Any regular Food Network viewer worth their (flaky Maldon) salt knows stuff about Duff.
The former host of Ace of Cakes—and founder and executive chef at Baltimore's Charm City Cakes—pastry chef Duff Goldman is a judging panel fixture for the network's more saccharine offerings, bringing his tempered critiques and voracious appetite to the likes of Kids Baking Championship, Spring Baking Championship and Sugar Showdown.
But did you know the newlywed (born Jeffrey Adam Goldman, actually, his childhood nickname of Duffy courtesy of his toddler brother's pronunciation struggles) once had a side hustle as an emo rocker?
A bass guitarist in a band called Two-Day Romance, he was invited to audition for another Seattle-based group. "I tried out, and it went well, but they decided to go with somebody else," he told Delish in 2015. "So I went back to Baltimore and opened a bakery instead."
His shop became a catch-all for other pastry and music enthusiasts. "That's the way the bakery was built—it was a bunch of dudes in rock and jazz bands who wanted to pursue a rock career," he explained. "We weren't trying to be good on television; we were trying to be good in bands."
So, yeah, the 45-year-old is a man of many talents.
Starting tonight, he'll flaunt just one of them, facing off against fellow bakery shop owner Buddy Valastro once more for the second season of Buddy Vs. Duff. Before you marvel at his Rubik's Cube confections and desserts with actual movable parts, chew on these fun facts about one of America's favorite bakers.