Ron Ben-Israel

Over the years, quite a few TV producers proposed that I do a program, but I refused. I didn't want to work on a set that looked like a theater; I wanted a kitchen of the sort every chef dreams about.

Martha Stewart convinced me to have a business. She sometimes takes a very personal interest, and she kept saying, 'You have to open your own business,' and gave me chances. She took my cakes on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.' I met a lot of people through her.

I find that my Israeli background actually helps me to break some boundaries because we don't have such long traditions. We took traditions from Europe, from the Middle East, and we were encouraged to explore and adapt things.

People do need to stay healthy and eat right to keep the body fit and functioning. But, our sweet tooth is a part of this wonderful machine, so we have to honor it and spoil it from time to time... to time.

The most successful person is the one who is most inspired. That is true in food and in life.

Pastry is different from cooking because you have to consider the chemistry, beauty and flavor. It's not just sugar and eggs thrown together. I tell my pastry chefs to be in tune for all of this. You have to be challenged by using secret or unusual ingredients.

I'm very much Israeli and American; I never was tempted to change my name. Some people suggested I should have a different name, and I said absolutely not. That's the name I inherited, and it's meaningful: Israel is on every cake that I present.

I was drawn to bakery and pastry. It's the same discipline you employ in dance - you take the instruction, and you keep on practicing, seeking perfection. You never achieve it, but you strive.

In a bar mitzvah, you do the candle-lighting ceremony with the cake. Every birthday, the cake is the big moment.

My parents were artists, so my salvation was to make pretty things - and ultimately delicious things at the same time.

Sometimes I have a tough time getting along with myself. When I was a child, I needed a lot of attention... and I don't have a small ego. For me, appearing on a stage or presenting a cake is the same thing. You need a crowd around you to do it.

The process of making a wedding cake is complex on its own, from designing, mis-en-place, baking, frosting, structuring, decorating, to delivering.