I watched a couple of episodes and it was interesting but. Yuck, seeing those guys with no gloves and their hands all over something someone is going to eat. The place reminds me of a garage, not a bakery. On one episode they delivered a cake in the back of a dirty vehicle. And they don't even cover them with anything. I think it's kind of gross. Just my opinion.

I noticed that as well. And their attitudes towards everyone outside the shop are pretty arrogant.

I'm sad......I have Charter cable and they do not have "The Food Network" I only get to watch it when I visit my parents house!

I wasn't impressed with the cakes - let me see something in buttercream! My biggest pet-peeve with the show is the guy's laugh.... dont' know what it is... just really annoying....

I personally think that they are all extremely talented and I LOVE that they are unconventional in their cakes. He gets to use his love of decorating and shop skills to create some amazing cakes. The shop looks extremely clean, and just because they don't wear gloves doesn't mean that their hands aren't clean.

Just my thoughts. I am a big fan.
Angie

I love the show. I always learn something new when I see it and always get a good laugh, too.
To each his own...

I have to agree...the cakes were nice, but i can stand the attitudes. I used to work at this hoity toity bakery for 4 years and thats EXACTLY how the owner was...and almost every customer was part of the PITA group so she called it( Pain In The Ass) coz she never wanted to be bothered by them, and she would run in the back when certain people came into her shop... and honestly when you work in a bakery like that realisticaly.. you dont wear gloves, its too hard and they get in the way, you just keep ur hands extra clean by constantly washing them

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it!!!! I LOVED it!! I worked with the public for a LONG>>> time and his comments were something that I would have loved to have said but, never could have.... so hats off to him....

bo

he makes really cool cakes too!!! It's nice to see such teamwork too!!

ditto angela!! i love that show!! i have it tivo'd for every one so i cant possibly miss one. my fave was the black/white wedding cake(!! the way the "dress flowed almost flawlessly( you would never have even seen the mistake if they hadn't showed him fixin it) all over the cake! and the topper!! GORGEOUS!!! he does what i would love to do one day( they are soooo talented though).


LOVE ACE OF CAKES!! GREAT IDEAS!!
i watched him airbrush at a contest b4 and he sprayed yellow b4 the green and it makes such a huge difference in the appearance of "grass" or ground cover. now i do it for all green-green color..

I like the show, i find it very entertaining. And i think the cakes are very creative.

But i, too, was surprised that no one wore gloves, here in NY you have to wear gloves for any food product that isn't going to be cooked. And the other thing that surprised me is that they dont wear hair nets. I have always thought that was a no no when it came to the food worker. (maybe they are just much stricter in the kitchen i work in)

I too think this show is great! Could you imagine owning and running a shop like that and having that kind of talent!!??
As with the glove thing, that really does not have anything to do with how clean they are. I mean, if you really think about it, gloves are gonna end up dirtier than hands because you do not consistently wash gloves on your hands as you do your hands! I personally think gloves are dirtier in the long run because they are never washed!

I like the show and the people. I love their unconventional methods and the end results! I liked on one of the food challenges when Duff did something that wasn't "just so" and how everyone snubbed him with their "I can't believe he did that" attitude. Just because he doesn't do it the same way as everyone else doesn't matter - the end result does! He keeps it fun and interesting. I know if I were suddenly thrown into the spotlight getting thousands of calls and e-mails and people just popping in like that i'd probably get a little bit of a big head and hide sometimes too! You'd never get any work done if you "entertained" all the time. Look at his expression sometimes though - it almost looks like a "I can't believe i'm here" look sometimes! Kudos to Duff and his team! Here's to keeping it fun!

Debbie

i LOVE the show. and i love that it is REAL and not scripted. Everyone Complains about customers. Yes, they were rude but they were also kind.

Also, I don't think I've EVER seen a show on Food Network where the chef wore gloves.

I think they are all amazingly talented and I've already gotten some great ideas.

People, people, people.....do you not realize how petty you sound picking this guy apart? "Not impressed with his cakes" and "his shop looks like a garage"? I'd like to see your kitchen when you're in the middle of a cake, let alone 20 cakes! I think their shop is beautiful. It looks like it should...like an artists studio. And you know, maybe you're not impressed, but if that's the case I'd like to see what DOES impress you. He's obviously got "something" or Food Network wouldn't deem him worthy of his own show. If you have, indeed, worked in retail you should know from experience that people can be a major pain in the ars. And while they should be handled in a professional manor it's also unrealistic to expect a person not to need to blow off a little steam. To that comment I say, "let he who is without fault cast the first stone." Everyone is, of course, entitled to their own opinion, but it kind of sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me. We're artists working in the same medium.... I don't understand why we can't respect each other's differences and be supportive and encouraging of one another as we explore our artform. And that's all I'm sayin'.

I don't get to watch the show, but I don't use gloves to decorate. Is that gross? My hands are always washed and my workstaion sanitized. What do you all do?

Stephanie

and redsoxgirl you're right....I don't remember seeing any chef on food network wearing gloves. Can someone explain why Duff should have to?

I would love for the show to be an hour long. I don't think they show enough of what is happening and his talent.

