Duff Goldman Talks Weight Loss, Halloween and Best Kitchen Hacks: ‘I Don’t Do Crazy Diets’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The Food Network star dishes on his favorite candy, traditions and more!
As the star of The Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship, Holiday Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship, fans across the country have been mesmerized by Chef Duff Goldman’s creativity, joyful attitude and innovative accomplishments. From his first Charm City Cakes bakery in Baltimore, Maryland to his expansion in Los Angeles and outreach to millions through Goldbelly, the best-selling author and classically trained chef is no stranger to blazing new trails in, and out of, the bakery. For Goldman, focusing on family, food and fun have proven to be essential to his success and joyful attitude.
Born Jeffrey Adam “Duff” Goldman in Detroit, Michigan, his nickname came about when his little brother was unable to pronounce Jeffrey and kept saying Duffy. After moving around a little after his parents divorced, Goldman ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He later attended the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley, California and worked in various establishments until in 2002, when he made forays into the food industry.
It all began in Duff’s small Baltimore apartment as a way to pay rent and other expenses. Charm City Cakes was his means to continue his ambitions of becoming a full-time musician, but as he says, “Going to rehearsal, touring and recording didn’t just happen on my weekends off from restaurants. The only way to do that was to create my own business,” he told Woman’s World as our cover star (get your copy here!). “I would never, ever say no to people who asked for the craziest cakes and pretty soon, I was the baker in town people would call. I didn’t want to make a cake that looked like their dog—I wanted to bake a cake that looked like somebody’s car.”
His fun-loving personality and culinary talents have since made him a TV mainstay after rising to fame on Food Network’s Ace of Cakes. His unique creations have made it to President Barack Obama’s second inaugural ball in 2013, to the cast of Lost, to pop singer Katy Perry’s music video for her song “Birthday.”
He has since aligned himself to other Food Network shows, teamed up with Goldbelly for delivery of his custom-made cakes, and now, he’s teamed with Hallmark on Hallmark x Duff to collaborate on an exclusive line of products. Here is how Duff continues to turn creativity into a joyful and grateful life.
Woman’s World: What do you think is the magic sauce for the simple science of baking?
Duff Goldman: I hear that from people all the time: ”Oh, I just can’t bake.” I think the main trick is to follow the recipe. Do what the recipe says. If it calls for 1 cup of flour, then use 1 cup of flour. I think with baking, you give up control because you put it in the oven and that’s it. You have to see what happens. With cooking, you’re never not in control. If you’re grilling, you control how hot the grill is, how long you’re cooking on the stove, and I’m in control of the process right up ‘til it’s time to eat.
WW: Do you have a favorite secret ingredient you can’t live without other than butter?
DG: Salt. Just Kosher salt. Whenever I use sea salt, I tend to use too much. Everything you make, if you add a pinch of salt to it—ice cream, cake, pies, you name it. Everything needs a little bit of salt. It just makes everything taste better.
WW: Was joining the online bake shop Goldbelly a way for you to reach more sweet tooths across the US?
DG: Yeah! They’re great, aren’t they? Goldbelly was really a pandemic thing. I had five bakeries in Los Angeles and one in Baltimore; the pandemic wiped out everything in California and I still have the one in Baltimore. So we were like, okay, what do we want to do? Is baking cakes for big parties in the cards for us right now? So the fact that the pandemic hit and every single celebration that people were having got canceled, we went from 100% capacity to zero. We started selling cakes online. It’s been a wonderful way to make sure what I do gets to lots of people. Before, in my bakery in Baltimore, we’d see a couple thousand people a week. With television, I get to show what I do to millions of people. With Goldbelly, it’s just another way to reach a lot of people.
WW: You have a bustling career, family and just living in LA, what might cause you little stresses and how do you alleviate them?
DG: My house is built on clay, so every time it rains, the clay under our house gets soft so that kinda stresses me out, but you just have to deal with it. There are cracks in the house, but there’s not much you can do about it. Other stresses are like everybody has.
I want my daughter to have a great education and make sure she’s got good healthcare and has opportunities to see the world, become the person she’s designed to be. I want her to have the opportunity to chase her dreams. I think everybody wants that for their kids. I just got her a little freshwater fish tank. We have a saltwater tank in our house—I love the ocean and fish. My daughter absolutely loves the saltwater tank.
WW: What’s your go-to lazy meal when you don’t have a lot of time or energy?
DG: Probably order in sushi for dinner. I love delivery. It’s so nice to be able to have a great meal delivered to your house. All these different curries, I like one real spicy.
WW: Any special kitchen gadget you can’t live without?
DG: I’m not a gadget guy really. I don’t have anything in here that doesn’t need to be in here. I think there’s a lot of stuff out there that people can live without. I have a fork. I do have a 7 quart KitchenAid, a 20 quart Hobart that I use for a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, for donuts or anything I need a big mixer.
WW: You’ve recently lost 40 pounds, what’s your secret?
DG: It’s discipline. It’s making sure that if I bake a cake for my family, I’ll just have a few bites of cake. I’ll savor its deliciousness and then I’ll stop. Before, I really had no control and would eat more than just a few bites. The thing is you can eat that stuff, you just can’t eat a ton of it. So I didn’t eat Spartan meals, I don’t feel cheated and don’t do these crazy diets. I eat like a normal adult. I’m proud of the changes I made to live a healthier life. It’s not about weight loss.
WW: What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
DG: Me and my brother built our very own proton packs from Ghostbusters. We went to a Toys R Us and bought these cheap M16s. We taped flashlights to them. We got these clear plastic hoses and these cheap backpacks and cut the straps off. We painted our own Ghostbusters logo. When we’d get candy, we’d just throw it in the proton pack. We also had cheap jumpsuits from the army surplus store.
WW: With Hallmark Celebrate, you’re creating Halloween creations that probably aren’t as elaborate as the proton packs.
DG: Good looking plates and all kinds of decorations that go together—party essentials. Cake decorations, candles, plates, napkins, themed décor, placemats—everything is going to go together. There’s a wide selection of stuff and you can create your own treat bags. They’ll be available in October. It’s called Hallmark x Duff.
WW: What tips would you give parents on how to cut down on Halloween stress?
DG: You don’t have to do everything yourself. People get crazy and think they have to make all these decorations and food. There are a lot of cool decorations out there that you can get. My brother goes all out for Halloween. I just got him this Beetlejuice thing for the yard. They set up this tree that’s a Halloween tree, and then it becomes a Thanksgiving tree, then a Christmas tree.
I think you should embrace it all, embrace the work you’re going to put into it all. It’s okay to go to the store and buy cookies, brownies, cakes. Buy some cookies and make them your own with some black and orange candies. Get the kids involved. If you’re making sugar cookies, get the kids involved to help decorate them. They’ll be totally into it. I’d much rather eat a sugar cookie that a kid has decorated with a black cat or witch on it than something I made. That’s part of the magic.
WW: What’s a favorite cooking hack that makes a classic dish even better?
DG: Whenever you’re making anything creamy, runny, chocolate-y—even frosting—add a little bit of Kahlua to it, but don’t add so much that you taste it, but just a smidge. It really makes it delicious and adds a lot of flavor to stuff. It’s a real pastry hack that a lot of pastry chefs use. Also, if you’re making something fruity like cherry pie—cherry pie does not taste like cherry pie unless you add a little bit of almond extract to the filling. Just a smidge of almond extract to cherry pie and it makes it special.
WW: Favorite Halloween candy?
DG: Probably the Hershey’s crackle bar. You can do cool things decorating with candy corn, but I love the milk chocolate crackle bar.
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