Weekly Briefing – Bakery Shop Faces Up To Cake-Making Duty

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Weekly Briefing – Bakery Shop Faces Up To Cake-Making Duty

Seeing famous faces is not unusual at Regal Cake Gallery where an entire wall is adorned with autographed photographs of celebrity patrons. But the real attraction for customers is the faces, famous and otherwise, that co-owner Rosa Leung and her staff airbrush onto their custom-made cakes. She and her husband bought the then 44-year-old Canoga Park business in 1995 after she left her job of 10 years importing steel products and electric motors from Asian countries. Leung has since moved the business to Woodland Hills and opened a second store in the Fairfax District.

“When we bought (Regal) they were specializing in wedding cakes. We developed sculptured and portrait cakes. I have been painting as a hobby since I was young. I like art work and food. There aren’t too many people who can do art work on cakes. This is edible art.

“We specialize in wedding and birthday cakes, as well as cakes sculptured into the shape of anything, like a car or a building or pets. And we do portrait cakes, where we make a drawing of someone’s face using an air brush and food coloring. Two years ago, we did a portrait cake of Bill Clinton when he was here for the Democratic National Convention. Jay Leno ordered it for him. Other customers have been Madonna, George Clooney, Pamela Anderson, Burt Reynolds, Eddie Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg and (Playboy Playmate) Suzi Simpson. We also have exotic cakes that can be life-sized (bodies). If you want nude, we do nude.

“Our bakery is more than 4,000 square feet. At any time we have 16 to 20 employees, two or three who bake the cakes. Then eight or 10 do the decorations.

“The price depends on the design, size and flavors. You can get a quarter sheet cake 12 by 8 inches for $25. If you wanted to make a life-size cake in the shape of a bride, that could run you $10,000 or $20,000.

“As far as size, the biggest one we’ve made is a 12-foot-tall cake in the shape of a castle. This feeds around 500 people.”

David Greenberg

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