EXTRAVAGANT is NOT wrong if you have the money to be extravagant. If Angelina Jolie or Britney Spears wants to buy a 1,000 cake everyday from Duff, they can do so since they HAVE the money to do that. I think Duff do not have customers who are Welfare recipients... I hope not !!
NOW THAT WOULD BE VERY WRONG !!

about the $1000 minimum...

i want to clarify something to everyone ...
indydebi mentioned the superbowl cake...

when i was getting married i actually called Charm City to inquire how much it would cost me for them to do my cake here in florida... here is what i was told...

$1000 for a 100 person cake (simple design... extravagent design elements would add slightly to the cost of the cake)
plus i had to pay:
1- airfare for 3 staff members to and from miami
international airport...
2- hotel stay for 3 staff for 3 days (2 days before my wedding date and the day of my wedding)
3- car rental for 3 days
4-$1000 (for all 3 days) retainer (for food and incidentals)

when i added it up...
$1000 for the cake
$600 plane tickets
$450 hotel stay
$250 car rental
$1000 retainer

so for a cake for 100 people it was going to cost me $3300.00 thats $33 a slice....

my dad was willing to do it for me... but you know what i told him, i would rather do my own cake... take a honeymoon to orlando (i love disney world) and pay off some of my credit cards... and that is what i did....

if i had the money to do it i would have but i paid out of pocket for most of my wedding so to have my parents who were already stretching themselves pay almost $4000 for a cake i thought to myself.... i am not that spoiled...

just my opinion.. i still love duff and geof... and mary alice... i love ace of cakes.. but am too practical with my money!!!

Just came across this thread, like an hour after I read this thread on Wilton...

http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=4&threadid=107119&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=&STARTPAGE=1

Apparently their cakes are not that great!

Regarding the Wilton thread....The cake tasted bad and it looked like that!?

LOL I'm sorry, but I did not think the design was great. The stripe thing is popular, if not a bit over done but to me theirs falls flat. There was no "excitement" in the design.

Yeah it was an interesting thread. I live kind of close to Baltimore and I was curious about it...now I know I'm not going there! I thought it would be like the best thing ever since it's so hyped up! I personally can't stand the show. I've tried to watch it a few times, the first time thinking it was more educational. But once I realized it was a sort-of reality show I realized it wasn't for me.

I am not surprised the cake was dry and had very little filling. Have you seen how they delivery their cakes, just kind of throw them around in the back of a van? That cake has to be made of brick to withstand that!

I have customers say to me all the time "Hey you ever watch Ace of Cakes! Can you do their cakes" and I tell them I can do better then their cakes...hahahaha! (except Geoff is AMAZING but I am not impressed with the other decorators.)

Hi Guys
I've only watched it once and i have to say I was disappointed. Not so much with the fact that the cakes were not perfect (who am i to criticise) but what annoyed me was Duff sat back and took the credit for one of his staff's work. The client was over the moon with an aeroplane cake she had ordered for her dh and oh'd and ah'd at how she just knew Duff would make something special - I was waiting for him to say well actually *** made it but he didn't he just smiled and nodded taking the credit. I'm sure he can do good cakes ( like i say I've only seen it once so can't comment on his work) but it annoys me when people don't give or get credit for work.

I'm not a fan of Bobby Flay. He seems arrogant at times and it rubs me the wrong way. I wouldn't mind hanging out with Alton Brown or Tyler Florence though!

I'm a famous cake artist in the country where I live, and I would never ever take credit for an employees!

When someone compliments me on a cake that an employee made I always say, Thanks, I'll let Maria know you liked that design, or something similar.

ACE OF CAKEs staff is talented and has personality and that why their show gets high ratings.

If you get talented cake decorator to host a show but has no personality I will turn my TV off.

Also, I feel if you have the money and can afford to pay an ACE of Cake staff to decorate your cake that's your choice. If you can't afford you have the freedom to choose another cake decorator.

I love watching Ace of Cakes even though I don't like that they use a lot of nonedible things in their cakes and I do question the cleanliness of how they handle the cakes. I know every state has diffenent health requirements. Here in Washington after a product is baked/cooked you have to have gloves on to handle it...fondant, BC ect.

It's an entertaining show and I love how they don't just show all the fluff and that they show their cake disasters and how they handle them. I have my own business and I've never worked for another bakery so it makes me feel better to see that a "Pro Chef" has the same issues that I do.

If it weren't for their show my customers wouldn't realize the cake possiblities out there. Their show helps my business especially when they realize that I can do cakes similar to Ace of Cakes.

