Ace Of Cakes: Inside The World Of Charm City Cakes (Hardcover)

When Chef Duff Goldman, Food Network's Ace of Cakes, envisioned Charm City Cakes in Baltimore nearly a decade ago, his goal was to make wonderful cakes for friends and family. As word spread about his fabulous creations, his dream grew into a nationally renowned business staffed by eleven offbeat and talented professionals, including musicians, artists, and creative souls with experience in architectural modeling, graphic design, sculpture, painting, DJ-ing, coffee slingin', performance art, massage therapy, and waitressing.

An artful celebration that reflects the spirit of the bakery that started it all, Ace of Cakes is a fun, colorful scrapbook infused with Charm City Cakes' hip rock and roll-surfer-bakery vibe. This book is an Ace of Cakes fan's dream, with tons of stories about Duff's early days as a graffiti artist-turned-young chef, his early successes and hilarious disasters, and the amazing young team he built step by step as he met creative people who worked their way into the world of cake decorating, often surprising themselves as well as Duff with their incredible skills. As fans know, working at Charm City Cakes is a group effort, and the book features interviews with and collages by every member of the team--showing how energy, inspiration, collaboration, and a bit of luck can conspire to help anyone achieve their creative vision.

At the center of this stunning book are Charm City's cakes. Here is an all-star lineup, from the simple to the breathtakingly complex--those with armatures, supports, and structural elements. Duff shows some of the bakery's traditional and more unusual techniques and the tools they use, from carving and fondanting, welding, cutting, sawing, and gluing to airbrushing, piping, and sculpting. He also offers a behind-the-scenes look at his Food Network show, shares his most incredible customer stories and requests, and offers some of his favorite cake facts, tips, and techniques. And the book includes a detailed, photo-filled episode guide that will please even the most rabid fan.

Duff Goldman studied at the Corcoran School in Washington, D.C., and was a young graffiti artist of some notoriety. He started working for acclaimed Baltimore chef Cindy Wolf while attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He studied pastries at the Culinary Institute of America and worked at the French Laundry under acclaimed pastry chef Steven Durfee, at the Vail Cascade Hotel and Resort, and at Todd English's Olives restaurant in Washington, D.C., before opening Charm City Cakes in Baltimore in 2000. Duff is also a sculptor and artist, and a musician who plays bass in the rock band . . . soihadto . . . . He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.