Amirah Kassem (born January 8, 1987) is an American-born baker, author, designer and media personality. She is best known as the owner and founder of FLOUR SHOP and a judge on the Disney+ food-art series Foodtastic.[1] Her kitchen, table, home and clothing products are sold worldwide.

Amirah specializes in sculpting custom cakes without the use of fondant[2] and is also known for her "Explosion Cake." Her Cara the Unicorn Explosion Cake was featured as Instagram's most memorable trend of 2017.[3] She is also the best-selling author of The Power of Sprinkles: A Cake Book and children's titles The Magical Land of Birthdays series and board-book Bake a Rainbow Cake!

Early life and education

Amirah grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico where she learned to bake from her mother and grandmother. She moved back to her birthplace of El Paso, Texas at the age of 9 with her parents.[4] Later on, she attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in LA.[5]

Career

Flour Shop

In 2012 Amirah Kassem left the fashion industry to set up a high-concept bakery, Flour Shop. This is known for unusually-shaped cakes in the shapes of cheeseburgers, pizzas, buckets of popcorn and the well-known 'Explosion Cake'. The company specializes in creating baked goods without the use of fondant icing.

Flour Shop opened their Flagship Store in SoHo New York in November 2017 and in Beverly Hills, California in August 2020. Her clients have included Kim Kardashian,[6] Katy Perry and Beyonce, as well as brands likes Vans,[7] Louis Vuitton,[8] and Alice + Olivia.

Amirah has headlined food festivals like BottleRock,[9] Food and Wine Festival,[10] New York City Wine and Food Festival[11] and Catskills Festival.[12]

Television

Amirah will be starring as a judge in the upcoming Disney+ food-art series Foodtastic. The show is set to air later in 2021 and is hosted by Keke Palmer.[1] She has also frequently been featured as a guest judge on many food shows including: Sugar Rush,[13] Cupcake Championship,[14] Nailed It! Mexico,[15] Beat Bobby Flay,[16] Cake My Day[17] and Top Elf.[18]

Books

Amirah has released a cookbook, two children's fiction books, a board book and a calendar. Her cake book, The Power of Sprinkles, reached #1 on Amazon in Celebrity & TV Show Cookbooks and Cake Baking Books and peaked at #57 in Books on the Amazon Best Sellers Rank.

Her middle grade series, The Magical Land of Birthdays, follows a ten-year-old Amirah as she receives a magical cookbook. Amirah is transported to the Magical Land of Birthdays, where she meets three of her birthday buddies from different corners of the world—kids who share her exact birthday and are also about to turn 11. Amirah also coined the term "b-buds" (short for birthday buddies) for this series, which refers to anyone that shares the same birthday.[19]

Press

Amirah and her products have been featured on the cover of Bon Appétit,[20] Refinery29, Food & Wine, and other publications. She has also made many guest appearances on television, including TODAY,[21] The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers.[22] The Rachael Ray Show,[23] The Drew Barrymore Show[24] and Home & Family.[25]

Art

Amirah Kassem works frequently on collaborations with photographer Henry Hargreaves. Their work includes “Burning Calories” photo series, which is in a gallery in Venice, Italy as of November 2013. Kassem and Hargreaves also collaborated on a photo series in celebration of the Wu Tang Clan's 20th anniversary for the Wu Tang Brand.[26]

Amirah's work has also been featured in the Whitney Museum and Brooklyn Museum. In 2015, When the Brooklyn Museum celebrated Takashi Murakami, Amirah used 10,000 gumballs to create her own art installation, reinterpreting the Murakami flower.[27]

Design

In 2019, Amirah designed and launched a world-wide kitchen, table and food collection with Williams-Sonoma. Her line of FLOUR SHOP kitchen and table wares was called "playful and chic" as well as a "refined rainbow" by Elle Decor.[28]

In late 2019, Amirah also designed and launched a home collection with Pottery Barn brands, mostly focusing on Pottery Barn Kids.[29] The FLOUR SHOP collection was sold world-wide and included decor, bedding and tabletop items.[30]

In 2020, Amirah designed and launched a Vans limited edition fashion line in both footwear and clothing.[31] The FLOUR SHOP collection spans kids, women and men departments in footwear, clothing and accessories.

Fashion

Amirah Kassem began her career in fashion while attending FIDM. She started out working for 7 For All Mankind and Fred Segal. Eventually Kassem moved her way into high fashion through experiences at Interview Magazine and Karl Templer. She then moved to NYC, where she worked alongside Johan Lindeberg in the launch of BLKDNM.[32]

Personal life

Kassem currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and business partner, Ross "The Boss" Harrow. They have a baby girl named Coco.

