Distinguishing Highlights

“The Knot 2007 Best of Weddings Pick”

Marked for Dessert has received the highest ranking for wedding cakes in the upper Midwest by The Knot Brides!

Look for The Knot Best of Weddings magazine in local newsstands today!

Mark judges annual Gingerbread House Competition featured on the Travel Channel's "Most Extreme Christmas". Mark was one of the distinguished judges at the 2007 National Gingerbread House Competition held annually at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. Needless to say, the Gingerbread Houses themselves are the stars. The entries this year were nothing short of spectacular! Mark "Bakes up wedding cake wonders" while featured on ABC 7's "Hungry Hound" "The holiday season is a sweet time of year for many, as parties and events call for all kinds of desserts. But, it's also time for brides to figure out their wedding cake designs." Click here for story.
		2007 National Gingerbread House Competition Judges

Mark Seaman's cakes: Podcast
Listen to Mark's interview with Chef Tom Beckman of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.
You can find the Podcast here.

Mark Seaman, Cake Stylist & Sugar Artist of Marked for Dessert, wins 1st place at the 2007 National Wedding cake competition!

Hollywood-themed cake, homage to Lucille Ball, featuring over 500 handmade fondant feathers impresses panel of international judges

Marked for Dessert, Chicago’s most distinctive cake boutique, announced today that its owner and founder, Mark Seaman won a gold medal at the 2007 National Wedding Cake Competition at the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Festival in Tulsa,Okla., on September 29th.

The National Wedding Cake Competition is recognized worldwide as the premier wedding cake competition and event of the year and draws top competitors from around the globe. At the event, cake decorators show their exquisite wedding cake creations based on an annual theme and are judged by an international panel of top decorators and bridal magazine editors.

This year’s theme, Hollywood Glamour, inspired Seaman to create a six-tiered cake in homage to Lucille Ball. Covered in ivory fondant and over 500 handmade fondant feathers, the cake took Seaman over 200 hours to create. “The hours I spent on my cake were truly a labor of love,” said Seaman. “I measured out a half teaspoon of fondant and pressed it into a feather mold 500 times. The feathered pedestal alone took me 36 hours to create.”
Previously at the same event, Seaman won a silver and bronze medal in 2005 and 2003, respectively. In 2003, the Food Network followed him and his cake entry at the competition and featured him in a one-hour special on the competition.

Enchanted Forest Wedding
On HGTV's Design on a Dime
Phyllis and Howard can't wait to get married, and the Design on a Dime team is ready to help. An enchanted forest is the inspiration behind the dream wedding, which is to take place in the couple's downtown Chicago loft.

The artistry and sophistication of Marked for Dessert sugar creations have been featured in many noteworthy events.

• Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius
  Mark's latest creation was part of a "parade" of magnificent cakes decorated in the spirit of Leonardo and his Italian heritage at the Museum of Science and Industry in 2006.
  
  See photos and a description of Leonardo's Notes here.
  

  
  
  

• 2005 Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show
  Cake Stylist Mark Seaman designed Beaded Lace, an award-winning exhibition cake for the 2005 Oklahoma Sugar Art Show and Competition, the nation's largest sugar art show.

  See photos and a description of Beaded Lace here.

  Mark also won honors in the 2003 competition Butterfly Garden.

• Life is a Cabaret!
  Mark created this jazzy cake for the Chicago Cultural Center's tribute to one of its cabaret legends. Audrey Morris celebrated her 75th Birthday in November, and the center hosted a party in her honor. Audry and Mark are pictured here with Lois Weisberg, the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago.
  
  
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• FoodTV Television Broadcast
  Watch Mark prepare for an international wedding cake competition in this special one-hour broadcast of the 2003 Oklahoma Sugar Art Show.

  The Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show television premiere was first broadcast the night of June 19, 2004. It will be rebroadcast throughout the Summer.

  Entrants were interviewed about their designs and the techniques used. The work itself is clearly visible showing close-ups and full table skirting.

  The Food Network producer of the event made the following comment "the stunning sugar art is enhanced by the music and graphics of this show, it already looked good, and now looks beautiful. We can both be proud of that."

  Please check your local program schedules for exact repeat airtime.
  

• Mark Seaman was recognized as a bronze finalist in the 2003 Oklahoma Sugar Art Show. See pictures of Mark's entry in our centerpiece cake gallery.
  
• Marked for Dessert was commissioned to create a custom cake for the gala event "Night of 100 Stars" at the DuSable Museum of African American History.
  
• Marked for Dessert was the dessert caterer selected to serve Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa at his reception on racism and peace at St. Sabina Parish in Chicago.
  
• Marked for Dessert was awarded first place in the professional division of the first annual "Let Them Eat Cake" competition in Chicago in January 2003.
  
• Mark Seaman has been featured on NBC 5 News with Art Norman during broadcast specials on cakes and desserts for Mother's Day and Memorial Day.
• Mark's work has been a featured centerpiece at Chicago's annual Visions of Chocolate Gala.