I like to watch the show, I learned alot from them. It's nice to know that even trained professionals have mess-ups too. My husband always complains that they seem that they are not the most sanitary on their show, but he's a chef and he always tries to find the bad in everything. I think that its great to watch a show were people love cake, just as much as I do. We should celebrate our fellow cake decorators!!!!

No amen from me either! I love Duff, the gang, the show... It's certainly raised cake awareness! No more boring grocery store cakes!

And someone once compared me to Duff when I delivered a cake (I am so NOT worthy!!) and it certainly made my day! Guess people around here don't get out much...

To those who have commented that Duff doesn't do much decorating...have you ever owned/managed a business with that many employees cranking out that much product? One of the unfortunate things about growing a business is that you are often forced to give up doing the one thing that you loved about the business in the first place. Just owning and managing take up your days...it's the down side of growth. It's also the number one piece of evidence that Duff knows how to manage his business...he can be out of "the office" and the product doesn't suffer.

i will amen to sonoma...i agree!
duff is very humble and i have seen him many times pick up the phone and call collete or other decorators and ask for help. someone also mentioned that they are irritated because he doesn't use "real" cake...do you know how many times i haven't used real cake? i've used foam many times.. it's not the cake or the main piece that shows the talent...9xs out of 10 it's the DETAIL that you put into it...that goes itno the main piece...for example, they did a scene from the exorcist (sp?) where the girl is on the bed sitting up and her head spins around or some crap...but they made a cake from that scene...all of it was cake, except the head and it spun around!!! and the detail that went into the facial features was amzing. the customer was sooooooooooo excited about it!
who wouldn't be? and besides the chemisrty in the shop is amazing as well. he should get more credit than what you guys are giving him.
he has his own show and we don't...so what is the problem? envious? heck yes i am...i would love to be in his shoes in a minute!!!

Hey, Denae, can you edit that oooooo, please?

It's messing with the window width.

haha...i just did. i thought i broke it...

I am a fan of his show. I watch all of the cake challenges too. I find them "educational."

Anyway, I was checking out their website after reading all of the posts on here and was surprised to come across this in his FAQ:

I have a question about decorating / cake making.
We wish we could answer every question in stupendously personalized detail. However, due to the insano crazy number of emails we get, thatâs simply not possible and we canât answer questions about decorating. If youâre looking for cake technique info, check out the books Cakewalk by Margaret Braun, Cakes To Dream On by Colette Peters, and Larry Powellâs Big Book of Cake Decorating. The web forums at www.sugarbuzz.us and www.cakecentral.com are also wonderful resources.

Apparently he thinks fairly highly of our beloved CC if he is directing curious people here.

I agree lorijom. Being a business owner...and a successful one takes up tons of time. My DH owned a magic shop and I can attest to the time and work it was. He learned a new side to his art...the business end of it. And it does leave little time for the reason you started the business in the first place...the fun part!

Duff and his crew have been instrumental in elevating "just cake" to a true art form. All of us benefit from that.

I'm sure there are others out there who could also do a great food channel show .. (pick me! pick me!! pick meeeeeeeeee!) .....that doesn't diminish what Duff and crew have done for our industry.

What about Food Network, Doug? Royalties? I'm sure they get paid for that. I'm sure that helps pay some of those bills, in addition to the cakes.

I don't watch a lot of television, so I can't comment in depth about the show. From the way I see it, if ANY of us can promote the craft in an attention getting way that will benefit the industry as a whole then go for it. There's no need to be hating on someone else just because they've managed to make it big. If someone compared your work to their work - consider it a compliment and move on. Unless you're the XYZ baker from right down the way from Duff, what's the big deal?

I like watching Duff & his wondeful staff mainly because they are human & we also see the disasters that happen, they don't only show us the good end results, that always makes me feel good. No he is not perfect, but he doesn't claim that any of them are perfect.

Disclaimer: I do NOT dislike Duff or his employees.

Now then...
I dislike Ace of Cakes because many people not in the cake industry think that they can come to me and ask for an Ace of Cakes-esque cake and buy it for $19.99. They do not realize that Ace of Cakes charges as much as they do for their one of a kind cakes.
They also do not realize that while Duff has many people working for him making the cakes, I make all of cakes myself. Customers don't get that I'm just one person and I need around 3 days notice to make a specialized cake.

