Duff Goldman Biography

Pastry chef and television personality Duff Goldman was born in 1974 in Detroit, Michigan. Today, Goldman is best known for his appearance on the Food Network’s reality show Ace of Cakes, but long before Duff became one of the era’s most recognizable pastry chefs, he spent his formative years splitting his time between Virginia and Massachusetts following his parents’ divorce.

Duff began working in kitchens when he was a teenager, but it was while attending the University of Maryland in Baltimore that he first applied to work as a chef for the restaurant Charleston. Despite his lack of experience, Goldman was hired to cook biscuits and cornbread, starting a life-long love of pastry arts. After graduating from UMD Baltimore, Duff went on to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley before working under some of the area’s most celebrated chefs.

After leaving California, Duff returned to the east coast to work at Todd English’s restaurant, Olives, in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Duff launched his own business venture, Charm City Cakes, and he began selling unusual cake creations. Over the years, Duff Goldman became well-known for his unusual talents crafting architecturally complicated and detailed cakes, such as an edible replica of a CAT scan machine and a smoking volcano. By the end of the decade, Duff Goldman was known around the world as the “go to” cake creator for many celebrities, and it wasn’t long before the Food Network also took note of his talents.

Duff Goldman has appeared on multiple shows for the network, including Ace of Cakes, which enjoyed a successful run from 2006 to 2011 and became the show which launched Goldman’s career as a television chef. Goldman has also appeared on Duff Till Dawn (2015) and can currently be seen on the network’s show, Cake Masters, which premiered in 2016.

In addition to his television appearances and cake-making business, Duff Goldman recently published the book Ace of Cakes; Inside the World of Charm City Cakes, which explores both the reality television show and the business upon which it is based. The book hit the shelves in 2009.