You know what? The more I think about this the more irritated I get! The day after the show premiered I emailed Duff's bakery in Maryland to say how much I loved the show and imagine my surprise, when within 20 minutes, I had an email back from Duff, PERSONALLY, thanking me for my email and asking me to drop them a line from time to time and let them know how they're doing! Sounds horribly arrogant, right? Geesh! He couldn't have been nicer or more HUMBLE!

I think the show is great,I love it because the are themselves and the use profanity, I know I use it when I decorate a cake lol. The episode when he spilled the decorating balls all over the floor if you will notice that was the only thing that was only the floor, I think the place looks super clean. And the sign on the door clearly says BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, so I would have an attitude also. For the price he gets for his cakes I would say he can act anyway he wants to. JMO

I can't wait to see this show...set it up to Tivo this week.....kept forgetting too....I love food network! KansasJill sounds like he is a pretty nice guy!

I cannot imagine trying to decorate wearing gloves (but then again I dont even like them in the winter!!) something about it being tight on my hands....but I wash my hands all the time when I am messing with cakes.

I just love watching talented people, I am still very new so I do very rough work next to most of you talented folks.....but I think there is stuff to learn from watching it being done!

According to the sanisafe book we used in class this is the rule of thumb for wearing gloves.

1. Change them everytime that you change what you are doing. In other words in a kitchen (restaurant) if you are doing veggies and then handle meat..you change your gloves.

2. And even if you are not changing jobs you should change them every 20 min.

3. But you DON'T have to wear them when your food is going to be "cooked"


I"m like !?!?!?!? I am a small operation...not only can't I afford to be buying all those gloves, all I would be doing is changing my gloves all day long.

So, I've taken it upon myself to this compromise:

I only wear them when I handle the fondant or am decorating a cake.

..when I handle the fondant it keeps my hands free of "colors" and it keeps them from being "sticky" and I can whip them off then a customer walks in.

and, when I decorate a cake, it keeps my hands clean..

I also have a "handwashing" sink in my decorating room so when I go back to decorating my cakes I make a stop there and wash and sanitize my hands before I continue what I was doing.

PS: Haven't caught the show...working too hard...lol!!

if you go to his web site they have a contact box so you can email them directly( and if you watched the episode with the granite lady you know that they do check their mail) and voice your opinions to them.
i did and gave them a link to this site( i hope thats ok) explaining that they had alot of fans from here and alot of us watch him regularly. maybe if alot of people email from here then we can get him to post as well--explaining his way of doin things.
NOT THAT HE HAS TO OR SHOULD!!

just my opinion again

WOw I don't know how you could not be impressed with his cakes! True, I'd love to see a show by the Winbecklers because I would LOVE to see them make one of those life-size statue cakes or learn more about carving, but I thought Duff's cakes were great too! And I think their attitude is light hearted and fun. You gotta remember too that he only hires his friends - so he's not going to be all "snooty professional" when he's around his friends.... if a customer is a jerk or their check bounces, he's gonna act just like you would around your friends about it...... if he acted completely different just b/c the camera was there - the show wouldn't be very "real" or as much fun.

As for the gloves thing - I've said it before and I'll say it again - even if I wanted to, there's no way I could wear gloves to decorate - I have tiny hands and I have NEVER been able to find gloves that really fit - and I don't know too many places that make children's -size latex or vinyl gloves for use w/ food items...... so I wash my hands as often as I can. I will put on some super big gloves sometimes if I'm coloring fondant - but sometimes I'll just put on one glove and use that hand to knead the fondant and once the color is mixed in pretty well, I would take the glove off.

I want to work for him so badly - anyone heard if he has internships in his shop? I think it looks massive and everyone seems to have so much fun - even when tehy were making all those stupid cookies it still felt like a light-hearted, laid-back atmosphere - imagine going to work each day and having fun!

I love his show! I only wish it was an hour. I am amazed by the cakes he creates and the closeness of his team.

and I absolutely love his laugh!

kansasjill----you go girl!!!

if you go to our forum you will read much worse comments about alot less!! he does have a sign posted that clearly says by appointment only!!

i mean COME ON!! he does also have a tv show!! im sure he gets soooo many calls!! imagine if he opened his doors to the public!! he would never be able to even bake the cake let alone decorate it!!

read some of our comments about our customers--then see if anyone really has a reason to complain about the way he does his thing!! IT IS HIS BAKERY!!

I don't wear gloves ~ neither does Martha Stewart on her show.

Does anyone actually wear them to make food for a church dinner or bake sale? I am a constant hand washer and it's okay with me to know that others are too. What I can't stand are those who lick the tips and/or their fingers. We just all need to be careful, be clean, and keep good reputations.

From what I heard on other posts of this show, I wanted so much to be able to watch it BUT I can't. We have Sky Angel Satellite. They don't have the Food Network. After a post above I guess it's a good thing they don't have it. What I am referring to is the profanity. I don't use it and I certainly don't want to hear it. So now I'm settled and okay about not being able to watch it.

[quote="Steady2Hands"]I don't wear gloves ~ neither does Martha Stewart on her show.


She doesn't??? Shame on you Martha!!!
By The way her kitchen is awfull.... looks like a garage to me!!!

I had to joke about it!! Couldn't resist!!