Ok just let me start out by saying that I am a fan of the show...love eet!! But can someone please tell me WHY they get orders for cakes made of styrofoam and cardboard? I just got done watching the episode where they make the Macy's 150th anniversary cake. WHAT IS THE POINT!? Why doesn't Macy's just order a replica of their building from an architecture student or something... I don't get why they would order this sort of thing from a cake shop? IT'S NOT A CAKE!!

Ok vent over... anyone feel the same way?

I never really understood that either. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine too! BTW, I also love Ace of Cakes. Geof is my fave.

I think some of them are partially cake but I agree that they should be hiring set designers not a cake decorator! But thats ok, I love the show and they crack me up!

i love the ace of cakes too!! and this is not the first time they have done this with the card board. i thought they make a real macy's cake. same with the dog bone box. boggles my mind!!but i love duff and the crew

It's just a novelty, having whatever "it" is, recreated in edible material. Also, he's a celebrity, and cake is a big thing right now.

Yeh - I have to agree - because the whole point of being a cake artist is creating art with cake and icing(s)! But I totally understand there are certain designs and constructions that would not fare well being made out of cake, but because of their reputation and status, I guess it is just totally so cool to have a Charm City creation - whether it is edible or not. It is all about the presentation for the event and then the edible cake is wairing in the "wings" so to speak. I do have to say that I have learned SO much just from watching the show and I love watching the whole staff and Duff just cracks me up. I love him to death and would love to be able to meet him in person some day. I do like the fact that they keep it real and show their cake "Boo-boos" too! Quite often they do incorporate real cake into the construction of many of the intricate designs! Kudos to them all - they work hard and long hours.

yes geof is my fav too! I went to a food show in anaheim a few months ago, but I couldn't afford the extra cost of seeing their presentation. I was bummed!

Also I ran into one of the girls at a show at SXSW last year(can't remember her name, she always has bangs in her face, dark blonde hair) and I HAD to say hello, (since she was watching my band's show I figured she might be a fan) and she just kind of looked at me like with a blank look on her face. Awkward! I think she said she was sick or something.

I thing those big clients do it as a comodity. If their having a big event, "Cake from Chef Duff of Ace of Cakes" is like having a headlining music artist performing; just part of the show. I'm sure there was cake served around there somewhere. lol. and think of it from Duffs view - no actual cake envolved, but still the cash.

I love the show. Anna is my fav Did anyone see the episode recently where they all made their own shoes? I loved that!

I LOVE Ace of Cakes!!! It's so nice to see others with the same "What the h@#*" attitude, willing to try anything and so laid-back about it. Perfection without acting like a perfectionalist, I s'pose.

Anyway, I'll bet that one big reason they make big styrofoam structures for big events out of town is for ease of travel. We all know they could easily make those things with cake or modeling chocolate or RKTs if they wanted.

It might also be for the ease of slicing and serving the cake to several hundreds of people...

that definitely makes sense... I just feel that the thing that made Duff famous is the crazy things he could do with cake. So in my opinion they should always be cakes! But hey, if I was getting paid as much as he probably did for that cake, you do what you gotta do! hah!

Yeah, Duffs a teeny-tiny bit of a sell-out. BUT, hey, when you've got a hit TV show and busy bakery, who cares?

i totally love the show and watch everything they do to pick up on techniques. i really like when they show things that go wrong and how they fix them. the only thing that kinda grosses me out is how everybody's hair is always hanging over the cakes, not pulled back or anything--ugh!

I don't think it's selling out to create something that a client specifically requests.

I also think that most of the time, the companies that specifically request dummy cakes/cardbard etc has more to do with display function.

For example most companies would rather display the work for an extended period of time as part of a promotion. And to have it made out of actual cake is simply not going to work with actual cake, as it will settle and go bad after a period of time.

On the other hand, I would probably always choose cake!

