people. They still use their own coveted, yet-to-be duplicated buttercream recipes and when you visit their shop you are served a tasting of five different slices of cake and a sketch of your future wedding cake.
Personally speaking... Joanne originally wanted to be a chef. Early into her training at a culinary institute (Institut de Tourisme et d'Hotellerie du Quebec) in Montréal, she found that she liked the pastry side of the career most of all. She then took a two year pastry and bakery program that truly taught her everything there is to know about pastries, and of course, about specialty cakes.
Hans trained as a pastry chef in Switzerland before coming to Canada to work alongside Joanne at such renowned locations such as the Ritz Carlton, the Hilton, and the Chateau-Champlain, all in Montréal. Hans also worked for other hotels as well, gaining experience in all types of pastry artistry. Locally, Joanne and Hans have offered their expertise at The Walper Terrace Hotel and the Waterloo Inn.
Together, this husband-wife team co-owned a cake supply store for ten years in the Kitchener area, had their own bakery in Prescott for seven and a half years, and after all of their different pastry-oriented endeavours, decided to focus entirely on wedding and special occasion cakes. "That is where our hearts really were. It's what we loved the most..." says Joanne, "And we're really good at it!" With everything combined, Joanne and Hans have been catering to local brides and grooms for over twenty years.
Kathleen and Jason Radbourne, married September 22 2007, agree that Joanne and Hans are very talented at what they do. "The cakes taste amazing and they made us a cake that was so unique. Joanne listened to what we wanted and made it... She also wrote a poem on the cake for us that made it even more personal. She went above the call of duty."
If it's not fun, it's just a job At JoRa, designing wedding cakes may be their job, but they don't look at it as such. "For me it's not work, it's fun to do," says Joanne. She explained by saying, "Our cakes are our creations. We like to create, so for us, the more challenging the design or request may be, the more fun it is."
Between the two of them, the design is drafted. Then Hans is the one to prepare baking creams, ingredients, and the heart of the wedding cakes - 'the construction', as he refers to it. Joanne does the decorating and intricate designs. Just one look at the cakes here lets you envision just how talented this design team truly is.
Alana and Dan Halapija use just one word to describe their experience working with Joanne for their June 2008 wedding – "wonderful." They add that the cake options at JoRa were beautiful but that in the end Joanne and Hans gave them free reign to develop a cake that was best suited to their style. "They make a cake unforgettable," Alana told us. And if the design weren’t enough reason to make Alana and Dan recommend JoRa to everyone they know, they also told us that they found the best customer service and the best tasting cakes at JoRa.
These two professionals will be the first to agree that being organized and ready to work is imperative in a business as detail-oriented as cake design - which, luckily for their clients, are attributes they both have.
Easy going and friendly are also attributes that Vicki Zandbergen used to describe Joanne and Hans – two people who she says have "amazing talent to produce fantastic cakes!" She adds that Joanne was a lot of fun to work with while she helped Vicki create her three-tiered wedding cake for her June 2008 wedding.
Succeeding in the craft of wedding cakes is not easy. Joanne admits to seeing countless style trends come and go, taking many struggling young cake companies with them. That's why a JoRa wedding cake is both versatile and extravagant.
"Their style ranged from custom to ornate," say Alana and Dan. "Their ability to communicate with us allowed them to showcase both their versatility and our style."
With Joanne and Hans you have the option of ten cake flavours, many filling flavours, two fillings between each layer of cake, colour matching to that of your wedding, bridesmaid gowns, favours or centrepieces, the option of chocolate fondant, and then the unlimited design possibilities. If you'd like to have fresh florals worked into the design or display of your wedding cake, Joanne is happy to order them and work one-on-one with your florist to arrange everything to your expectations. They can also bring in monograms and other accessories as needed.
Vicki told us that Joanne had a wide variety of sizes and shapes of cakes that ranged from elaborate to simple and colourful to monochromatic. But one thing is certain to Vicki, and that’s that "All of the cakes looked amazing."
Staff at The Ring asked Cheryl Williams, who married Phil Harland on May 19 2007, about her cake. "The theme for our wedding was 'chocolate', so we did a three-tier chocolate cake (with white icing) for 100 people with Indian henna-style designs in chocolate, and chocolate truffle embellishments... My only regret is that we didn't order a larger cake as the guests loved it so much they ended up eating the whole thing and we couldn't save any for our first anniversary!"
From contemporary, eye-catching, brightly coloured wedding cakes to elegant, traditional wedding designs incorporating flowers and soft lines, JoRa has probably done it all. In fact, Joanne says that anything you dream up is a welcome idea, "Almost nothing is impossible!"
Emma Shilling describes JoRa’s style as more modern, but that Joanne is very accommodating with whatever the bride and groom have in mind. Such was the case when Joanne helped bring Emma’s three-tiered wedding cake vision to life for her August 2008 wedding. She added, "Joanne was very nice and pleasant to work with and I liked that she gave us samples of the cake on the first meeting."
While Joanne and Hans keep up-to-date on what's new in colours and styles, they mostly attribute their true inspiration to their own visions and those of their clients. The goal, unless otherwise requested, is to always create something special, something that is one-of-a-kind. This is what gets their hearts beating just a bit faster.
