There&#8217s no denying that Buffalo folks love their wings, beef on weck, beer and pizza.

But on a wedding cake?

If Tony Concialdi had more time, his unique cake would have even included celery sticks and

blue cheese.

&#8220These are things that Buffalo likes,&#8221 the chef from Panaro&#8217s on Delaware

Avenue said moments after he won a trophy in a live, head-to-head cake-decorating competition

Saturday.

Some people marveled at how real his sugar-based wings looked, appearing to be dripping

with hot sauce. The pizza and weck formed the cake&#8217s foundation, while an edible beer

bottle adorned the top.

&#8220It&#8217s awesome,&#8221 said one observer who had a front row seat for the contest

at Artisan Kitchens & Baths on Amherst Street.

About 200 people gawked as three pastry chefs and their assistants spent two hours

feverishly decorating cakes. The event was part of the popular Nickel City Chef series, a

cooking competition series to promote Western New York foods.

Cake decorating face-offs have become the rage on the Food Network and some other national

media outlets.

&#8220Cake artisans are true artists, there&#8217s no doubt about it. People enjoy watching

them in action,&#8221 said event organizer Christa Glennie Seychew. &#8220And come on, who

doesn&#8217t love cake?&#8221

If Christopher Newton had heard the question, he would have raised his hand. He might be

the only 9-year-old boy in West Seneca who hates cake. So what was he doing at a cake-

decorating contest? His mom, Kate Newton, was among a handful of cooks who entered the amateur

portion of the decorating contest.

Her creation didn&#8217t win, but that didn&#8217t matter. She and Christopher had fun

watching the pros play beat-the-clock. Christopher doesn&#8217t like eating cake, but he

enjoys decorating them. He helped to create his most recent birthday cake, which was designed

in army camouflage.

When people weren&#8217t watching chefs wielding pastry brushes and sprinkling edible

glitter, they were sampling food from local vendors. One creative concoction was offered by

Niagara Popcorn, a small company that uses popcorn to make special cakes, lollipops and even

covers for coffee cups.

There were also various food demonstrations offered by students from Niagara County

Community College Culinary Institute. Lewiston resident Aimee R. Loughran is enrolled in the

baking and pastry art program, and she said conceiving wedding cakes is one of the biggest

challenges.

&#8220It&#8217s very important to sit down with the bride and groom to see what their

personalities are like,&#8221 said Loughran.

A bride who hates beer and a groom who gags at the site of wings might not find

Concialdi&#8217s offbeat cake too appealing.

Concialdi and his kitchen assistant, Jennifer Szustakowski, had tough competition. The

other two contenders created cakes that drew compliments from the crowd. Zilly Rosen of

Zillycakes was favored by some observers to win the contest with an impressive creation that

showcased 12 local landmarks ranging from Shea&#8217s Performing Arts Center to Kleinhans

Music Hall. Every building was a venue where Rosen had previously delivered cakes.

Others marveled at a cake decorated by Susan Spider of Pumpernick n&#8217 Pastry Shop. It

featured four levels, each depicting a season in Buffalo. Spider used an airbrush to paint

whimsical scenes of the city&#8217s waterfront and other attractions.

Judges Maria Iacovitti and Kyle Haak are pastry chefs, while Sarah Walley is a food writer.

They graded the cakes using numerous criteria that ranged from flavor and technical skills, to

creativity and even cleanliness of the work areas.

The Nickel City Chef series is planning a second cake-decorating faceoff.

&#8220Our next competition will be around Halloween,&#8221 said Seychew. &#8220We&#8217ll

see if we can do something spooky.&#8221