AM: Just the way that you broke that down, because we love brownies – the glands started salivating just thinking about it! You took us through a 30 second journey where we’re like, “he is right, there are levels to that. It’s not just crunchy on top and gooey chocolate on the bottom.” You literally took us on a journey where we see that you’re right!
DG: Yeah! Because it’s a thing! I mean, when you take a bite of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, you bite into it and at first, it’s like your canine teeth kind of hit the thick part of the chocolate where it’s a bit thicker so it will go snap. But your front teeth, the top teeth kind of go in the top and sort of goes into the peanut butter and then before your bottom teeth get in there, your tongue is actually hitting the bottom of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and the chocolate is always so thin right there that it has just a little more give so it’s a different texture than the top. And then when you bite into it and that one piece of chocolate goes snap, but because the edges are serrated – you know that zig zag on the edges, that part kind of pokes up in your lip for a second and it gives you a little sharp and that first bite of that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – I love it, but when you break down that for people, everyone has had that experience but no one has articulated it. When you do, it helps people to understand the food that they are eating and what they’re making.
I think that it makes people better cooks and better chefs because what people try to do then is say, “let me think about what is my favorite thing – there’s this burger that I like – why do I like it?” They’ll start really thinking about all of the little things like – they buttered the bun, salted it and then toasted it in a pan. The inside of the bun kind of has the texture of the outside of a grilled cheese. You start going through everything that makes that burger and the next time that person makes a burger, they are going to make it exactly the way that they want it because they are actually thinking of all of those little tiny details. That’s truly what makes a good chef – being able to articulate things that you like in a bite that other people will appreciate people will appreciate. The customers don’t have to think about the food like you’re thinking about it and I don’t think it’s necessary for everybody to think about the minutia of every little thing that they eat, but to be able to craft something that gives somebody else an experience that you yourself have had and enjoyed, that is what makes a good chef.
AM: You translate that so well and once again, in the example of the Reese’s Cup another favorite of ours – we don’t eat a lot of candy around here, but that is something that we really enjoy!
DG: Haha they are so good!
AM: They’re so tasty and there is just something about it. But you took us on that journey and it’s like, “he’s so right, the canine teeth do hit that part!”
DG: Totally!
AM: So with Holiday Baking Championship which kicks off this month, what can we expect from this season and what are you excited about?
DG: You know, one of the things that I love about Holiday Baking Championship is that we film it in the summer time. I basically love all of those flavors – cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, eggnog – all of those things. I love it. I basically get 2 Christmas baking seasons every year and I just love it and it’s really great! This is a really good one! All the bakers are fantastic, and we have some really good challenges and I feel like Nancy Fuller and I just reached a new level in our relationship where we were just bickering at each other and one of the fun things is that Nancy and my daughter formed a special bond. We were filming in Knoxville, and we brought her out there and Josephine and Nancy immediately connected, and it was really really beautiful and I hope that they show some of that because it was really cute.
AM: Well, that’s exciting and as someone who has hosted and judged so many shows, shows, is there an ingredient that when you hear that a contestant wants to use it that you feel it’s a bit of a red flag and your doubtful that it will work and be a disaster? Or are you intrigued that they will use it and think that it could be cool?
DG: I mean, I always keep an open mind. I try not to let my personal prejudice mess things up. For example, I am not a huge fan of raspberries and chocolate. I think it is overplayed and a lot of time, I think that raspberries are acidic, and that dark chocolate is as well. So a lot of times I find that the combination of raspberries and chocolate is a bit too sour. But that’s just me. Everytime that someone makes it and I ask myself is it well balanced, is it done? It’s not like, “oh I don’t like these flavors, so you don’t win.” It’s like, did you do something cool with it?
AM: With it being the holiday season, what are 3 gifts that you suggest whether we’re buying it for ourselves or for a fellow baker that they should have in their kitchens for baking?
DG: Ohhhhh! I would say, if you don’t mind spinning extra money, a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer – it’s just night and day. For baking, you will do so much more with it. Definitely a scale – a digital one that can weigh out in ounces and grams. It’s always really good. I would say if someone is doing a lot of baking, I would say a bench scraper – it’s not something that a lot of people have in their kitchens at home, but I think that everyone would find it really useful – especially when you’re cleaning up. It’s great because it has this nice blade and handle that you can just scrape on your counters and it gets all of that dry stuff and it just comes up and you can wipe it down. It just makes cleaning so much easier.
AM: Well that’s great gifting ideas!
Now that you are a dad, how has it been for you to go through this phase and do you find that you look at food in a new way as Josephine is being introduced to new foods?
