Chef Vanessa Greeley is a graduate of French Culinary Institute in New York. Her accolades include winning top places at some of the most prestigious cake competitions in the country. Her work has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers as well as on CBS News, NY1, Fox News, CNN, Reuters, and CNBC to name a few.

Vanessa made her TV debut competing in a live challenge for Wedding Cake Wars on WEtv. She has been a guest chef on Telemundo’s “Cooking with Susso” and on Univision’s “Housewives of Connecticut”. She has also designed and created a chocolate dress for the Chocolate Fashion Show in NY since 2008 alongside Tony award winning costume designers.

Vanessa loves competing on TV. She competed on the “Chocolate Myths” episode of Food Network’s Challenge, and on the “When Toys Come to Life” episode of Food Network’s Sugar Dome. Most recently you may have seen her on Cake Wars Christmas Special and Food Network's Gingerbread Giants Season 2. When not competing, Vanessa enjoys teaching at her studio in beautiful Warwick NY. She also serves as a judge at several cake competitions through out the country and at the International Culinary Center in New York.

Award-winning international Fashion Designer and recognized as Remodista’s 2019 Women2Watch in business disruption honoree, Ia Faraoni is the Founder and Designer of Ia’s Threads - a sustainable fashion brand best known for their award-winning luxury bags & Minaudière, ethically sourced in collaborations with small communities across the Philippines. She is passionate about Sustainable Fashion and is the prolific force behind the brand’s innovative zero-waste fashion clothing - creating designer dresses using a design method that is informed by the use of reclaimed and recycled textiles, trimmings, materials and eco-friendly fabrics.

With designing and marketing as her core skills, Ia is a successful designer-entrepreneur and has executed business strategies that landed global brand awareness for Ia’s Threads. Her sustainable fashion designs were featured in sold out shows during New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. As evident through her vibrant color choice and unique shapes, an Ia Faraoni piece will infuse anyone’s wardrobe with a striking style to make a statement. This impactful woman believes that wearing values always leads to making a difference and she relates her style to confidence, inner beauty, and vibrancy.

DEDE AYITE is a Costume Designer based in New York City. She recently designed American Son, Children of a Lesser God on Broadway. Her recent Off-Broadway credits include The Rolling Stone (LCT); The Secret Life of Bees (Atlan-tic); By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Signature); BLKS, School Girls… (MCC) and Slave Play (NYTW). Regionally she has worked at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Steppenwolf; American Repertory Theater, Denver Center; California Shake-speare; La Jolla Playhouse; Berkeley Repertory; Baltimore Center Stage; Arena Stage; Cleveland Playhouse; McCarter Theatre and Hartford Stage. She is a recipient of a Lucille Lortel, Helen Hayes, Theatre Bay Area, and Jeff Awards, including Four Drama Desk Nominations. She is thrilled to be participating in Salon du Chocolat NY. What an honor to combine her love for chocolate and design.

For over 13 years House of Knipschildt has been renowned for creating exquisite quality artisan chocolate.

Fritz Knipschildt started out on his journey to present the world with the most exquisite chocolates in his small apartment kitchen back in 1999 in Connecticut, US. As a young adventurous chef and immigrant from Denmark, his passion and dedication to constantly setting the bar for what is possible and durable in the world of fine chocolates and confectionary, has always been - and is more than ever today - a corner stone of House of Knipschildt. Fritz Knipschildt’s early passion and innovative ideas to creatively infuse elements from the savory kitchen into the world of chocolate and confection have been highly awarded at numerous national and international food competitions through the last decade and is frequently showcased on national TV stations like The Food Network and CNBC as well as in major publications like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Oprah Magazine.

Pursuing the American dream founded on traditional European chocolate craftsmanship, the philosophy behind House of Knipschildt rests on this desire to constantly improve the confectionary experience to provide customers with the highest value imaginable.

This is achieved by letting imagination and creativity run free to create out of the ordinary quality products, showing love, care and respect for the individual ingredients, processes and people in everything step of the way.

The brands of House of Knipschildt, Knipschildt Chocolatier and Chocopologie are both built on this philosophy, which has been an essential driver for their continued success and ability to constantly surprise and satisfy customers around the world.

Knipschildt Chocolatier is the oldest brand of House of Knipschildt and delivers preeminent quality handmade, hand-painted and hand packed artisan chocolate. For Knipschildt Chocolatier, Fritz Knipschildt combines exquisite old European craftsmanship, intriguing avant-garde flavor combinations and state-of the art handpicked natural ingredients to create artistic customized chocolate pieces.

Each new chocolate collection presents a unique and inspiring interpretation of chocolate perfection currently made only available at the Knipschildt Chocolatier web boutique and exclusively selected retailers such as Dean & Deluca.

DAVID C. WOOLARD (Costume Designer) received Tony Award nominations for The Rocky Horror Show and The Who’s Tommy. He has designed over 20 shows on Broadway and over 200 shows around the world. Including West Side Story, Damn Yankees, the operas It’s a Wonderful Life, Cold Mountain, Everest and L’Italiana in Algeri . In addition to his Tony nominations, Mr. Woolard has won a Drama Desk Award, the Henry Hewes Design Awards and was nominated for an Olivier Award. For additional credits please visit http://davidcwoolard.com.