References

  1. 1 2 Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (2021-01-27). "Keke Palmer to Host and Executive Produce 'Foodtastic,' a Build Competition Series on Disney Plus". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  2. ↑ Bell, Gabriel (19 August 2013). "Meet The Fashion Set's Cake Boss". Refinery29. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  3. ↑ "Instagram on Instagram: "Photo of @flourshop by @elizabethrenstrom "People eat with their eyes, so who wouldn't want to eat a rainbow? Or a unicorn?" asks Amirah…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  4. ↑ Gabriel Bell (August 20, 2013). "Month Of Visionaries: Meet The Fashion Set's Cake Boss". Refinery 29.
  5. ↑ "Amirah Kassem". LinkedIn.
  6. ↑ "You Need to See the Kardashian Kids' Epic Rainbow Birthday Cake (With a Surprise Inside!)". Bravo TV Official Site. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  7. ↑ Minton, Melissa. "Vans Is Completely Redesigning the Iconic White Slip-ons and I Can't Handle It". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  8. ↑ "The 2014 Whitney Studio Party Presented by Louis Vuitton". Vogue. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  9. ↑ "Amirah Kassem". BottleRock Napa Valley. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  10. ↑ Morganstern, Adam. "Culinary Stars Take Over A Private Venice Island For A Food And Wine Extravaganza". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  11. ↑ "Kassem, Amirah | Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One | October 11 – 14, 2018". Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One | October 11 – 14, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  12. ↑ "Profile". catskillsfestival.com. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  13. ↑ O Christmas Tree (Reality-TV), Amirah Kassem, Hunter March, Candace Nelson, Adriano Zumbo, 2019-11-29, retrieved 2021-04-19{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ↑ Christmas in July (Reality-TV), Claire Andal Bueno, Nicholas Gomez, Amirah Kassem, Latricia Mckenzie-Haylard, 2019-07-08, retrieved 2021-04-19{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ↑ Rodriguez, Jose; Bermejo, Jose Manuel Rodriguez (2019-02-08), Sweet Explosion (Game-Show, Reality-TV), Omar Chaparro, Amirah Kassem, Anna Ruiz, retrieved 2021-04-19
  16. ↑ Baked to Perfection (Reality-TV), Amirah Kassem, 2018-11-01, retrieved 2021-04-19{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ↑ "NICKELODEON JOINS RACHAEL RAY AND EXPERT BAKER AMIRAH KASSEM TO SPRINKLE BIRTHDAY-CAKE JOY, IN CAKE MY DAY, AIRING FRIDAY, JULY 17, AT 7:30 P.M. (ET/PT) | Nick Press". NickPress. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  18. ↑ Pearlman, Michael (2019-12-20), Gingerbread House Party (Family, Game-Show), Ashley August, Cameron Fulton, Nataliz Jimenez, Amirah Kassem, retrieved 2021-04-19
  19. ↑ Noble, Barnes &. "The Magical Land of Birthdays|Hardcover". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  20. ↑ Appétit, Bon. "The Holiday Issue 2020". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  21. ↑ "Make Amirah Kassem's colorful unicorn cake". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  22. ↑ "Flour Shop's Amirah Kassem Made a Rainbow Explosion Cake with Seth Meyers". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  23. ↑ "The "Rainbow Explosion" Cake Is the Birthday Cake You've Never Had, But Absolutely the One You Deserve". Rachael Ray Show. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  24. ↑ "Flour Shop's Amirah Kassem Teaches Drew How to Make Unicorn Rainbow Cake". www.thedrewbarrymoreshow.com. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  25. ↑ "Amirah Kassem's Popcorn Cake - Home & Family". Hallmark Channel. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  26. ↑ Carey Dunne (November 14, 2013). "Wu-Tang Clan's 20th Birthday Cakes Ain't Nuthing To F' With". Co.DESIGN.
  27. ↑ Symonds, Alexandria. "Flour Shop's Installation for the Brooklyn Artists Ball Is a Gumball Homage to Murakami". Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  28. ↑ Engelman, Nicole (2019-04-25). "These Insane Rainbow Explosion Cakes Make Every Day Your Birthday". ELLE Decor. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  29. ↑ "POTTERY BARN BRANDS PARTNER WITH FLOUR SHOP'S AMIRAH KASSEM". ir.williams-sonomainc.com. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  30. ↑ "Flour Shop and Pottery Barn Just Launched a Rainbow-Filled Home Collection". Observer. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  31. ↑ VANS, Kathleen Harper paid for by (2020-10-05). "This Viral Cake Creator's Colorful Fashion Line Is the Feel-Good Collab We All Need Right Now". POPSUGAR Fashion. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  32. ↑ Delphine Barguirdjian (July 2, 2013). "Flour Girl". Scene. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013.


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