Ace of Cakes up for Best Picture Oscar?

Hell, if they can nominate 10 movies for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards why not include TV shows, too? That's what SNL did in last night's Ashton Kutcher-hosted episode.

In a kind of funny sketch (but are any of them funny lately?), Ace of Cakes was nominated for Best Picture, along with other television works of arts like For the Love of Ray J and The Biggest Loser.



Not wanting to take sides, that other cake show was also nominated on the next slide.

I'm not a betting man, but I think Ray J might be a front runner!

Mary Alice's New Ink

I think it's pretty much a requirement that employees at Charm City Cakes have at least one tattoo... and bakery manager/subject of her own fan club/all around awesome person Mary Alice has more than met the quota.

Check out her new tattoo—an image from the children's book Make Way for Ducklings.


Wow! Looks like a painful spot, but what do I know. I have no tattoos (can't think of any image or design I care about enough to get forever immortalized with) and have only had a few things pierced in my more youthful days. Nothing down there, dirty minds;-)

Anyhow, congrats on the new ink, MA! It looks great on you. And check out those guns! Hello, Kelly Ripa.

Baking Tips from Ace of Cakes' Adam Goldstein

Duff may have lost to Chicago's Cake Girls on yesterday's Oprah Show cake-off (think there may have been a home team advantage, there), but at least his head baker at Charm City Cakes, Adam Goldstein, gets to tell Oprah.com some of his baking tips... one of which is:

"Do not leave cake unattended around vultures, jackals, or underpaid art students."

There are also some practical ones:

"To restrain hair without the stigma of a hairnet, wear a beanie."

And ones I'm sure Ina Garten would disagree with:

"For perfect, easy-to-spread ganache, use slightly more (by weight) cream than chocolate. So if you have 1 1/2 pounds of chocolate, use about 1 3/4 pounds of cream. And make sure to allow for ample time for the ganache to set up."

(Ina would want significantly more (by weight) cream than chocolate in her ganache... and a few sticks of butter for good measure.)

Check out the full list on Oprah.com.

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Anyone doing any Halloween stuff tonight? Since it's on a Saturday this year everyone feels the need to have parties on both Friday and Saturday! I still need a costume! Somebody make me a Paula Deen wig, stat!

Monday Links: Angelina Jolie Hearts Sandra Lee Edition

Lots of Food Network things going on lately... I can hardly keep up!

• Notice that Angelina hasn't confirmed this! Sandra Lee tells People mag that Angelina Jolie "made" her no-bake cake recipe for son Maddox's birthday.
• Duff Goldman and other Charm City Cakes staffers will autograph their new book tomorrow at Atomic Books.
• Ellie Krieger makes "good for you" meatloaf and potatoes on the Today show.
• Rachael Ray now a lunchlady AND petitioner for Hall & Oates. She is a saint!
• Giada De Laurentiis visits Peru to mark World Food Day.
• Not sure why, but Tyler Florence presented the National Design Museum's "People’s Design Award" to the Trek Lime bicycle this past Thursday. Since it has "Lime" in the title does that make it food-related?
  
• "If you eat, you're a foodie" says Sandra Lee--and then goes off on the haters. (Eat Me Daily)

Check Out Duff's Man Cave

Actually, the phrase "man cave" kind of freaks me out... but I guess if all it means is that you get a new, decked-out room filled with gadgets and toys, then I'm all for it.

Duff had his "man cave" done by the DIY guys Tony Siragusa and Jason Cameron. Check it out!

Mary Alice Is Looking Good!

My buddy Mary Alice from Ace of Cakes has always been a fine lookin' lady (just check out this darling account of my visit to meet her almost THREE YEARS AGO!), but I am now officially shocked and amazed by this little skinny minnie appearing before me in this MedifastMaryland ad!


Mary Alice lost 42 lbs the ad proclaims. Wow!

I don't know what you have to fast on to lose 42 lbs, but I'm sure it's not all the leftover cake they have sitting around the bakery.

Looking good, MAlice!

Ace of Cakes Book Gets a Release Date... I think

The Ace of Cakes book that Duff Goldman told me about in our interview back in February of 2008 is finally coming out... I think!


According to Publishers Weekly, Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes is set for an October release. Finally!

Duff had originally said it would be out "in the fall," so I guess he was technically correct... just didn't realize it would be two falls away.

Will you get the Ace of Cakes book?