What bugs me the most is that they call it "cake." Geoff said something about the building being a really big cake... "IT'S NOT CAKE!!!" Call it a topper ('cause usually there's sheet cakes at the base) but PLEEEASE quit calling those structures cake!!!!

I don't think it's selling out to create something that a client specifically requests.

I also think that most of the time, the companies that specifically request dummy cakes/cardbard etc has more to do with display function.

For example most companies would rather display the work for an extended period of time as part of a promotion. And to have it made out of actual cake is simply not going to work with actual cake, as it will settle and go bad after a period of time.

On the other hand, I would probably always choose cake!

I have agree, STOP calling it CAKE! It's not!!! It's so irratating especially when I know cake people that have done a replica of a building to perfection for 1000 plus servings and it was ALL cake!

There is a big difference of doing it all out of cake with the correct support and using non edible stuff to support your design. Big difference!!!

Don't get me wrong I love ace of cakes and give prompts to Duff but I'm turned off by all the non edible stuff he adds to create designs

Jackie-I would choose cake too! But agree with what your saying. People buy the cakes for the showpiece of it, maybe keep part of the nonedible portion. Then they can have their cake and eat it too .

I did meet Duff, Geoff and Mary Alice at the Anaheim show last year. They are very nice, and down to earth. I was lost, and so were they looking for the show. It was cool, we wandered around together for about an hour. I kept pinching myself!

I figure anybody's entitled to do what he or she wants, and that includes using cake dummies for really super-duper cakes. As far as I'm concerned, though, cake decorating is not an inexpensive hobby or undertaking, so I refuse to waste my money on the buttercream, fondant, gumpaste, creativity and ingenuity it takes to do a cake by putting a dummy under it and having to scrap everything later. I'm in what I would call my apprenticeship phase: I want to do this professionally, but I'm not good enough yet. Fortunately, I have a rather large supply of good-natured friends and relatives who are only too happy to get a cake every once in a while. I look up excuses to make cakes (birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, Valentine's, Easter, Christmas, etc.) and just go ahead and produce them. If they´re going to be used as the center of a celebration, I usually ask first - I don't want them to feel like they have to use the thing if they've already got one or might not like it. Gee, venting is a good thing all around. I'm really going to sleep well tonight.

There was one show where Mary Alice explained why they call a dummy a "cake". Something about it being too long to call it what it really is, and she had a long phrase that meant cake dummy. They know it's not cake. They acknowledge it. But it's just an abbreviation for them. I wish I could remember what she said.

I've been working on my dummy cake for the Austin cake show for a month now. I just call it my "cake". Should I not? Should we just call the Cake Show the "Styrafoam Shapes Which In Theory Should Be Able To Be Reproduced In Cake Show"? I think it's ok that they call them "cakes".

I love the show too but it bugs me too that they call it cake...call it a "fake cake" or something.

It also kinda grosses me out that they don't wear gloves when handling the cakes and their hair is everywhere and I wonder why they don't wear aprons? It's like they throw cake around. I know I couldn't get away doing that stuff with our health department.

So many things about that show bother me.

sayhellojana and rocksymom said what I was going to say. Yeah, the shoe episode was lots of fun. I don't think it's an intentional misrepresentation.

what about the shorts and sandals? What HD would OK that? The show is amazing and fun but it is not all about the cake or dummies - alot about the techniques. Like the zoo showpieces they do - they are great but they need to last for display and it all about marketing. People pay to see Duff and crew and his work. Does anyone know of a famous celebrity architech with their own show? It is all about money. Always has been and always will be.

I admire the show...they work hard and have fun...show thier mistakes and are very charitable.

My question, is why would Macy's, a NYC landmark, not choose a cake decorator from NYC?

I think we're too picky.
Dude, when we get our own show we can get that little matter cleared up for our adoring fans.
(both of 'em--lol--Mom and Dad )

signed,
buzzkill k8t

adven68 - I think it's because it's an attention grabber. "Cake by Chef Duff!" He's on tv - he's recognizable.