Joined: Jun 11, 2008
Posts: 43
Location: South Florida
Birthday: Sep 01
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:31 am
I agree, Duff isnt the best cake decorator around and I barely even see him acutally doing cakes..But I do LOVE his staff..they seem like they have so much fun working there..I worked at a cake shop and it wasnt nearly as enjoyable as it seems in Duff's shop...
I agree with what others say..its his personality..he has charisma and that will go a long way..
SugarMama602 Regular Member
Joined: Apr 30, 2008
Posts: 147
Location: Phoenix
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:34 am
YES! YES! YES!
My DH is taking me to see Ace of Cakes at that convention!!!! And we're going to swing by Disneyland, too!!!!
Color me happy.
mjarvis78 Regular Member
Joined: Mar 13, 2005
Posts: 120
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:03 pm
You know, there is a saying "It's not what you know, but who you know".
Obviously Duff is very talented. Is he the best? Well that is subjective.
Duff has a couple of things going for him which helped him land his tv show. Duff has an amazing personality--he lights up a room. That came across in the demo that his brother, a tv producer made.
SweetResults Forum Fanatic
Joined: Feb 13, 2006
Posts: 1327
Location: Massachusetts
Birthday: Nov 04
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:22 am
I love it when people says my cakes are like or better than Ace of Cakes because it is the only things some people know to compare them to. But I HATE it when they say I should have a show, be the next Food Netork Star, etc... I can make a cool cake, yes. But can I be on TV???? NO WAY!
The guy has PERSONALITY!!! So does his staff - Doug put it best - so even tho Duff says "It's all about the cake" - it's really not LOL! I can watch him and his staff over and over. I could NOT watch Collette!
And I look forward to the day I can up my prices and have a minimum order!! I was sooo excited today to turn down a 250 serving order because I was already booked for that weekend. Can't even believe I was strong enough to do it. Gee, maybe I ought to call them back? Maybe I can squeeze it in between the wedding cake and the bar mitzvah? If I don't sleep at all? Wish I had Geoff tied up in my kitchen to help! How about a remake of the movie/book Misery with me and Geoff?
loriemoms Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Nov 09, 2005
Posts: 2206
Location: Cary, North Carolina
Birthday: Feb 12
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:53 am
flg22275 wrote:
OMG!... You mean I am not the only caker that knows COBOL. Doing it as I type.
I think a lot of IT people get frustrated with all the numbers and decide to become cake decorators! haha!
loriemoms Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Nov 09, 2005
Posts: 2206
Location: Cary, North Carolina
Birthday: Feb 12
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:56 am
Speaking of TV personalities, I got to catch that show on WE about Cake Masters. It was great! Except there is one cake "master" that I just DO NOT GET. Maybe someone can explain it to me? That is the Cake Diva. I have seen her on a couple of challenges and she was also on this show. The cake she did SUCKED. All her cakes suck. And her personality sucks! (she is very full of herself...) Am I missing something?
SweetResults Forum Fanatic
Joined: Feb 13, 2006
Posts: 1327
Location: Massachusetts
Birthday: Nov 04
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 5:35 am
When is Cake Masters on? Gotta look that one up.
*more cowbell* snicker! love that!
potatocakes Frequent Member
Joined: May 17, 2005
Posts: 400
Location: Lexington, KY
Birthday: Feb 02
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:31 am
Quote:
That is the Cake Diva. I have seen her on a couple of challenges and she was also on this show. The cake she did SUCKED. All her cakes suck. And her personality sucks! (she is very full of herself...) Am I missing something?
TOTALLY AGREE!!! I've seen her on a few things and I just don't understand why she's invited to participate and how she's got such a popular business. I mean, I just looked at her website and, granted, some of her cakes look nice, but others......wow, I've seen soooo much better, especially here on CC!
It won't let me post the actual picture, so there's the link. (Click on the "bust" cake for the Extreme Cakes gallery). Anyway, the fondant is poorly applied, saggy, bumpy, the lines aren't even close to being straight, the writing looks terrible, and the shoe looks like she didn't let it dry and the heel part started falling in on itself. I just don't get all the hype. [/url]
SweetResults Forum Fanatic
Joined: Feb 13, 2006
Posts: 1327
Location: Massachusetts
Birthday: Nov 04
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:16 am
Holy Shamoly! I feel SOOOO much better about my cakes after looking at Cake Diva's close up like that. Also - I think she needs a new camera! Lots of blurry dark pictures on the site.
