Vanilla Bean

I made my sister’s wedding cake last month and without Vanilla Bean I’d have been SOL. They had all of the supplies I needed, from cardboard circles (that you can buy individually whereas at Michael’s or Joann you need to buy a pack of 8) decorator tips (even the obscure ones), fillings, flower nails and boxes and also knowledgeable staff people who were able to offer advice and talk me off the ledge I was perched on after baking for 14 hours straight. If you fancy yourself any sort of baker, this is your shop.

This place is awesome. Bakers, weddings, cupcake and cookie ideas, ingredients, kitchen supplies. Wonderful store. Be creative and get new ideas.

This rating does NOT reflect the fabulous selection at The Bean – that’s amazing. I was irritated by the customer service. It STARTED well, with a lady greeting me as I came in the door and asking if I needed help finding anything. When I said no, the lady walked over to her associate, and the two proceeded to engage in an epic – riveting, I’m SURE – conversation that was still going on 10 minutes later, which is when I walked (unnoticed) out the door. The conversation transpired in the middle of a crowed aisle, which I, along with another patron, were having no small amount of difficulty navigating. The two were completely oblivious to the fact that we were trying to see (and move) PAST them. When the other patron met my eyes and shook her head in bewilderment, my suspicion that this is NOT normal behavior for business proprietors was confirmed. I didn’t stick around any longer. I found what I needed at JoAnn’s right around the corner.

The selection is incredible — I’ve yet to leave empty-​handed, no matter how esoteric my search. They cram an unbelievable amount of inventory into a very small space, so the layout of the store takes some getting used to. Pricing is reasonable, slightly more than on-​line sources, but a good value considering the expertise of the staff. They also have a decent selection of kitchen gadgets, though not to the level of Orange Tree Imports or the Kitchen Gallery.
While the staff members are not over-​the-​top friendly, they are incredibly knowledgeable. I also like the fact that they will let my daughter and I browse freely when we have the time to explore. The store also offers a variety of baking and cake decorating classes for all skill levels.
Finding a parking spot in front of the store is a breeze, but navigating the congested Odana Road corridor to get to the store — not so much fun.
If you are in need of baking supplies, I encourage you to check out the Vanilla Bean.

A fabulous local shop. It had been a number of years since I last visited Vanilla Bean, but I stopped in looking for a specialty cake item today. Sure enough, they had it! (A number of other stores didn’t even know what I was talking about when I enquired!). Very reasonable prices for specialty baking items and a very great selection — especially considering the size of the shop. Many items for cakes, cupcakes, candy making, half a wall of cookie cutters and supplies for making traditional Scandinavian desserts. Get thee to Vanilla Bean!

If you are looking for cake decorating and baking supplies this is where you need to go!
Although their hours aren’t great, they do have everything you would need to make an adorable birthday cake, Christmas cookies, and more! The selection of cookie cutters is the largest I’ve seen anywhere.
I’ve also taken a Wilton cake decorating class through them, and it was fabulous. It was more work than I expected, but I learned a lot!

An awesome store and even better place to learn Wilton’s techniques on cake and cupcake decorating. Suzanne is an excellent teacher and the store staff is very friendly and helpful. Whether you are a newby or an experienced baker this store has everything and if you have a question they definitely have the answer and will sell you the right product/​tool/​whatever it is you are looking for. GREAT STORE!

The Vanilla Bean now carries high quality gel paste colors! They are called Americolor and provide more vibrant and «true» color shades than the Wilton ones.
They also now have Sugar Art brand petal and luster dusts!
I’m so excited by this and I don’t even live in Madison :) Happy cake decorating!

I completely agree with the first poster. This is THE place for anyone who has a bit of a creative baking side– or wants to get ideas so they can pretend they’re Martha Stewart. Or are looking for specific cookie cutter shapes, candy molds, cake garnishes, etc. They have an entire wall of cookie-​cutter shapes that is my favorite! It’s kind of a hidden gem in Madison– if you didn’t grow up here, you might not have heard of it or know where it is, but it’s definitely worth stopping by on your way to/​from West Towne, just so you know what all they have here!