Duff Goldman

Duff Goldman is a pastry chef, television personality, entrepreneur, and author known for his innovative approach to cake design and baking. Goldman completed his formal culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America, earning a certificate in baking and pastry arts from the Greystone campus in California's Napa Valley. During this period, he apprenticed under pastry chef Stephen Durfee at Thomas Keller's The French Laundry. His professional experience includes serving as executive pastry chef at Vail Cascade Hotel in Colorado and Olives Restaurant in Washington, D.C. Goldman's background in fine arts and sculpture has influenced his perspective on pastry, allowing him to conceptualize cakes as three-dimensional artworks.

Goldman opened Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland, transforming a small home-based operation into a business recognized for imaginative and unconventional cake creations. The team at Charm City Cakes, which includes painters, architects, and sculptors, has produced cakes such as a 3-foot buttercream sculpture of Elvis, an anatomically correct ear, a smoking volcano, a three-dimensional German Shepherd, and replicas of a CAT scan machine, a Jeep, and Wrigley Field. Charm City Cakes gained national attention through its feature on the Food Network reality television show "Ace of Cakes." Goldman later expanded his business to Los Angeles with Charm City Cakes West.

For 10 seasons, Goldman hosted "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network, bringing his cake decorating expertise to a national audience. He has also appeared in several other Food Network shows, including "Ace of Taste," "Cake Masters," the Baking Championship series, "Dessert Games," and "Buddy vs. Duff." Goldman has created cakes for clients such as former President Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Sir Roger Moore, Tom Clancy, and the casts of "30 Rock" and "Lost." He also founded Duff's Cakemix Bakery & Studio, a do-it-yourself cake and cupcake decorating studio.

Goldman is a New York Times bestselling author, having written "Super Good Baking For Kids," as well as "Duff Bakes" and "Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes." Through his work in cake design, television, and publishing, Goldman has contributed to the visibility of custom cake artistry and baking in mainstream entertainment, influencing aspiring bakers and pastry chefs across the country.