Duff and Geoff - The Dynamic Duo

Welcome back, sweet readers…. So you want to hear more about the cake superhero, Chef Duff Goldman, and his merry minion, Geoff Manthorne?? Well, you have come to the right place.

This past Tuesday was such an incredible experience to be able to celebrate with one of our customers, A&P, along with 50 contest winners and their guests, and – of course – Chef Duff Goldman and Geoff Manthorne (of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland) at the A&P 150th Birthday Party, hosted by Blue Bunny® Ice Cream.

The night before (Monday night), we were informed by one of Duff’s staff (his brother, to be exact) that the cake was to be finished around midnight and that one of the bakery employees would hit the road, cake loaded in the van, bound for New York City. His arrival time? 2:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Duff and Geoff would board a train Tuesday morning, arriving in NYC at approximately 8:50 a.m. We later were informed by Duff that because of our project, a new rule has been established at Charm City Cakes:

“No more cake orders for delivery on a Tuesday.”

By 9:30 a.m., we began to grow anxious at the word of Duff’s arrival. The report finally came around 9:45 a.m. – “Duff is in the Park!”….meaning, Chef Duff Goldman – The Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes” – had called to say that they were driving around Central Park in an attempt to find the Boathouse and that he feared his driver was a little lost.

Moments later, the Charm City Cakes van appeared, followed by Chef Duff, himself, and Geoff, along with Mark the road-weary cake transporter. The three of them carefully carried the main cake in – a vintage ice cream delivery truck. Then, armloads of cardboard flats containing each piece of the cake, molded from fondant icing and gum paste. Once everything was settled inside, the real work began.

The three of them set to work to finish the cake, carefully placing each piece, wiring the cake for lights and sound, smoothing out edges, shaping, molding, fussing. It was like watching a fine sculptor as he worked his medium. Two hours later, we were posing with each other next to the finished cake and Duff proudly displaying the mechanics of the dry ice smoke mist and the working horn: “Aah-ooooo-ga! Aah-ooooo-ga!” It was priceless. He was so proud of himself and we were speechless.

Duff and Geoff graciously interacted and posed with corporate executives and laughed and joked with everyone. They posed, unflapping-ly, for nearly 200 photos with our party guests (everyone got a personal photo of themselves with Duff, Geoff, and the cake). They signed autographs, listened to stories and humbly reacted to swooning fans.

The thing that amazed me the most was the number of young people who are impacted by Chef Duff and the work that he does with Charm City Cakes. Young children, fans of the show, tried to contain their excitement as they met the dynamic duo and told them how much they love the show and how much they want to grow up to be a pastry chef, too. I am also wildly aware of the impact Duff has on these kids because I see it in my own home. My own two boys and I love to watch the show. Both of my sons ask questions about culinary schools and how did Duff get his start? The thing about Duff is that he is a great role model…..he is edgy, cool, a talented artist. In fact, he makes art cool. He inspires our youth to think about career options that are not necessarily the standard doctor-lawyer-engineer-stockbroker (not there is one single thing wrong with these careers!) types but to also consider careers in art, culinary skills, music, and the like.

He wears a backwards baseball cap and an assortment of sports jerseys, baggy jeans, and steel toed shoes. He looks more like a character off of the Discovery Channel’s “Orange County Choppers” or “Ink” than a cake-decorator. One of my co-workers commented that Duff just seems like “your favorite drinking buddy”.

Geoff is an artist-type. Quiet. Un-assuming. Quirkily dressed. Humble. Thoughtful. Sincere. I would liken him to that quiet friend you can always count on to be there for you.

This pair definitely puts the “charm” in Charm City Cakes and we were honored to have them involved with our program. We look forward to working with them again and there is some talk of future meetings and grand ideas…so stay tuned. You never know when these guys might show up again in a future blog post.

