Beeliner Diner Hosts Massive ‘Tower Cake’ Demo
"Whenever I make cakes, people are always so interested in what it takes to do these cakes!” --Noelie Rickey
ALEXANDRIA, VA – On Friday evening, March 21, locally renowned restaurateur Markos Andreas Panas hosted a ‘tower cake’ building demonstration at the Beeliner Diner, one of his iconic eateries that makes up the fabric of the Alexandria food scene. The Beeliner Diner opened in 2022, during Covid, and occupies the space held for decades by Atlantis Restaurant in the Bradlee Shopping Center.
The massive six-layered Tower cakes can weigh 25+ lbs, and are one of Beeliner Diner’s signature desserts.
The special demo attracted a large swarm of spectators of all ages, buzzing with excitement to witness the behind-the-scenes building process of these intricate tower cakes.
Noelie Rickey, who is Panas’ incredible business partner and pastry chef extraordinaire, spearheaded the event and captivated the crowd with her outstanding cake-making demonstration. Using the freshest ingredients and applying her tried and true techniques, Rickey showcased the complex process of assembling a tower cake, making the layers, icing strategies, and presentation procedures that translated into hands-on and fun for the entire Beeliner Diner crowd.
“Really what tonight is about is sharing what’s fun about what we do,” Rickey said. “Whenever I make cakes, people are always so interested in what it takes to do these cakes!” she added, describing the inspiration behind this cake-making celebration.
“This is an opportunity to do it in a space where I can share this with a lot of people. There will be a lot of children here, and the kids are just fascinated because it looks like I’m playing with cake LEGOS … I really like to engage their minds about the possibilities that exist.”
“We put up the post about the tower cake demonstration, and we had 50 people sign up right away,” Markos said.
The kids and other attendees were able to follow along with Rickey’s demo with their own personalized mini cakes.
In addition to her impressive tower cake-making skills, Chef Noelie Rickey is trained in the French culinary arts, specializing in the French pâtisserie tradition. Rickey enthusiastically combines that influence with her innate talent and flair in everything she creates, including her gift of doctoring-up classic dishes to make them unique and interesting to eat.
“For me, it’s all about changing up the flavors and doing unexpected things with things we recognized. Someone even asked me to do a Filipino cake … I love to do things like that because it stretches me as a chef.” explained Rickey, describing her versatility and how it motivates her to take on unique challenges.
Friday night’s tower cake event showcased some of the formidable creativity and entreprenurial spirit emanating from the Panas-Rickey wheelhouse. “We have a lot of exciting developments in store for 2025, so please stay tuned and follow our mission,” Panas urged.
Beeliner Diner is located at 3648 King Street in the Bradlee Shopping Center. For more information visit beelinerdiner.com.
This report has been updated.
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