The cake creator discusses his new show and his first restaurant in the Atlanta airport.
By Ryan Slattery
Duff Goldman was done. Tired and worn out after building six Super Mega Cakes for his new Food Network television series, he needed an escape. He found it in California’s redwoods.
“It’s such a special part of the world,” Goldman says of his redwoods reboot after filming the six-part series. “You just kind of turn off.”
America will now be able to see what exactly drove the cake maker into retreat, with the show hitting the airwaves this past June 16th on the Food Network. The premise for Super Mega Cakes pits Goldman and his team of 12 bakers against six teams with four participants each.
While the competitors have four days to make a single cake, Goldman has the same amount of time to construct six cakes. And these aren’t normal cakes. They’re monster life-sized creations with intricate details and interactive elements that include holograms, cameras, and more surprises. Judges Sherry Yard and Amaury Guichon will determine each week’s top cake.
“It really showcases the best cake artists in the world, making the craziest cakes in the world,” Goldman explains. “We’ve been putting cakes on TV for a long time, but there’s never been anything like this before. I’m not just saying that because they were bigger or more extreme, but it’s just the quality of the work and the imagination people put into it. Viewers are going to get their minds blown.”
Every episode, six in total, pushes the creative limits of the cake competitors in a way unlike Goldman has ever seen or been challenged himself. The premiere features a Superman-themed challenge that includes an animation element. There are also episodes devoted to classic cartoons–Goldman built a life-size, Looney Tunes-inspired bull that pooped chocolate cupcakes–and alien invasion which had his team constructing a UFO cake with hundreds of lights.
“We made some amazing stuff that everybody was super proud of. It was intense to manage six cakes at once. I have a feeling I’m going to get bleeped a lot,” Goldman laughs.
And after his trip to the redwoods, he was back to work. This time planning for the fall opening of his first restaurant, Duff’s Deli + Market.
The Jewish-style deli will open at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport serving hot and cold sandwiches like pastrami with tater tots, a Reuben on rye, and a turkey club, as well as matzo ball soup and an Egg McDuffin–which harkens back to the start of his food career as a teenager working at McDonald’s. There’s also a quality black and white cookie, he’s quite fond of.
Fans of Goldman can catch the star in late September at the Roots, Rants and Roars festival in Newfoundland.
He’ll man an outdoor kitchen on an oceanside cliff during The Hike–an event where diners walk a 2.5-kilometer trail, stopping along the way for beer and wine and to enjoy bites chefs craft from locally harvested ingredients. Goldman once made carnitas with moose instead of pork shoulder.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do,” Goldman says. “I’ve been doing it every year for the past 10 years or so. It’s such a cool event. Just huge cliffs overlooking the Atlantic [Ocean] in the Easternmost point of North America. It doesn’t get much better.”
Just another way Goldman winds down in nature.
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Super Mega Cakes premiered on June 16 at 9pm on the Food Network and began streaming the next day on MAX.