Keep reading “The Sweet Life”…..next week’s posts include a funny take on “those kinds of emails” (you know the ones!) and another birthday……but we are just three posts away from a really fun blog entry……you won’t believe it until you read it.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

RATED PG-13: How Birthday Cake Taught Me About The Male Anatomy

This is your final warning that this blog entry is rated PG-13…..(according to the Motion Picture Association of America, a PG-13 rating is one that strongly cautions parents as some material may not be suited for anyone under the age of 13 – either physically or mentally…okay, so I added that last part! But don’t say I didn’t warn ya!)

Growing up, some of my most vivid memories are of my coming home from school or work and finding my mother toiling over a cake. She ran a home-business as a cake decorator and she would make, on average, about 4-6 cakes each week.

She was very good at it…..and her buttercream icing was to die for!!

I learned a lot of things from my mother and her cake business. How to make a flower out of icing…how to put a scalloped edge on a cake, how important the mixing time is for both the cake batter AND the icing……and that it isn’t just a Ho-Ho that plays an important role in a “naked man” cake.

Yes, my dear, sweet, non-assuming mother was a highly-sought-after decorator of “naughty cakes” suitable for bachelor/bachelorette parties….milestone birthday parties….whatever occasion called for a naughty cake. Now, Mom had a collection of beautiful and socially appropriate cakes that she created, as well. Wedding cakes, baby showers, Christenings….you name it. But the naughty cakes took the…..well, you know.

I distinctly remember walking in the door after school one afternoon, the house smelling of cake batter, sugar, and Crisco and found my mother in the “sculpting process” of one of her naughty cakes. Now, I had seen the multitude of female versions of the “naughty cake” in various states of undress and, because I was already familiar with the “parts manual” of the female anatomy, I was, mostly, un-phased. Grossed out…but un-phased. Bear in mind that I was probably 14 or 15 at the time.

Old enough to know but not old enough to fully understand, I rounded the corner that fateful afternoon and was confronted with the male naughty cake assembly, in process. I noted a top and bottom layer of cake, secured with a layer of buttercream frosting between them and carved into the shape of a man’s torso, from the chest area to the upper thigh. In the groin area, was a Ho-Ho (the usual suspect) and…what’s this???? Two marshmallows?? What they heck are they doing there? Isn’t the Ho-Ho all that belongs there? But a Ho-Ho and two marshmallows? …and….why is it all slanted to the left? This simply did not compute in my middle-school adolescent brain.

A ten minute conversation and clarification from my mother, probably followed by an “Ewww!” from me, and I was set straight on the male anatomy. Just like that. Apparently I never really paid much attention in Health Class but a man carved out of baked cake batter and decorated in frosting? Well, now THAT was the kind of “body language” I understood.

Obviously, the “Lesson Of The Naughty Cake” certainly made an impact.

From that day on, I was no longer shocked when I rounded the kitchen corner….but I never could look at marshmallows the same way again. Or Ho-Ho’s, for that matter.

And speaking of cake, dear readers, my NEXT blog post will be the “Day of Duff” – Chef Duff, that is! Bear in mind that it may not get posted until late, late on Tuesday night or early on Wednesday morning so keep checking back for the full SCOOP on every SWEET detail of the birthday cake and Blue Bunny® ice cream party occurring just four days from today.

Talk to you on Tuesday!

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Second Time Is A "Charm"!

Part 2 of 2 - Our meeting with Chef Duff and Charm City Cakes

The two large wooden doors closed behind us and there was a moment when we all paused…reflected internally on what had just happened…then, we – under the watchful eye of the Charm City Cakes video surveillance camera, I am sure! – exploded. We had done such a good job at remaining professional and composed for an hour and a half while we met with Chef Duff. Not able to physically contain ourselves any longer, we, on the street corner there in front of the bakery, jumped up and down, hugged each other and screamed. We had just completed Part 1 of a very successful cake conceptualizing meeting at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore.

One of my colleagues from the marketing agency, clutched a small white bakery box, with the Charm City Cakes sticker on the top, close to her chest. Outside was written her name and the flavor samples of cakes that were contained inside. Inside thebox were six small cake samples, each a different flavor. The chosen flavor would be the flavor of the final cake. The samples included Mint Chip, S’more, Chocolate Peanut Butter, White, Chocolate, and Marble.

