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Raven Patrick De'Sean Dennis, III, grandson of the late Mrs. Evelyn Nowlin Murrelle, son of the late Raven Dennis, Jr. and Mrs. Ruth Murrelle Dennis, currently resides in Linden, New Jersey.
A native of Harlem, New York, a young Raven "Cake Man" Dennis,
III, dreamed of going south to grandma's house and soon his dreams were
fulfilled. At the age of four, he wanted to do everything he could to
stay outside. Striving to be like grandma, Raven grew flowers and vegetables,
and made mud pies and mud cakes, while his grandmother baked and cooked
family dinners. At nine, he made his first cake and at 13, sold his
first creation: two coconut pies to his elementary school teacher Gloria
Bowman for $5.00, which currently sell for $16.00 in his Brooklyn Confectionery.
During his years in high school, his talents in pastry arts allowed
him to win cake shows and competitions all over South Carolina. Soon
his high school teacher introduced him to Marketing & Distributive
Education Clubs of Americas, where he competed in the area of entrepreneurship.
His business plan won the top state award in 1984 and 1985.
While holding the title of Mr. South Carolina, he then went on to the
national competition in Kansas City in 1984, and received honors in
the San Francisco finals in 1985. Raven returned with top honors and
a scholarship.
After graduation from Mt. Pleasant High School, he carried the name
"cake boy," later maturing to Cake "Man" Raven,
a name given to him by the local newspaper, The Lee County Messenger.
He continued his education at Johnson & Wales University and Brown
University in Providence, Rhode Island. Holding his South Carolina business
cards in pocket, which simply read "All Occasion Cakes," he
aspired to go to Cornell University for graduate school, but when his
grandmother died in December 1989, his plans were shattered. He returned
to Johnson & Wales in 1998 to pursue a Masters Degree in Education
while working as an Admissions Officer for Johnson & Wales and as
an undergraduate advisor of the Lambda XI chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi
Fraternity, Inc.
During this period throughout college, Raven worked at the New York
Hilton Hotel as a room service waiter and later became night captain.
During the dayshift, he worked at Georgeson's on Wall Street in a stock
brokerage firm. After finding that numbers were not his forte, he returned
to making wedding and special occasion cakes.
In addition to his travels in "Cakedom," there is yet an untold
story; he is also called "Ice Man." He has carved ice in the
historical World Trade Center's Windows on the World. He created ice
carvings for the Grammy Awards from 1986 to 1988. He also worked with
International Management Group as a corporate dining room manager. Amidst
the turmoil, Raven decided that he would bake full-time in his apartment
until he was able to rent a storefront or purchase a building.
In December of 1991, a reporter wrote an article on the Cake Man calling
him "Harlem Cake Man Raven." Within the same week, CBS Weekend
news called, and filmed a program on the cakes called "The Rage
in Harlem." Raven's experiences in the south created the training
that enabled him to travel the world with his cake creations. He has
created cakes in eighteen states and four countries worldwide.
The year 2000 brought tragedy to "Cake Man’s" life when
his father died. However, the darkness soon turned to light. Raven transitioned
into his life’s goal of owning a full-service bakery and confectionery,
obtaining a space at 708 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which has been the
official home of "Southern Red Velvet Cake," a thriving business
for the past four years. The signature cake, the Red Velvet, has been
sent to Japan for Thanksgiving; Manchester & London for Valentines
Day; and Hong Kong on tour with a local dance company. The Grammy Awards,
Espy Awards, Daytime Emmys, Apollo Hall of Fame and Rock-n-Roll Hall
of Fame, have all been the back drop for his creations.
Cake Man prays that God will continue to bless him in his business,
community and life endeavors.
During his travels in "Cakedom", there is yet an untold story,
"Ice Man"
He has carved ice in the historical World Trade Center's Windows on
the World . Carvings of ice has taken his name to the Grammy Awards
from 1986 to 1988, he stared working with International Management Group
as a corporate dining room manager. Amidst the turmoil, Raven decided
that he would bake full-time in his apartment until he was able to rent
a storefront or purchase a building.
In December of 1991, a reporter wrote an article on the Cake Man calling
him "Harlem Cake Man Raven." Within the same week, CBS Weekend
news called, and filmed a program on the cakes called "The Rage
in Harlem." Raven's experiences in the south created the training
that enabled him to travel the world with his cake creations. He has
created cakes in eighteen states and four countries worldwide.