DG: Yes and no. I mean, just being a chef and a student of food, I’m pretty well versed into proteins, carbs and fats – good fats and bad fats. Same for good carbs and bad carbs. I’m definitely thinking about it more and I’m not giving her Skittles and soda so that’s good! But for the most part, what I think is really good is that I love just cooking for her. I made an old school puree where instead of putting it in a blender, I steamed some carrots, sweet potatoes and I ran them through a tamis and I did it old school French style. It was nice because there was a little bit of texture and she seemed to really enjoy it. Today, I’m going to make a spinach and pear smoothie and see. It’s kind of exciting. We’re going to put some yogurt in there.
AM: That’s exciting!
DG: Yeah, she’s going to eat well. When she goes to college, she’s going to be like, “oh man, I’ve had it good my whole life!”
AM: Pretty much – those dining halls!
Well looing at your portfolio and the body of work that you have created in your career from the shows that you have been on, your partnership with Goldbelly, your bakeries and also your philanthropic efforts with No Kid Hungry, what do you want your legacy to be seen as?
DG: It’s a good question. I think that hopefully, if anything, what makes me the happiest is seeing that I have inspired people to get in touch with their creative side. Not necessarily in baking, but just in anything, you know? I have inspired people to quit their jobs and start businesses and I think that that right there and showing people that there are career paths out there that are not sitting at a desk and 9-5. There’s some cool stuff out there.
I think that one of the things that I was most proud of with Ace of Cakes is that a lot of kids look at adults and they don’t think being one looks like a lot of fun at all. For the most part, they’re right. But they could look at Ace of Cakes and be like, these are adults and they seem to be having a great time! I think that for me, that feels really good. I like that if I met my 7 year old self, 7 year old Duff would say, “wow, that dude is pretty cool.” It makes me feel good and that’s a good measure in general. As you’re going through life and making decisions, it’s always important to ask yourself if your 7 year old self would be disappointed in your right now or would they say, yeah this is right and I turned out pretty cool. Sometimes when you see politicians – I mean would Ted Cruz’s 7 year old self be like, “yeah you’re awesome” or would he be like, “you suck! I can’t believe that I ended up being you.” You know what I mean?
AM: There are so many!
DG: I don’t want to let myself down. I don’t want to let Duff down from 1981 and for him to think that this guy sucks.
AM: Um yeah, can there be a trade in?
DG: Totally! I turned out to be a dick!
AM: It’s like, is that the road that you wanted to go down? It just doesn’t look right!
DG: Yeah! What decision did you make that led you to this point? You should go back and rethink that one!
AM: It’s like, do you have any friends? Because if you had a good one, they would say, “wow you need to rethink that one!”
DG: Dude, what the hell? What is going on with you?
AM: How do you take time for yourself and get that moment of zen with all of the things that you have been involved in?
DG: It’s really important. You’ll never have the time if you don’t make the time. It’s really important to be able to find that time for yourself. I know you wouldn’t really think of it by looking at me, but I am actually insane about exercising. I love to exercise. I love to lift. I have a really nice gym here at my house. I do a lot of other stuff too. I play music and I have a whole jam room studio in the basement and right now I am working on a set of blocks for my daughter.
AM: We saw that on Instagram! It’s so cute!
DG: Yeah! I’m kind of right in the middle of that. It’s a big job!
AM: Earlier this year you posted about this wooden play thing that someone suggested you should buy it, but then you got the tools and materials and made it. You’re a serious woodsman!
DG: Yeah, my wife was like, there’s this thing and we could buy it, but it would be cool if you made it. So I wanted to make it and I ended up spending about $1,000 in tools for something that would have cost $90 on Etsy but it was super fun!
AM: It looked beautiful!
DG: Yeah, I do a lot of wood working – like bird feeders around the house. I had to child proof the house. We kind of live in a cabin, it’s a big A-frame and it’s not fancy it’s from the 70s and it’s a loft upstairs and that’s dangerous for a little kid. So I had to build all of these walls and stuff to keep her from falling off the loft because there are no handrails – no door. So I love doing a lot of wood work and I’m trying to get these blocks done and my wife wants me to make a sensory board for her. Things to play with and things that make noise. I have to finish these blocks because I hate leaving projects unfinished. To put the blocks aside and then move to something else, it doesn’t sit well with me - so I have to get them done!
IG @duffgoldman
PHOTOS COURTESY | PG 92, 95 + 99 No Kid Hungry | PG 96 The Jim Henson Company |
Read the NOV ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag and see Tasting Journey with Duff Goldman in mag.
Hear Chef, Restaurateur, Baker, TV Personality and Host/Judge of Food Network/Discovery+, Duff Goldman on our show, Athleisure Kitchen - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multimedia companion podcast network! Subscribe to be notified when the episode drops. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