We hustled over to Dizz’s where we sat at a table, placed a small order for nosh (potato skins and sweet potato fries), then proceeded to dive in to the sample box. Two minutes later….only crumbs remained.

After careful consideration and much discussion, we opted for the Marble flavor. Mint Chip, S’more, and Peanut Butter –while very good – might overwhelm the flavor of ice cream that we will be serving along with the cake on September 22. White and Chocolate were both delicious – probably the best chocolate flavor I have ever tasted – but a little bit of a yawner as a stand alone. We chose Marble because it combined two traditional and very tasty flavors into one interesting cake flavor that will be fun to look at.

As we ate, we must have checked our watches a thousand times and shook our heads in disbelief, “Can you believe we met the Charm City Cakes crew today?”

“Can you believe we were invited back?”

“Wasn’t Duff so incredible??”

When we felt we had allocated enough time for Chef Duff’s 3 o’clock meeting, we hustled back over to Charm City Cakes. Time for our second meeting.

Again….the intercom. Again…..the exchange. Again…those ominous-looking doors opened. This time when they did, we were welcomed with recognition and enthusiasm. Chef Duff and his gang…glad to see us? Wow…that is pretty cool!

Mary Alice helped us to fetch our ice cream and we spread our containers of ice cream and ice cream toppings out on the conference table where we had met just one hour earlier.

The artists of Charm City Cakes flocked to the table where we filled their Blue Bunny® color-changing bowls (they change from white bowls to bright blue when you add cold ice cream!!) with heaping scoops of Blue Bunny® Bunny Tracks, Blue Bunny® Mint Chip, Blue Bunny® Homemade Chocolate, and Blue Bunny® Neapolitan (Duff took that one!) ice cream. We gave them a few mementos to commemorate our visit, we chatted with the group and ironed out plans for our September event in Manhattan for our promotion’s party (not sure what the promotion is? Check it out here). I also made lots of small talk with Chef Duff about his show, his band, and the possibility of him visiting us here in the Ice Cream Capital of the World® and some fun ideas he has for ice cream flavors, if we were ever interested in considering them.

An hour later, we bade our farewells to our new friends at Charm City Cakes, feeling fabulous about our day. Cake and Blue Bunny ice cream….what can top that?

This can…..just yesterday we discovered that Charm City Cakes blogged about our visit, too. Check it out here: http://www.charmcitycakes.com/blog It was the cherry on top of one delicious experience.

Ahh, life can be so sweet.

Until next time, I remain…1SweetMama

....I Think I Heard Angels Singing....

(Chef Duff Goldman at work)

…and there we were……

After a day of travel to Baltimore and a breakfast planning meeting and a trip to the local Harris Teeter store to buy all the Blue Bunny® ice cream and toppings fit for a good ‘ol fashioned ice cream social we found ourselves standing at the threshold of all that is good and sweet and oh, so right. A world of cakes and fondant and creative artists and bakers….and Chef Duff Goldman, himself.

We grinned stupidly at each other – none of us believing that we were actually at Charm City Cakes’ front door. A plain, grey-ish stone building with two giant citadel-like wooden doors that no one could breach, no matter how strong their sugar craving.

I rang the intercom bell:

Voice: “Hello?”
Me: “Blue Bunny ice cream team is here!”
Voice: “Okay….just a moment.”

We exchanged glances…giddy as schoolgirls.

The doors opened. I swear I think I heard angels singing.

There it was. The interior of the bakery. In all of it’s crazy pop-art colors and decorations, the crew busily building fondant cake “wraps” (not sure this is the technical term, but they sculpt the designs on cake molds and then wrap it onto a cake once it is baked, later in the week) and applying some of the most beautiful and intricate artwork I have ever seen. “Dummy cakes” – not real cakes but fake cakes built for display only of some of their finest works rimmed the conference table area. The most intriguing “dummy cake” was a bust of Marie Antoinette with her throat slit, blood oozing from the incision. Chef Duff explained that while it was really interesting, it was very macabre. It took our whip-smart intern to exclaim, “How interesting, since she was the one who said, ‘Let them eat cake!’” Duff stopped and looked at her, incredulous and flattered at her insight…. "You see?” he said softly, “No one gets that!”