The year 2000 brought tragedy to "Cake man," when his father
died. However, the darkness soon turned to light. Raven branched into
his life goal of owning a full-service bakery and confectionery, obtaining
a space at 708 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which has been the home of
the official home of "Southern Red Velvet Cake," a thriving
business for the past 18 months. The signature cake the Red Velvet has
been sent to Japan for Thanksgiving, Manchester & London for Valentines
Day, Hong Kong on tour with a local dance company. During travels in
Cakedom, Ice carving for the Grammies Awards 86-88, Espy Awards, Daytime
Emmys, from Apollo Halls of Fame to Rock-n-Roll Halls of Fame have been
the back drops his creations. International Management Groups allowed
him the privilege to create elaborate Grade' manager displaying for
the US Games both in New Jersey and London .
Cake Man prays that God will continue to bless him in his
business, community and life endeavors.
Greatest Cake Moment
When Patti Labelle licked her purple shoe shaped 50 th Birthday Cake.
Greatest Accomplishment
To celebrate his 20 th Year Anniversary at Florence Civic Center October
7 th , 2001 and thanked his first customers one by one.
Worst Moment
Receiving the news of the demise of his Grandmother while serving the
late Vice President's Spiro Agnu's planning committee luncheon.
Cake's Motto
"If I can help somebody along the way than my life shall not be
in vain."
Word to the Wise
Hold on to your senior elders in life. Their lessons will be your homework
to answer life's greatest question: "How shall I live?"
Appearances
48 Hours- New York Never Sleeps
CBS Nightly News- Rage in Harlem
Kathy Lee & Regis Philbin- Sweetheart Weddings
ABC- Roz Abrahams
NY1- Chancey Place
Channel 5- Men Who Cook
Channel 7- Eyewitness News (Ella Fitzgerald Tribute)
WOR 710 AM-Cake Man & Red Velvet Cake (Arthur Schwartz)
ABC Good Morning America- the Cake Man's Beginning
CNN—Financial Show
NY1
BET— 106 & Park / Styles
Secrets Of New York
Crain’s NY
PACE University
Newspaper Articles
New York News Day- Lena Horne's 75th
Daily News- Patti LaBelle's 50th
New York Times- Harlem Cake Man
Sumter Daily Item -Harlem 's Cake Man First Sale in Lynchburg
South Carolina State Paper-Harlem Man Returns 's Home
Emerge Magazine- Cake Man's Creations: Not Half-Baked
Soap Opera Magazine- Tyler Noise Birthday 1000 Susan Lucci
The Courier Life - Boro Hall Repeal Cake (Marty Excerpt)
The Courier Life- Cake Man's Creation in Fort Green
The New York Magazine March 2002- Talk of the Town
Columbia University’s Columbia News
Edible Replicas
Mother Zion 200th Anniversary
75th Birthday of Empire State Building
65th Anniversary of Riverside Church
Inaugural Brooklyn Borough Hall Cake
South Oxford Space
Hanson Place SDA Church
Bust of Martin Luther King Jr.
Bust of Isaac Hayes
Battle of Brooklyn Flag
Columbia University 250th Anniversary Cake
Brooklyn Bridge Cake
Brooklyn Academy Of Music Building
Gramma phone for Hal Jackson’s 40th Anniversary Celebration in
Radio
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment Logo
Clients
Maya Angelou
Ella Fitzgerald
Muhammad Ali
Danny Glover
Spike Lee
Arthur Ashe
Savion Glover
Susan Lucci
Harry Belafonte
Dizzy Gillespie
Stephen Marbury
Brandy
Mary J Blige
Macy Gray
Isaac Hayes
Regis Philbin
Ron Brown
Lena Horne
Dan Rather
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
Jermaine Hawkins
Charles Rangel
Cab Calloway
Kool & The Gang
Betty Shabazz
Ossi Davis
Mario Cuomo
Reverend Ike
Cast of Sex in the City
Nancy Wilson
Bill & Camille Cosby
Ed Kennedy
Stevie Wonder
Robert De Niro
Ed Koch
Lynn Whitfield
David N. Dinkens
Jesse Jackson
Dionne Warwick
Faith Evans
Barbara Jordan
Oprah Winfrey
Pattie Labelle
Morgan Freeman
Katie Couric
50 Cents
Jay-Z
Jam Master J
Lil kim
Lil Flip
Alicia Keyes
Janet Jackson
Zab Judah
New York Governor George Pataki
New York Borough President Mary Markowitz
Council Member—District 35– Letitia James
Hal Jackson
Wendy Williams– Radio Station WBLS
Cake Man Raven Confectionery History
The history of how Cake Man Raven Confectionery, Inc. is one that needs
to be written and shared. Cake Man’s history is an example of
courage, motivation and determination to reach your dreams while having
confidence in yourself to make it happen. It took a lot of sacrifice
for Cake Man Raven and his family to get to the point where you see
such a successful establishment. Below is a brief synopsis of how he
struggled year after year to make his mark all over the world for his
famous Red Velvet Cake. Hopefully, after reading his history you too
will be inspired to reach your dreams!
