N.Y. Associate Takes the ShopRite Cake

Josephine Mauldin, an associate at ShopRite of Forest and Richmond in Staten Island, N.Y., has won the 2010 ShopRite Cake Decorating Contest. Mauldin competed with 64 other entrants from stores in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland in the bannerwide contest.

Her “Outdoor Theme” was one of 10 finalists’ entries displayed at the Wakefern Perishables Show, held late last month at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison. The biannual show features the top new products that will be available in ShopRite stores in the coming year. Mauldin’s win was revealed at the close of the Cake Decorating Seminar at the show.

According to contest rules, everything used to decorate the cakes had to be edible. Mauldin, who has more than 25 years of cake-decorating experience, was modest about taking first-place honors: “I was shocked! There were some really awesome cakes in the running, and I was up against some tough competition. Having never entered a cake-decorating contest before, I had no idea what to expect, but I am thrilled, to say the least.”

The contest is sponsored by Wakefern Food Corp. Fresh Bake Division on a biannual basis to coincide with the Wakefern Perishables Show.

Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. is a retailer-owned cooperative whose 47 members operate more than 200 ShopRite stores throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland. The company also operates 43 corporate-owned PriceRite stores in five states.