Chef Duff was a gentle, crazy, awe-inspiring genius that gracefully led our team (five of us, in all) through the creative process to design a cake concept that would include lights and dry ice smoke. Unbelievable. His mind just floated from our concepts (which we thought were good in the first place) to something a little more intriguing and unique. At one point during the meeting, I turned to him and said, “Is there anything you have always wanted to do for a cake but never have?”

His eyes danced and he leaned back in his chair for a moment to reflect. The Willy Wonka of cake-making, a story-telling, good-hearted, soft-spoken, yet creatively outgoing master of his art leaned forward and took a pencil in hand and sketched. We talked. He talked. We watched him work. Dream. We collaborated and finally ended up with a cake that will be an amazement to all who attend the event in which it will be unveiled.

He wrote up the contract. Quoted us a price. Ouch (but worth it). We signed it. Paid our deposit. He proceeded to present us with some samples of cake flavors we had requested for our cake and he wanted to visit more. At the two-hour mark, Mary Alice (oh, how we lover her, too!) reminded Duff that he needed to “shut up” (Duff’s words, not mine) and get ready for a three o’clock appointment they had.

But the ice cream social had not yet occurred.

Chef Duff told us to go across the street to “Dizz’s” restaurant (oh….yummmy place to eat) and come back in about 45 minutes.

Invited back? Us? To Charm City Cakes?

Find out how the rest of the visit went in Friday’s blog post. But until then, I remain….1SweetMama

How Sweet It Is!

(One of the Charm City Cakes creations "Nightmare"...see this and many others on the Charm City Cakes website http://www.charmcitycakes.com/)

There are times when I love my job and there are times when I love LOVE my job. This is one of those times…..

I often tell folks about how there may be six basic food groups to most people, but, to me, there are eight: Grains, Fruit, Vegetable, Dairy, Meats/Poultry/Fish/Nuts, Oil, Dairy, chips and salsa, and birthday cake. It is very important that you include items from each of these food groups every day in order to manage a well-balanced diet.

Well, I am thrilled to report that next week, I get to weigh a little heavy on the birthday cake portion of that food pyramid. In fact, I have been training intensively for my trip to the center of the universe for birthday cake: Charm City Cakes to meet the Wizard Himself (note the capitalization of his title…like “His Holiness” or “Her Majesty”), The Ace of Cakes, Chef Duff Goldman. As a big fan of his Food Network Show (Ace of Cakes)….and a fan of cake itself…I can barely believe that my feet will trod upon the hallowed grounds of Duff-dom and his merry minions. To be in the very presence of all that cake and frosting and fondant icing…..I can barely find the words to articulate my excitement.

My training this week has simply been to hone my body’s tolerance of sugar, tame my willpower so that I will not be tempted to dive, head-first, into vats of cake batter and/or frosting, and to practice my skills at dialing down my desire to act like a Duff fanatic. Always, the professional, I have had to increase my exposure to cake and frosting and the show so that I can resist the urge to overindulge with both my emotions and my sweet tooth.

The purpose of this visit is to conceptualize a cake that we (Blue Bunny) are commissioning with Charm City Cakes for a customer promotion we are doing with A&P in the Northeast. For complete contest details and rules, visit the promotion website at http://www.chefduffpromotion.com/ .

This trip will mark my journey to Mecca. The motherland. The tip of the frosted layer-cake of confectionary art and design. The gastro-trip-the-light-fantastic adventure to the ONLY place to go if “birthday cake” exists as a piece of your food pyramid.

Look out Charm City! Here comes 1SweetMama and HER gang of merry minions. We look forward to a very sweet collaboration.

For my fellow readers….you an expect a full report on Tuesday morning.

Until then, I remain a sugar buzzed 1SweetMama.