My Q&A with the Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman.

While at the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival yesterday I was lucky enough to sit down with Duff Goldman, who much to my embarrassment is not the bass player for the band Cake. He's actually the bassist for Baltimore rock band soIhadto. But you may be surprised to know the Charm City baker is also the Food Network's Ace of Cakes, and let me tell you, he's an eleven! Below, our discussion of gay and cartoon bears, what's going on in Thomas Keller's kitchen, the lost season of The Wire, and what Duff would love to feed some food bloggers.

Since the new season of Ace of Cakes premiered, gay blogs have been abuzz with photos of you shirtless. Has anyone ever told you that you resembled a bear?

Yes, very much. It's funny. All the fanmail that we get, Jeff gets all the guys, I get all the dudes.

As a bear, if you were going to steal a pic-a-nic basket, what would be inside it?

If I stole a picnic basket, there would be a pizza, a large wedge of Le Rustique, [and] nine Twizzlers.

I think you mean four shizzle? Before opening Charm City Cakes you worked at French Laundry, what did Thomas Keller teach you about doing laundry?

I learned that laundry is very important and you have to keep your laundry very clean before entering the kitchen. Also, he's very specific about his laundry. He actually fired a guy for wearing black jeans because Thomas is the only guy who's allowed to wear black jeans in the kitchen. He fired the guy actually for a bunch of other reasons... He was kind of an asshole. Thomas Keller was very very cool but he kept telling the guy, "Dude, no black jeans." He kept wearing them. [Keller] shitcanned him. 

So why do you never wear chefs' whites?

It's just that [Ace of Cakes] is a reality show and chef whites are for people who are cooking on TV.

At the Food For Thought forum in Connecticut a few months ago, you said French Laundry is the first restaurant where you worked where you didn't see line cooks doing cocaine. Is that because Thomas Keller didn't pay well enough?

No, you know the atmosphere of a kitchen, you need cocaine. It's a staple part of your diet. At the French Laundry everything is calm, subdued. So everyone just went to the outdoor prep kitchen that was very well ventilated.

Anthony Bourdain recently spoke with you about how hard it was for him to score in Baltimore. Were you relieved or disappointed The Wire didn't explore the drug culture in Baltimore restaurants? 

I think The Wire could have delved into the drug culture in restaurants a little bit more. It's definitely something that's out there, that exists, people acknowledge it, but the people that you really do see that go and stay in the business a long time, and do well, are the ones that stay sober and have a lot of integrity. I think The Wire could have gone into any restaurant and here's a little camera and "holy shit man, everybody's fucked up." And that's a side of the industry that you have to acknowledge. The people that choose to stay away from that are on TV now, are owning a bunch of restaurants, are really doing well. Not to be preachy but there are guys who I used to work with who have died or aren't cooking anymore., back in the day they were genius. Just clean up, stay sober. It's a great profession. When you love it, nothing can beat cooking.

Like music! Your band, soIhadto, Is playing the House of Blues tonight, did you know you didn't have to join a band to call yourself a rock star pastry chef?

Actually I started decorating cakes so I could be in a band. I started the bakery just so I could have enough cash and make my own hours so I can go on tour. All of a sudden the bakery blows up so suddenly I have to hire more people so I can take more time off so they can cover for me. It's weird because both things have been growing at the same time. I feel myself tugged. "Oh you gotta do a cooking show, oh you gotta play a show." Why not do them in the same city? But no.

We've been signed to Grape Juice Records. You know, there's some fucking dickhead in Chicago who wrote a mean-ass blog, "How do you get a cake from Duff? Sign his band and get him to play a show."

David Tamarkin, from Time Out?

That Time Out guy! That FUCKING ASSHOLE! If you know that guy tell him he can suck my nuts.

I hope he's not allergic! In a few weeks you'll be heading into the recording studio. Last year you made your first record for making the world's largest cupcake, are you worried now about the sophomore slump?

No because we totally tanked on our first record. We got it taken away from us. This is our comeback baby!

Good luck and I can't wait for the comeback tour!

Ace of Cakes is now in its seventh season on The Food Network. Duff is on tour with soIhadto throughout Maryland and Virginia this September. Check the band's MySpace page for tour dates.

Related:

My Q&A with the Taste of Tribeca's Jimmy Carbone. (o5/06/09)

My Q&A with Sullivan Street Bakery Company's Jim Lahey. (07/24/09)

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