by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Even baby elephants aren’t small and neither are their birthdays.
People from both the circus and Jacksonville communities attended baby elephant Barack’s first birthday Tuesday in front of Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Barack was born on the eve of the inauguration of President Barack Obama and was touted as the future of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus by ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson.
“This is a big event deserving of a big cake,” said Iverson. “I never got a cake that big for my birthday.”
Hyatt Executive Chef Scott Brittingham and Pastry Chef Carlos Feldman spent an entire day baking the three layers of vanilla pound cake and creating the vanilla, butter cream icing. The cake was also decorated with grapes, bananas and cookies.
“I’ve never made a cake for an elephant before,” said Feldman. “I was excited for the challenge though. It’s the biggest cake I’ve ever had a hand in making.”
Barack and his mother, Bonnie, weren’t the only ones partying. Employees of the Hyatt and their families and people from the Jacksonville community shared the birthday with Barack. Chefs served up cupcakes for the public.
Barack was born in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. The Central Florida facility is dedicated to the conservation, breeding and understanding of the Asian elephant. A portion of each ticket sold to the circus goes to supporting the center.
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