My name is Moran and I am a New York based chocolate artist. I was born in Be’er Sheva Israel and moved to New York City eleven years ago. Drizzle was established six years ago in 2013. Drizzle is a fantasy world of chocolate fashion.

My art is inspired by different cultures and eras. The Victorian-Steampunk sub-culture has a large impact on my designs; the richness of fabrics, textures, and accessories fascinate me to take the style and turn it into chocolate.

My brand, Chocolate Fashionistas was born out of love for self expression through creativity. My edible chocolate fashion includes marvelous collections of dolls, human sized chocolate busts, high heel shoes, masks and jewelry. The designs that guide me in my work are inspired by my personal style. It is greatly influenced by the depth and layers of New York City.

A great love for me are conducting fun and playful chocolate workshops where both adults and children can bring their creativity to life.

As an artist I am both unconventional and irregular. My commitment is to bring a different connection with chocolate to people.

Libat Ohayon (aka Libi) is a multi-disciplinary artist; a painter, illustrator, costume and prop designer, mixed media and installation artist, and in her most recent incarnation, tattoo artist. Her art has been displayed across New York City’s galleries, the Chelsea Museum and the United Nations. Ohayon’s works are a visual allegory, hopeful in nature, with mystical and spiritual allusions. They represent a melding of the Israeli and Moroccan influences from which she descends, while paying homage to New York, the city she has called home for the past 18 years.

Since 2012, Libat has been an artist-in-residence at The Hive, a New York art collective featuring collaborations between musicians, as well as theater, fashion, dance, and fine artists. Her primary role at The Hive comprised the design and crafting of costumes and props for all shows and theater productions. Libi and her Hive friends eventually produced a series of fashion shows entitled “Rags Etc.”, which showcased her costumes and provided a free stage for other up-and-coming costume designers to present their creations accompanied by an extravaganza of original theater, live music, dance and circus acts.

Today, Ohayon is a tattoo artist at the Brooklyn based Gallery Five Four, and sells her original miniature metallic paintings through her company “Pocket Art Design” in Williamsburg.

Ashley Holt is a Pastry Chef, Cake Artist, Culinary Producer and Business Owner residing in Brooklyn, New York. She’s a self-taught professional and firmly believes we are capable of teaching ourselves anything we are passionate enough about. Ashley initially made a name for herself working as a model appearing in magazines worldwide (Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Seventeen, to name a few) then decided to follow her true passion and completely immerse herself in the dessert world. Since her career change, Ashley has made an impact on the industry by winning TLC’s The Next Great Baker, Food Network’s Chopped, The New York Cake Show (2016 shoe category/2017 Best In Show) and placing second on Food Network’s Dessert Games and FYI’s Cake Fest. Ashley has also been featured in multiple publications and appeared on various TV outlets (Food Network, Nickelodeon, The New York Times, Netflix, Rachael Ray, FYI, Delish, Cake Masters, Inked, Redbook, Ruffled Blog) as well as a two season run on TLC’s Cake Boss. Her work as a Culinary Producer and Food Stylist, both on and off camera, has been featured on various networks and created partnerships with countless brands (Nickelodeon, Netflix, Genius Kitchen, Martha Stewart Living, MTV, Amazon, Food Network, TLC, FYI, LG/Android, Sparkling Ice, American Giant). Ashley spends her free time traveling, volunteering and laying bricks for her next move. You can view or taste Ashley’s creations by visiting her IG (@sugar_monsterr) or her cake studio, Sugar Monster located in Brooklyn, NY.

As Pastry Chef at Lincoln Ristorante, Richard Capizzi crafts refined renditions of Italy’s classics: light, lush and beautifully constructed. Using the freshest seasonal ingredients, he makes elegant desserts such as tartufo alla nocciola with salted caramel and chocolate meringue, brioche con gelato with almonds and fresh berries, torta paradiso with chamomile poached apricots and almond milk gelato. A gifted baker as well as confectioner, chocolatier and maker of gelato and sorbetto, Capizzi is at the helm of the bread service, comprised of focaccia, flatbreads, carta di musica and grissini in addition to bar snacks.

Capizzi derived his cooking philosophy and enhanced his skills from the time he spent in and out of the kitchen with some of the world’s most renowned chefs, from Thomas Keller to Jean Louis Palladin and Pascal Brunstein.

Growing up, baking pastries with his Sicilian and Neapolitan family led him to take a job at a local bakery. His ever-growing passion prompted him to attend The Culinary Institute Of America in Hyde Park, NY. While studying, he conducted a stage at Le Cirque in New York City with Pastry Chef Jacques Torres and later became a Pastry Cook Extern and then Pastry Assistant at Chef Jean Louis Palladin’s Napa Restaurant at The Rio Hotel, Las Vegas. After graduation Richard remained in Hyde Park for a continuing education program on Artisan Breads and Viennoiserie.

Capizzi later relocated to France and began an apprenticeship at The Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo. The following year, he worked at The Royaume du Chocolat in Lyon, honing his skills in chocolate work, gelatos and sorbets.

