Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 20, 2022

Yes, the Ace of Cakes can also cook.

I feel like everybodys always really surprised when they learn I can cook, chef, artist, entrepreneur and TV personality Duff Goldman said. Ive been working at restaurants since I was 14.

Duffs first major foray into television was on the hit Food Network show Ace of Cakes, which took place in his famous Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes. He now lives in Topanga, and has starred in other shows on Food Network including Cake Masters, the Baking Championship series and Duff Takes The Cake.

In his new Food Network show, Ace of Taste, he gets back to cooking basics, hosting a show like the ones he used to love watching as a kid. When Goldman was four, his mother caught him in the kitchen with a meat cleaver. He had been watching Chef Tell.

Like Goldman, the tone of Ace of Taste is homey and user-friendly. The chefs love of cooking and baking shines through.

I do lots of competition shows and travel shows, but Ive never been able to do [one] in the kitchen, behind the counter, explaining the food that I cook, he said.

Goldman said that with competition cooking shows, theres not enough time to really delve into how to cook the dishes.

Whats nice about the way that I cook and try to convey information is I try to do it in [simple] English, he said. Put some of this in there, put some of that in there, stir it around, let it cook for a while. Youre good.

Goldmans cooking style is hearty, and he makes family-friendly food. Plus, theres plenty of Jewish influence.

Growing up, Goldman would spend plenty of time with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in the kitchen. His moms specialty is brisket watch for a potential brisket-off between mother and son in season two. He gets his baking sense from his great-grandmother, who has apple strudel, babka and baklava recipes. Goldmans version of the baklava is in the Bake Sale episode of Ace of Taste.

A lot of [her recipes] are a little Sephardic, which is weird, cause like shes a hundred percent Eastern European, he said. Like the way that she makes strudel, for example, is not like theyre doing in Eastern Europe. She takes these apples and cooks them down to like a marmalade [thats] really, really thick.

Goldman caramelizes the apples a little bit, reduces the sauce and keeps stirring until its golden. Its delicious, he said. But thats not how youre supposed to make [an Austrian] strudel.

As Jews, we do a lot of stews, Goldman added.

Our cooking comes from Warsaw, Vienna, Germany, Poland. It comes from regions where you cook for 12 people in a two-bedroom apartment. Duff Goldman

We make it really good, but its [urban] peasant food, he said. Our cooking comes from Warsaw, Vienna, Germany, Poland. It comes from regions where you cook for 12 people in a two-bedroom apartment.

Goldmans Jewishness goes beyond food.

The culture of tzedakah really stuck with me, Goldman said. And also the importance that [Jews] put on education.

Its not just about going to school and getting good grades; its about learning and really understanding things. Goldman tells people who are going to culinary school: Dont try to get straight As. It doesnt matter. If you understand what youre doing, youll get straight As anyway. And, when you find something fascinating, learn everything you can.

The nice thing about cooking is that there is always something to learn. Duff Goldman

The nice thing about cooking is that there is always something to learn, he said. Theres so much to do and see and try and perfect. The other nice thing about it is that itll never get boring, because theres always more to learn and youre always getting better at it.

Goldman said hes still working on a cheesecake recipe and has two cookies that are exactly the way I want them to be.

Goldman, who describes his upbringing as American Jew, built an 8 by 4 wood table in his kitchen.

Everythings going to happen here, he said. Homeworks going to happen here, projects are going to happen here, cooking happens here, discussions happen here. Its the center of [the] house, and thats a very Jewish thing.

Read more here:

Duff Goldman: On User-Friendly Cooking and the Center of the Jewish Home - Jewish Journal

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