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Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman[1] (born December 17, 1974) is an American businessman, pastry chef, television personality, and writer. He is the executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, which was featured in the Food Network reality television show Ace of Cakes, and his second, Los Angeles–based, shop Charm City Cakes West, which is featured in Food Network's Duff Till Dawn and "Cake Masters" series.[2] His work has also been featured on the Food Network Challenge, Iron Chef America, Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Man v. Food, Buddy vs. Duff, Duff Takes the Cake, and Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time.
Duff Goldman | |
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 | |
| Born | Jeffrey Adam Goldman December 17, 1974 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | University of Maryland, Baltimore County (B.A.) The Culinary Institute of America |
| Spouse | Johnna Colbry |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Goldman was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a Jewish family. Goldman's nickname Duff came about when he was a baby.[3] His toddler brother, Willie Goldman, was unable to pronounce Jeffrey and kept saying Duffy.[1] When he was four years old, his mother caught him in her kitchen wielding a meat cleaver and watching food personality Chef Tell.[4]
After the divorce of his parents when he was ten years old, Goldman resided in both Northern Virginia and in the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.[5] In 1992, Goldman attended McLean High School in McLean, Virginia where he played on the Highlanders ice hockey team. In 1993, he graduated from Sandwich High School.[1][6][7]
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), he earned a bachelor's degree in East Asian History with a minor in Ethics. Thereafter, he attended Corcoran College of Art and the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley, California.[1]
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From age fourteen, he began to work in kitchens; his first job was at a bagel store at a mall.[8] Goldman also worked as a fry cook at McDonald's. Goldman has said that when he was a sophomore in college, he went to the Baltimore restaurant Charleston, which he considered the finest restaurant in Baltimore. Aspiring to be a cook there, he applied. The head chef, Cindy Wolf, looked at his résumé and noted that it consisted of irrelevant experience. However, Cindy did offer him a job to make cornbread and biscuits only, and this is what Goldman cites as the turning point in his career.[9] He worked under acclaimed chefs in California, including a stagiaire position at the French Laundry[10] and as executive pastry chef of the Vail Cascade Hotel in Colorado,[11] he returned to Washington, D.C., to work at Todd English's restaurant, Olives,[12] baking bread.[13]
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In 2002, Goldman made forays into the food industry when he started his own business by opening his own bakery called Charm City Cakes. Initially, his cake sales began as he worked out of his house in Charles Village in Baltimore, Maryland, with the help of two assistants he employed.[2] As demand grew, he hired more employees, hiring painters, architects, and sculptors to work on the development and expansion of his bakery.[14] Charm City Cakes frequently uses blow torches, as well as power tools such as grinders and drills to help create the underlying supports of cakes.[15]
Goldman has made cakes for former President Barack Obama during his second inaugural ball in 2013,[16] novelist Tom Clancy, the cast of Lost, the 30 Rock cast (along with a cake prop), actor Sir Roger Moore,[17] and for pop singer Katy Perry's "Birthday" video.[18]
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Goldman has written three cookbooks: Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes, Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home,[19] and Super Good Baking for Kids.[20][21]
In 2022, Goldman competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "McTerrier" of Team Good. After the performance of Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend", McTerrier's mask accidentally came off and he had to shield his head while the panelists shielded their eyes until a crew member had to run out and put the mask back on. He was the first to be eliminated.[22]
Goldman is a judge on several Food Network cooking competitions, such as Holiday Baking Championship, Spring Baking Championship and Kids Baking Championship. He co-hosts the last show with Valerie Bertinelli.
Duff has appeared in Guy's Grocery Games - most notably the Season 25 Episode 18 episode titled Delivery: All-Star Hanukkah, in which he competed against Aaron May and Eric Greenspan, and the judges were Antonia Lofaso, Catherine McCord, and Jonathan Waxman. All of whom are of Jewish descent, except for Ms. McCord, whose husband is Jewish.
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As of 2021, Goldman lives in Los Angeles, California. He played bass guitar in an indie-rock band called "...soihadto...".[1] He later became the bass player in the band Foigrock (a play on foie gras and rock and roll). He states his alternate dream job would be to perform as a bass player with the band Clutch. Goldman has made a wedding cake for Clutch's lead singer, Neil Fallon.[23][24] In addition, Fallon's younger sister and Goldman's friend from college, Mary Alice Fallon-Yeskey, works at Charm City Cakes as the office manager.[25]
Goldman is Jewish. He is involved in Tzedakah.[26] In an interview with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, Goldman said "Tzedakah is very important to me. I’ve been so fortunate with everything that has happened to me, it would be a crime not to give back."[27]
In 2012, Goldman lost toes in a motorcycle accident.[28]
On April 2, 2018, Goldman proposed to Johnna Colbry,[29] whom he later married.[30] On September 25, 2019, Goldman spoke at Cornell University, discussing the importance of Jewish identity and tzedakah in his life.[31] On August 8, 2020, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, expected in January 2021.[30] In January 2021, their daughter was born.[32]
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- Cake Masters (2016-)
- Duff Till Dawn (2015)
- Ace of Cakes (2006-2011)
- Holiday Baking Championship (2014-)
- Iron Chef America (2005)
- Kids Baking Championship (2014-)
- Spring Baking Championship (2015-)
- Worst Bakers in America (2016-)
- Dessert Games (2017-)
- Buddy vs. Duff (2019-)[33]
- Duff Takes the Cake (2019-)[34]
- Double Dare (2019)[citation needed]
- Ryan's Mystery Playdate (2019)
- Unfiltered (2020)
- Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time (2021)
- The Masked Singer (2022)
- Summer Baking Championship (2023-)
- Guy's Grocery Games Delivery
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| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Host | Kids Baking Championship | {Lost}[35] | [36] |
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