We used to be referred to as bakers and then we became known as cake decorators and now we are known as cake designers. I teach at the French Culinary Institute in New York and cake design is a legitimate profession.

Ben-Israel is pointing to a shift in how the craft of making celebration cakes has been culturally and professionally reclassified. The movement from “baker” to “cake decorator” to “cake designer” signals increasing specialization, artistry, and conceptual authorship—closer to design fields than to routine food production. By invoking his role teaching at the French Culinary Institute in New York, he appeals to institutional validation: elite culinary education treats cake design as a discipline with standards, techniques, and a career path. The quote also implicitly argues for respect and fair valuation of the labor, creativity, and expertise involved in high-end cake work.