Duff Goldman Issues Pie Eating Challenge to Chicago Writer

In response to the harsh words exchanged back and forth between Duff Goldman and the Time Out Chicago writer who recently insinuated that Grape Juice Records, the label that Duff's band soihadto is signed to, scored a Charm City Cakes cake for its upcoming anniversary party thanks to some insider backscratching, Grape Juice Records, on behalf of Duff, challenged the writer to a pie eating contest to settle the whole matter.


That kid from Stand By Me does kinda look like a younger Duff, no? Duff might have an unfair advantage going into this thing.

On behalf of Duff Goldman and the band ...soihadto..., Grape Juice
Records issues the following formal challenge to you:

In light of all the recent internet hubbub regarding miscommunications, and in an attempt to have some fun with this, we come to propose that this dispute be settled like gentlemen. We challenge you to come to Double Door on the evening of September the third, 2009 to put this disagreement to rest in a most honorable fashion: a pie eating contest. Whomever consumes the most amount of pie in three minutes time shall be declared the winner.

If you win, Duff will sit down with you and gladly answer any questions honestly and earnestly. If Duff should win, you must admit that ...soihadto... is the greatest rock band of all time. Either way, a good time will be had and pies (and cake) will be eaten. The only question now is: will you accept this challenge as it has been presented to you? Please respond in a timely fashion.

Regards,
Grape Juice Records

The writer, David Tamarkin, reportedly declined gracefully, citing his desire to remain anonymous as his main reason.

Boo! I wanna see some pie eating! Guess Duff will have to have the contest by himself.

Don't F*** With Duff Goldman

Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman didn't take too kindly to a Time Out Chicago writer who recently insinuated that Grape Juice Records, the label that Duff's band soihadto is signed to, scored a Charm City Cakes cake for its upcoming anniversary party thanks to some insider backscratching.


"Nick Rush, who runs Grape Juice, is a sound guy on Ace of Cakes. Which, of course, explains how Grape Juice scored a cake from a bakery that hasn’t taken a new order in years—and, according to its website, won’t be taking orders until late October. You scratch Duff’s back, he’ll scratch yours," wrote Time Out's David Tamarkin, who later crossed out the untrue "hasn't taken a new order in years" statement and added "that has been booked solid for years."

Not happy with that semi-retraction that still had a tinge of snobbishness to it, Duff fired back to the Gourmet Glossary:

We've been signed to Grape Juice Records. You know, there's some fucking dickhead in Chicago who wrote a mean-ass blog, "How do you get a cake from Duff? Sign his band and get him to play a show," said Duff. "That Time Out guy! That FUCKING ASSHOLE! If you know that guy tell him he can suck my nuts."

Yikes! It sounds like Duff does not like anyone talking smack about his band or his bakery. It's naive of Tamarkin not to realize that CCC, whether they truly are booked solid for years or not, chooses to do special requests on a case-by-case basis. If Obama called up Duff tomorrow and asked to get a cake for Malia's next birthday do you think he'd simply hang up, apologizing that they're booked solid? I don't think so.

The staff you see on TV is the staff they have, so if CCC chooses to fit another cake into their week, then it's their choice. It's not like they call up some bride & groom who booked 3 years in advance and cancel, saying they have to instead do a cake for Duff's record label.

But I'm still kind of surprised about how upset Duff got over this. I'm sure if he had just ignored the issue, that Time Out article never would have gotten picked up by as many sites as it now has. Maybe all press is good press?

(Jon &) Kate + 8 Visit Charm City Cakes

I'm so late on this, but thought I'd post about it anyway since so many people seem to be suddenly enamored with the family known as Jon & Kate Plus 8. Whether the tabloid rumors are true or not (I'm thinking they are), the show does have its appeal... even if it's only the incredibly tense moments between Jon & Kate on the couch:


The big family visited Baltimore's Charm City Cakes as a special surprise for Kate's birthday. Jon was conveniently absent, as he decided to take a skiing trip the same day (at least that's how the show made it out to be). Hmmm....


Upon exiting the giant bus (yes, they need a bus to get around) that chauffeured them to Baltimore, Kate still seem confused as to where she was. It was only after some production people pointed the clan toward to the CCC's door.

Seriously, this Kate seems like a sweet lady, but her face rarely seems to match what's coming out of her mouth. Is this a sign of insincerity?


The kids seemed to have a ball decorating their own cakes (no sharing!)--allowing themselves to get a little messy for once.