But again - she is a personality, she has an alter ego - the Cake Diva, we may not all like the style, but SOMEBODY out there does. Maybe her cakes taste super-fab? I seem to remember that she prefers to work in buttercream (?) so that could explain the sloppy fondant work.
Hey if she can pull it off all the power to her, but like I said - boy do I feel good about MY work now!
kimmypooh79 Frequent Member
Joined: Jun 24, 2008
Posts: 277
Location: Middle Tennessee
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:05 am
Cakenator wrote:
I would love for the Ace of Cakes to post on the TV show how much his cakes cost!
I'm so tired of customers wanting a 3-d cake with like freaking fireworks that shoot out of the top and will hop around and sing happy birthday AND help raise their children all for the low low price of $19.99!!
What is his minimum order these days? $500?
I wish people would understand!
I don't know if you've gotten your answer yet but the min order at Charm City Cakes is $1000.00....AND to even get an appointment you have to pay a $100 deposit.
You know what they say...time is money.
I'm sorry...but some of those cakes are waaaaaay to small to cost that much. I like to watch the show but all some people are paying for is the designer label.
indydebi Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jul 07, 2006
Posts: 13502
Location: Indianapolis IN
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 6:04 am
kimmypooh79 wrote:
I'm sorry...but some of those cakes are waaaaaay to small to cost that much.
It's called Lost Opportunity Cost. If AofC is spending their time working on a small cake that might only bring in $300, then they arem, at the same time, NOT working on that $2500 cake because their time is being tied up in a $300 cake..... which doesn't even pay the overhead.
If you want the benefit of their talent, then you pay for it.
As we all say on here frequently .... you're not paying for the cake, you're paying for the time and talent it takes to turn "just a cake" into more than "just a cake".
CeeTee Regular Member
Joined: Jul 26, 2007
Posts: 171
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:45 am
indydebi wrote:
It's called Lost Opportunity Cost. If AofC is spending their time working on a small cake that might only bring in $300, then they arem, at the same time, NOT working on that $2500 cake because their time is being tied up in a $300 cake..... which doesn't even pay the overhead.
If you want the benefit of their talent, then you pay for it.
As we all say on here frequently .... you're not paying for the cake, you're paying for the time and talent it takes to turn "just a cake" into more than "just a cake".
I totally agree Debi. I don't even want to think how many thousands they pay a month for just rent, utilities, supplies, and wages. A huge shop like theirs in the heart of a major metropolitan area must cost them an arm and a leg. You can't support a storefront like that selling $300 cakes.
The way I see it, Charm City is like the Louis Vuitton of cakes. You pay for the name and bragging rights when you get a cake from there. If you want one bad enough and have the disposable income, then go for it! I think Duff and his team more than deserve to charge what they do because they are artistically brilliant. What they lack in technique they more than make up for in originality. They aren't cake decorators so much as they are Sugar Artists, and all sweets are their medium.
kimmypooh79 Frequent Member
Joined: Jun 24, 2008
Posts: 277
Location: Middle Tennessee
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:47 am
indydebi wrote:
kimmypooh79 wrote:
I'm sorry...but some of those cakes are waaaaaay to small to cost that much.
It's called Lost Opportunity Cost. If AofC is spending their time working on a small cake that might only bring in $300, then they arem, at the same time, NOT working on that $2500 cake because their time is being tied up in a $300 cake..... which doesn't even pay the overhead.
If you want the benefit of their talent, then you pay for it.
As we all say on here frequently .... you're not paying for the cake, you're paying for the time and talent it takes to turn "just a cake" into more than "just a cake".
Yeah, I understand that. Tell that to my sister. My niece wants a strawberry shortcake cake for her 4th bday but she said she'd only buy it from me if it was cheaper than walmart......it doesn't matter to her about the cake. My niece wanted something nice so I'm going to do it for HER b/c I want her to have something nice. So basically I'm doing it for cost.
indydebi Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jul 07, 2006
Posts: 13502
Location: Indianapolis IN
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:12 am
kimmypooh79 wrote:
Yeah, I understand that. Tell that to my sister.
Aint' family usually the biggest PITA?
Mike1394 Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 20, 2008
Posts: 785
Location: Michigan
Posted:
Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:33 am
I was watching last nights episode, Fire engine cake, and Guitar cake. I very quick shot showed them using the crappy Wilton fondant roller/cutter. Thier's wasn't rolling either. Just kind of pushing through. LOL
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