The Ace of Cakes: Duff Goldman

A Chat with Duff Goldman From Ace Of Cakes

LHJ: How has your life changed since you've started the show?
Chef Duff: It's been crazy. It's bewildering because I don't really see myself as that. I'm a cook. And all of a sudden, everybody's like, "Hey, it's that guy! That's a famous guy!" And I'm like, "Who's famous? Where?"

LHJ: Has stardom taken you away from working on cakes?
Chef Duff: It actually does cut into my actual time spent with cake. And that really bugs me out a little bit. I love decorating cakes, and that's why I started in the first place -- I love to do it. I've been doing it less because this empire is getting bigger and bigger. I've had a lot more things to deal with and make sure we're all moving in a positive direction. But if I'm out there doing a speaking engagement -- You should see me -- I'll be onstage, 3,000 people [in the audience], and if my phone rings and it's one of my decorators, I'll pick it up. Because, at the end of the day, that's still what I do for a living.

LHJ: Are you surprised by encounters with fans?
Chef Duff: You should see it, man. It's like, military guys, bikers, little kids, grandmas, I mean, everybody -- they just love it. It's so crazy. Like, who would think to watch? The little kids like it because we're all basically overgrown cartoon characters. And the dads like it because there are a lot of cute girls on the show. And the moms like it because there are cakes and weddings, and it's fun. It's the kind of thing that everybody can sit down and watch together.

LHJ: Can people learn to make spectacular cakes at home?
Chef Duff: If I pull out an oxy-acetylene torch, yeah, that's not going to translate to cake decorating in your kitchen. But everything else that we do, it's easy. Well, it's not easy, but it's not scary. It's the kind of thing where it's like, "Oh, cake decorating, I don't know about that stuff." Are you going to be kicking out masterpieces right away? No, but it's the kind of thing where you can get good at it.