Congratulations Rick Reichart of cakelava!

After much anticipation, the fans of Rick Reichart of cakelava witnessed him in his element when Food Network first aired their Sponge Bob challenge this past Sunday. For this challenge, the four competitors needed to craft a cake for a seven-year-0ld's birthday, whose favorite television show is "Sponge Bob Squarepants." Each of the four competitors was given one character to feature on their cake; Rick's character was Sponge Bob.

All the competitors brought their best efforts to this challenge and in the end, it was a tough call for the judges to decide which cake would be at the lucky boy's birthday party and get the $10,000 cash prize. The final decision...Rick came in SECOND place, a mere two points behind the winner of the challenge. What an amazing accomplishment for Rick, the "newbie" of the group, in his very first Food Network Challenge.

We salute Rick for his outstanding performance and for putting Hawai'i on the map for noteworthy cake artistry. Congratulations Rick, an amazing cake designer, and Sasha, his supportive wife and business whiz behind cakelava!