From THESTREET.COM: Duff Goldman doesn't just take the cake. He uses power and pastry tools and more than a little ingenuity to sculpt and shape said cake into a work of art, resembling everything from a vintage roller skate to a giant blue crab.
But what advice does he have for the beginning baker?
We caught up with the 33-year-old Goldman, the soul patch-sporting graffiti artist-turned-master cake decorator who's the star of the Food Network's Ace of Cakes, a few weeks ago at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach to hear what he might have to say.
Plenty, it turns out.
Make no mistake: Even though Goldman, the proprietor behind Baltimore's Charm City Cakes, is enjoying rock star-like fame these days (he was mobbed by autograph-seekers at the festival), he's a serious student of the culinary arts.
He attended the Culinary Institute of America's California campus and got his professional start working at Napa Valley's famed French Laundry restaurant. These days, he still spends much of his time at his Baltimore shop, where customers have to reserve months in advance to have a cake (minimum price: $500) created for their special occasion.
He also has a book in the works, plays bass in an indie rock band and remains an enthusiastic supporter of the Charm City Roller Girls, which bills itself as "Baltimore's Only All-Girl Roller Derby League."
But enough about Goldman's passions and pursuits. How should we get started with our cake? We broke down Goldman's advice into six "Duff-isms."