Its because of Duff, Colette, and Bronwen that I decided to become a cake decorator. If I hadnt seen the challenges and things it would of never crossed my mind! His show stays on top because not only is he a down to earth, laid back type of guy but his staff are wonderfully talented and their fun to watch! I have such a crush on him also! I dont know what it is about him but he's definetly on my "list"!!
And Saturday night I delivered a suitcase cake to a venue that he has done weddings before and one of the guys there asked me if it was an "Ace of Cakes" cake. I said, no, that I did it. He kept saying Wow! To me, that is the ultimate compliment!
And if it wasnt for him, Martha Stewart, and Food Network, I dont think the industry would be what it is today. You would still being seeing the old type of decorated cakes and not nearly the cakes that push it to the limit today. To me he deserves a metal because he's giving us ALL business!

I haven't had a chance to read this entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating something someone has already said...

You will not get an "Amen" from me, and here's why:

1. If it weren't for shows like Ace of Cakes, cake decorating would not be as much in the spotlight as it is right now. Most people have at least heard of the show, and if someone tells me my cakes look like Duff's, I take it as a high compliment.

2. I have never heard Duff claim to be the best cake decorator out there. His goal has always been to make fun, creative cakes. Are they perfect? NO. But I don't think that has ever been CCC's highest priority---they want to make cakes that spark the imagination and make people smile.

3. Ace of Cakes would not exist (and be on the air for so long), if it weren't for Duff & the gang's personality. I have watched other cake shows, the most recent one being "Amazing Wedding Cakes". The people featured on that show all had the personality of a wet blanket, therefore I stopped watching it. I love cake, but if the person making it on television can't keep my attention, then whether or not they are talented at making cakes doesn't matter.

4. And finally, $1000 is a lot to spend for cake, but Duff's prices would not be that high if the demand wasn't there. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, you certainly have many other options. But obviously someone is buying cakes from them!

although lately, Duff seems to be making a lot of Display Cakes!

I just wish they posted prices...I get people all the time who want a Duff LIke Cake and think they only cost 20 dollars.

I liked the wedding cake show because it really SHOWED how long and stressful a cake can take to make. Although the crybaby on one of the shows was annoying...

If you go deeper into that Wilton thread someone talks about one of the cakes and how the taste was bad.

Chutzpah said:

Just goes to show you can be entertaining (you are such a hoot with your comments and posts ) and have great integrity. In my eyes that is more worthy of $1000 per cake than someone with such an inflated ego that they even claim credit for someone else's work.

As for his prices, people on here demand a certain price and won't compromise as that is their 'worth' I don't see that Duff charging $1000 per cake is any different. That's the market he operates in and is obviously kept in business. How many on here would turn down orders if they had clients willing to pay $1000 per cake, Often you see cc'ers or other decorators getting a hard time for charging too little and 'devaluing' the cakes and work people do. I just don't think we can have it both ways.
JMO

I think they just dont have the time to put all the cakes they do on a website. And yes, there are a lot of people who watch the show that think they can get the same thing from you for the price of a grocery store cake. But I dont think thats anything new. There are people that have never heard of the show that think they can get a wedding cake the next day for $50 to feed $200! Your always going to have ignorance if they really dont know anything about it. I try to give a little bit of what goes into a wedding cake to my clients at the tasting. I know one lady thanked me because she had no idea that there were support systems inside and how long it really took to make a cake of that proportion.
But I love Ace of Cakes and would probably watch it even if it didnt have much to do about the cakes. I just love to see how they work and his crew are just hilarious. And Duff is a cutie that you just want to hug when you see him. And maybe pinch his cheeks!
And I watched Amazing Wedding Cakes just to see the cakes, definetly not for the personalities. I think I could of turned the sound off and would of prefered to watch the show that way. With all the whining and blubbering it just got on my nerves! Not to mention the tee-hee head tilt when she talked and the one that looked like she was from the Geico commercial. Ugh!
Ok, Im done bashing! lol

I have to say i love ace of cakes. I could watch it all day, and wish they had more episodes on. I wish they would show a cake constructed from beginning to end, but that's probably not 'entertaining' enough for the network.

The only thing that really kinda grossed me out today while watching the episode in which they were making a huge replica of a book..one of the cake artists..i have a terrible memory..but i think it was anna who was painting on a picture of two men..it was a very close shot and you could actually see her hair dragging on the fondant covered cake..not very hygenic IMO. BUT>>i have to say anna and the other decorators have wicked talent when it comes to carving, painting, piping. I hope to be that good one day. I just wish they would wear hair nets or something. I know i do each and everytime and i bake out of my house. BUT, again it probably would not be as entertaining if they were all wearing aprons and hair nets.. Oh well, regardless..love the show!

It takes character and personality to have a show, everyone on Food Network knows what they're talking about. He may not be the greatest but they have a pretty cool team and let's just say, some people envy the fact that they can't be like that, which is why people always have such negative things to say. But he got to where he's at because he's unique. If it weren't for his uniqueness then we'd all have a show.

I have to agree with the previous poster about the girl's hair on the cake. That was gross. I see them alot of time doing ''things'' with their bare hands and then working on a cake...no gloves, that turns me sick sometimes.

I do like the show however, they have awesome talent. But I feel they should be weary of the hygiene issues.