Meeting the expert herself One of Joanne's favourite parts of her job (and one of her specialties) is meeting with couples to plan their wedding cakes. By appointment, these consultations take forty minutes to an hour, and are used to find out what the bride and groom's ideas and visions are so that a solid design plan can be created for their wedding cake.
Emma told us that Joanne was easy to contact and get an appointment with, especially considering she was organizing her wedding from Ottawa and needed a meeting on either a Friday night or Saturday. "Joanne was willing to do that while some other businesses were not," says Emma.
Consultations take place in a comfortable office in Joanne and Hans' home. Sample cakes are on display to view, with easily hundreds more designs packed into dozens of photo albums. Joanne also keeps a variety of trade and wedding magazines for additional ideas.
Joanne will show you what a 'piece' of cake actually looks like after it's cut. "We talk about the cake, the number of people, the theme, whether to use fresh flowers or gum paste flowers...," says Joanne about the relaxed time she shares with brides.
"Everything is dependant upon what the bride and groom want," agree Joanne and Hans. Using tons of books, catalogues and magazines, a design is either put together or chosen exactly from the materials.
"If a bride chooses a cake out of a magazine, we can make a version of that magazine cake, but that fits within her budget," she says. She adds that note because the cakes you see in magazines start anywhere from $750 and can go up to $2500 to create. JoRa is happy to help local couples get what they want without having to pay the hefty price tag that usually accompanies a celebrity-style magazine cake design. Cheryl told us, "The price was excellent and this was one of the main deciding factors for me. In fact, the price was so reasonable that I started to wonder if the quality was going to be what I had hoped for. But all of my fears were for nothing as the cake was beautiful... and it tasted absolutely wonderful."
Stress-free service & set-up JoRa Wedding Cakes services the K-W, Cambridge and Guelph areas, personally delivering and setting up their cakes in their clients' reception spaces. This saves you the stress of attempting to transport your beautiful treat without harming or dropping it.
When Joanne and Hans arrive at your reception location, they will set up your display, spread out your flower petals (if you have them), and generally make sure that this element is completely taken care of before they leave. Joanne admits that there is a bit of a personal motive behind their delivery, "We love looking at the final pieces and how they fit into the room when everything is finished."
Seeing her cake ready and waiting at the reception hall is one of Emma's favourite memories in connection with JoRa’s. She adds that it was nice to have the cake delivered at a very reasonable price.
JoRa's wedding cakes often look and taste as if they walked out of a wedding magazine. The same caliber of cake that you expect to get from JoRa - rich ingredients, filled twice, buttercream icing, base finished with fondant, detailed design work, tons of consultation time, and more - would easily cost upwards of $10 per slice at a popular shop in a larger Canadian or U.S. city. But luckily for local couples, big prices have never been in JoRa's big plans. JoRa’s prices were within Emma’s budget and she says that the cake was definitely worth it. "It was beautiful and very tasty."
Vicki agrees and says that "once we received the cake and tasted it we certainly knew that the value of the cake and JoRa's services definitely exceeded the price."
Be surprised by how little a cake from JoRa Wedding Cakes costs. Their delicious creations start at $3 a slice. But as Alana told us, Joanne and Hans are flexible when working with your set budget. "Joanne was able to work with us so that we still got the style and amount of cake we needed in the flavours we wanted and still came in on budget."
Joanne and Hans are happy with their business. They love working with each other and with wedding cakes, and they take no event for granted. In a fad-friendly industry where trends (and tastes) are always changing, JoRa Wedding Cakes' plans remain the same... To stay on top of their craft and keep the bar set high for everything they do, which The Ring and local brides alike believe is shown in their delicious and creative cakes.
detailsdetailsdetails • You should book your cake with JoRa approximately 4 to 6 months ahead of time, if possible. Of course, they welcome all inquiries - if they're available Joanne and Hans are happy to fit you into their wedding cake schedule. • A small $150 deposit is required to book. • Your full payment is due 3 weeks before the wedding. • Joanne can work out a payment schedule for you with the final payment due 2 weeks before your wedding date.
Reaching JoRa Wedding Cakes... To book an appointment to meet with Joanne to discuss the possibilities for your dream wedding cake, give JoRa Wedding Cakes a call at 519-741-9854, or reach them by email at Joanne@JoRaWeddingCakes.com. JoRa Wedding Cakes is now also available online at www.JoRaWeddingCakes.com! Their consultation and showroom is located at 4 Cedar Crest Street in Kitchener (click here for a map). They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca * Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of JoRa Wedding Cakes. |
"We're not just cake
decorators," explained Joanne. Being a pastry chef is the equivalent of being a
skilled tradesperson. It's who you are as much as what you do. Joanne and Hans
have both received a variety of awards for their work such as being associated
with Société Des Amis D'escoffier, and a trophy from Grand Salon Culinaire, a
prize for Honour and Excellence. 
Wedding style: Up close & personal
Each bride and groom
can taste up to five flavours when they come in, which helps them through the
endless options available to them.
Pricing:
A piece of cake