“Cake Man Under the Stairs” was scheduled to open November
21, 1999. Unfortunately, due to faulty legal terms the lease was voided
and Cake Man was unable to purchase the building. That not being enough,
his father fell ill and suffered heart failure on January 5, 2000. As
spring approached, it was the renewing of faith and conviction to keep
his father’s and “Aunt Tee’s” dream to make
a confectionery a reality. He became more determined than ever to continue
their dream of building a first-class confectionery.
Cake Man began looking at property in Brooklyn. The process of choosing
a quality building took a while until one day, Cake Man discovered a
bodega on Fulton Street. The bodega was closed down for quite a long
time due to unlawful practices and the physical condition of the building
was a disaster. After taking a look at the building, Cake Man came out
and said to the real estate agent, “How fast can I get this building!”
On April 2000, the contract was sealed, 708 Fulton Street became “Home
to the Harlem Cake Man Raven.” His Committee consisted of George
Konter, Shirley MacClain, Sister Shirley, and Brother George, Kappa
Brother Vaugh, Cousin Timothy, Sister LaLa, and Brother-in-Law, Lisa
McClain, Linda Myers, Cornellia Griffin, Rachel Zander, Jonathan Adwein,
Kevin Briggs, Terrance LeGer, Big Terrance, and head of demolition,
“Jay Dee” a neighborhood personality.
Support came real slow from Harlem and family because the move just
did not seem practical. Fort Greene was moving fast, but it still wasn’t
Riverside Drive. The previous building in Manhattan provided quick access
for his customers to get to the Harlem Cake Man. In four weeks, Cake
Man sold all the equipment and product in the bodega. In order to get
rid of the old stock quickly, customers were encouraged to buy 1 get
3 free. Then, the clean-up was extensive. Passersby would say, “How
long?” Cakes reply, “Not long……..” Mid-June
became the date of July 14th at 9:00p.m.
Until finally everything came together - lights, camera and action!
Families consisting of children, grandparents, uncles, aunts began to
arrive to the anniversary and had a wonderful time. The 3 day weekend
came to a close with spiritual sounds from such personalities as Monique
Walker, Kevin Snipps and Lorenzo Tyler.
Cake Man’s sister and brother-in-law worked tirelessly on the
lighting. Aunt Virginia Price was out at Home Depot purchasing all the
lighting equipment at 2:00p.m. Now it’s 8:00a.m. and there was
light for the first time in 708 Fulton. The food was being prepared
in Harlem by Sister Lily and the wait staff was composed of the Hospitality
Club from St. Luke’s AME head by sister Zrown. At 7:00p.m., the
food made it to 708 Fulton Street, the Church van pulled up and the
air was still in mayhem.
Finally everything came together - lights, camera and action! Families
consisting of children, grandparents, uncles, aunts began to arrive
to the anniversary and had a wonderful time. The three day weekend came
to a close with spiritual sounds from such personalities as Monique
Walker, Kevin Snipps and Lorenzo Tyler.
The 1st year was hard and the struggle was long. The staff was Cake
Man and who-so-ever let them come!!! The 2nd year was a staff consisting
of 1 pastry chef, 1 dishwasher, 1 baker and 1 counter person. The 3rd
& largest Anniversary included 2 Borough Presidents on the same
stage! Marty Markowitz and The Honorable C. Virginia Fields presented
a Proclamation to Cake Man Raven. Other guests included the Reebok Van,
Local Artist, choirs from SDA St. Luke AME Church, Emmanuel and other
soloists.
Today, I thank my God for blessing me and you to be able to assemble
one more time in unison and give thanks for yet the close of another
year and the start of our 5th here at 708 Fulton Street. To God be the
glory for the lives that have touched mine over my short life here thus
far. We have 16 employers now and the store is opened 14 hours a day
for 7 days a week to try and meet the needs, standard, and expectations
of you, our patrons.
“You may have come pass all other bakeries and stores…
all were shut tight,
But Thank God,
by all “his favor,”
“Cake Man” had on just a little light to serve someone without
a fight!!!
You may have come and there was “No Cake,”
Thank God it’s, “constantly baked.”
“You may have come, and “your order was late, not found
or even baked.”
It was surely a mistake.
Keep us in your Prayer, “to whom much is giving, much is required.”
“I’ve tried to train our young people to respect themselves
first and to meet and get to know that MAN or WOMAN in the mirror 1st.
First, then once you know yourself, accept how you are and what you’ve
been taught and you’ll be able to teach and tell someone else.
The only way to help a community and its economy is to employ its children.
Give the children a strong foundation to include the understanding of
sacrifice, principles, and morals and character will build a community
and nation of leaders who will continue the tradition of the circle
of success.”
CAKE
MAN RAVEN