In short, my problem is that customers don't understand the time and effort that are put into the cakes. They watch the show and think they can get a cake that lights up, spins, and shoots out tequila mixers for Wal-Mart prices and that it only takes an hour to make it.

Love him or hate him, we all owe Duff some thanks.
Without his show, the cake industry would not be such a fad right now and a lot of us would not even be doing this. His show has helped create huge exposure for our industry and made the general public realize just how much you can do with a cake. The show has also given us a bar that the public can measure us by. To the average client, if you do something better than Duff and the gang you are amazing! Duff has also tought a lot of us to think outside the box, I did a Darth Vader head a couple of months ago and wired it up to make it talk. I would have never considered doing something like that before.
Duff & gang - you guys ROCK, and you help keep me in business!

I love DUFF and the staff at Charm City! I think it takes more than just decorating talent to have a TV show!! Hello!!! Can somebody say, RATINGS??!! They have tons of personality and they DO HAVE TALENT so it works...Duff's laugh alone is hilarious...and people love it. His staff is HIGLY talented and have great personalities (who doesn't love GEOF???))lol... Loved the Comcast building cake on lastnight's episode. If that doesn't take some level of talent then I don't know what does. So, with that said, unless there is going to be a network that showcases every single talented baker in the WORLD, we are STUCK with Good Ole' Duff and I can't say that I'm sad about it! Thanks to Tivo, I have never missed an episode and don't plan too.

Love Duff!!! Love the show!!!It's all about the personality!!

Debbie Does Cakes is awesome..............but she was the one on the Simpson Cake Challenge that didnt finish her cake! I think she brought her brother with her that never decorated before......bad mistake because sometimes you really cant do it ALL YOURSELF!
You can view all her work on FLICKR.com

Ironically I just visited CAKELOVE last Monday while I was in Washington.......very disappointed..........matter of fact sometimes I just dont get it!

SweetConfChef, I think you are right. The last time I looked at their site, they were not taking any orders, they were booked for 5 months, I believe it was. Not to mention, either the Charm City Cakes logo and/or Duff's face usually shows up every commercial break on FN. I might agree with Doug if if weren't for Food Network paying them and exposing them to the world. I don't believe they have any trouble paying the bills or the employees.

I have to agree with many of you.

Duff and company were actually the inspiration that brought me into the cake world. Granted just like any artist, each individual has their own niche and style. That's why there is so many very talented cake/sugar artists some have great books, DVDs, etc and so many are in our own CC community.

I'm so thankful I came across that show...I'm a corporate consultant by day and sugar artist by night and weekend. So glad I can finally put that design degree to work...never thought it would be in the sugar medium..but just love it all thanks to my 'Ace of Cake's' inspiration and the entertaining staff...they are a hoot.

I actually discovered CC from a link on Charm City Cakes web site.

I think Duff is the "Tim - The Tool Man - Taylor" of the cake world. He's obviously no expert - but he's hilarious.

And yes, it does kind of irk me that whenever someone sees my cakes they always comment on "Ace of Cakes"... I want to compared to Collette or Margaret or Bronwen, darn it!!! LOL!

Hey, being compared to Ace Of Cakes is better than being compared to COSTCO or Walmart!!

I have to say her portfolio is great. But it's not always what make great tv. People want entertainment and Duff and his staff have tons of personality. They have fun and don't sweat the "cake disasters" they have. (I'm learning from them lol) They just happen to find a creative guy who happens to make a great television show; in turn he gets his name out there and tons of recognition. Luck of the draw I think.

I really love the fact that they show all the mistakes and cake disasters that happen on that show! The roller skate that fell apart, the food coloring splotch on the autograph cake, all the cracks in the fondant and cakes that get dropped. It makes me feel like it's okay to be human. Some of these decorator's websites and books show these jaw-dropping show-stoppers and you just wonder if they're as vulnerable as we are to mistakes or if they just hover above the ground. I totally love Duff's show.....as well as all those Brownwens and Collettes out there. Wish I could be one, but.......

I love Ace of Cakes!

I am a Wilton Method Instructor and am very grateful to Duff and his crew! My classes fill up with people wanting/dreaming of doing cakes like they do.

If someone were to say they want an Ace of Cakes cake I would tell them they start at $1000, but I could do it for $xxxx. If my work were to be compared to them I would be ok with that too! Most people don't know who Margaret Bruan or Bronwen Weber (sorry if I spelled their names wrong) are, as long as someone appreciates my work and better yet pays me I am definitely ok with that!