Richard returned to the U.S. in 2001 and worked at The Russian Tea Room as a Pastry Assistant under Pastry Chef Andrew Shotts. A year later he moved to Mondrian Pastry as Sous Chef under Michelle William, and then The Chocolate Loft/Garrison Confections as Assistant Chocolatier.

He was the Pastry Sous Chef for the opening of Per Se, working closely with Pastry Chef Sebastien Rouxel, before being promoted to Pastry Chef for both Per Se and Bouchon Bakery two years later. He worked closely with the Head Baker on a specialty breads and pastries program and developed his working relationship with Chef Jonathan Benno.

Capizzi won the title of Pastry Chef of the Year, as well as gold medals for “Most Artistic Plated Dessert,” The Vatel Club’s “Technical Prize” and the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique’s Award for Exceptional Taste at the 14th Annual US Pastry Competition in New York in 2003. He was the youngest and the first pastry chef ever to sweep the entire competition. While at Per Se Dessert Professional honored Richard as one of the top 10 best pastry chefs in 2009.

Richard Capizzi lives in Merrick, NY, with his wife Phyllis and their two children.

Corina Chase designs costumes for theatre, opera, dance, and film. She currently resides in NYC, where she recently earned an MFA from NYU Tisch. Recent credits include Bound (dir. Ashley Tata) for Fresh Squeezed Opera, Three Days in the Country (dir. Tazewell Thompson) for NYU Tisch Graduate Acting, The Visitation (dir. Drew Gregory), an immersive performance staged in the Wyckoff Museum, and Providence, RI (dir. Skylar Fox) for Nightdrive, an innovative theatre company where she is the resident costume designer. She received a Weston Fine Arts Award from Brown University in 2013. Her costumes were featured in a production of Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights (dir. Abby Colella), which won a 2013 NY Innovative Theatre Award for an Outstanding Performance Art Piece, and her designs for Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (dir. Connie Crawford) were nominated for Best Costume Design for a University Production in the 2016 Motif Theater Awards.

Christine Alaniz has over a decade of experience in the fine jewelry industry, and has designed thousands of custom engagement rings.

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For every piece of custom jewelry, she works with her clients one-on-one by sketching, sourcing diamonds and gemstones, and creating the perfect unique design. From the initial discussion to casting, polishing, and stone setting, every piece is handmade on historic Jeweler's Row in Philadelphia.

Lisa Mansour is an award-winner, third generation expert in cake decoration and the co-founder and co-owner of NY Cake, the premier destination for baking and decorating supplies in New York City. Mansour is also the head of NY Cake Academy, a hands-on cake decorating and baking school where she teaches classes on fondant, specialty cakes and seasonal topics for baking and cake decorating enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. In addition, Mansour has created industry-leading events that celebrate the art of cake decorating, including The New Cake Show and the NY Cake Annual Gingerbread and Cookie Competition.

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In Lisa Mansour's 30 years in the industry, she has been recognized as one of the top professional cake designers in the world, having received wide critical acclaim from national and international media and winning awards and recognition from global competitions and organizations. At NY Cake, Lisa frequently received cake requests for celebrity events as well as Food Network and production companies for cakes and decorated desserts to be used for TV and movies.

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NY Cake is a women-owned, family-owned business, run by Lisa Mansour along with her mother, Joan Mansour, and her sister, Jenny Kashanian.

A natural-born artist, Marilyn thrives on combining her well-honed sculpture and painting skills with her talent and passion for baking and edible creations producing art forms that others can enjoy as much as she can.

Her dedication to relentless study and creative exploration has been the cornerstone of Marilyn’s success. Building on various innovative sugar art and cake design techniques learned from nationally-renowned cake masters, she thrives on finding unique creative approaches to her edible projects. In fact, she feels that the more challenging the project, the more enjoyable it is to create. Her constant experimentation with different products and processes eventually led to her discovery of a unique edible fabric-like compound called Flexique® which has been receiving international acclaim for its unique variety of uses.

She has been featured in national cake decorating publications, has earned top honors in professional sculpted cake and other edible art competitions, and her work has been featured internationally by ICES.

As the Owner and Creative Director of Unique Cakes, LLC, she specializes in non-traditional wedding cakes, three dimensional sculpted cakes and blown & pulled sugar amenities. For a full gallery of her work visit www.UniqueCakes.biz.

As a co-owner of Unique Flexique, LLC, Marilyn has pioneered new techniques in cake decorating, and is the leading authority on all applications of the Flexique® line of products. She continues her exploration and development of unique edible accents, and shares product combinations and innovative uses with the community. Visit www.flexique.com to see all currently available products, accessories and tutorials.

Joe spent 26 years in the US Army then 18 years as a Certified Program Manager. He has a BS in Mathematics, a Master’s in Computer Science and Business Administration. He has been actively involved in his wife’s cake business and understands the cake community. Joe has experience building complex structures for three dimensional creations and has presented an informational session briefing on some of these structure fundamentals. He is currently the co-owner of Unique Flexique which produces the Revolutionary Flexique product line.