Duff and the gang made Kate a special "fluffely" (Kate's word) lemon cake for her birthday, which she seemed to enjoy. And everyone got hugs on the way out!

It looked like Ace of Cakes' cameras were also there during the taping, so I'm thinking we'll be seeing a Jon & Kate themed episode on Food Network in the future.

Did you J&KP8 lovers out there enjoy the ep?

Ace of Cakes Gets LOST Tomorrow Night on Food Network

I'm looking forward to this episode, for sure. Airs tomorrow night at 9pm ET.



My only question is why didn't the AoC crew ask the charming, young blogger who lives a mere 40 minutes away from Baltimore to accompany them on this visit to Hawaii?

Also, be sure to check out the new website for Charm City Cakes. Mary Alice sent me a note a few days ago about it, and I think it's got a great, refreshed look. One of the best new features is the 360-degree Virtual Tour of the bakery, something I'm sure the staffers will be offering as a substitution to the mega-fans who come right up to the bakery, bang on the door, and try to peek into the windows, only to be let down when they see the "Visits By Appointment Only" sign.

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It's Friday, Friday, Friday! The sun has finally peeked its bright little head out of the clouds for once around here, and I'm looking forward to a hopefully nice weekend. Have a grand one.

Duff Goldman & Charm City Cakes Staff March for the Animals

I am so bummed I didn't make it up to Baltimore yesterday for The Maryland SPCA's March for the Animals. We were planning on going, since Duff Goldman was hosting the starting line ceremonies and my fan club honoree Mary Alice along with lots of other CCC staff members and their respective pets were going to be there... but just didn't get going in time and needed to take care of a few other things yesterday. Damn!


Looks like Geof and his dog Cotton, who was featured in the episode in which Geof made the Milkbone dog biscuit cake, made it out for the fundraising event that raised almost $175,000 dollars. Way to go!

I'll definitely plan on making it next year.

[Photo]

Ace of Cakes: A Star Wars Slip Up?

After the massive Internet attack on Charm City Cakes after the gang there put SCOTTY IN THE WRONG CHAIR on its Star Trek cake, you'd think they'd be more careful when working on pop culture cakes, sure to be intensely scrutinized by the legions of dedicated fans.

That's why I could not believe the recent on-screen wording used for the Star Wars cake they did for a wedding episode. Specifically, Boba Fett's ship Slave I. That's B-O-B-A.



Who the hell is Bob? An overly eager spellchecker? (Truth be told, I had to look this all up and have only seen some of the Star Wars movies.)

At least this time it wasn't the fault of the cake designers... phew! Don't hate, Star Wars-peeps!

Producers of LOST Bring Entire Ace of Cakes Crew to Hawaii

Talk about jealousy!

When Mary Alice told me the staff at Charm City Cakes was going to Hawaii to film the season 6 finale, she left out one MAJOR bit of information: the producers of LOST were flying them all out there!

They didn't get invited to just relax on the beach, though. The gang still had to make a cake for the TV show's cast and crew. I'm not sure what it looked like (Was it really a cake at all? Did the cast just dream it was a cake?), but it reportedly featured tiny replicas of the cast. I'm sure we'll be seeing it soon... along with secret messages, time travel, and other weird clues baked right into it.

And since ABC was footing the travel bill, Duff and the crew took some time to show their appreciation and volunteer a bit by creating a special cake in honor of the fighting men and women of the Army. Take a look:


During the finale, the cast worked alongside the cooks and food service specialists stationed on O'ahu to prepare a special UH-60 Blackhawk cake for the show to present to Soldiers and family members in U.S. Army, Hawaii.

Sounds like a very fun trip. Let's just hope the CCC gang makes it off that island.

[Source]

Ace of Cakes' Hottie Geof Manthorne Featured

Geof Manthorne, executive sous chef at Charm City Cakes and deadpan comic genius on Ace of Cakes, got a special feature in his hometown paper recently. In it, Geof shares some exciting news about the longevity of the series and what else the gang has planned:


"We're lookin' at doing a few more seasons of the show, I think, and getting more and more opportunities," said Manthorne. "Duff and I are going to be on the last episode of 'King of the Hill' in August."

**************

Although Geof doesn't confirm anything, it looks like AoC will continue on after season six. It's still one of the most entertaining shows on the network, and one I make a point not to miss. Season pass on TiVo, you know.

Don't Forget: Season Six of Ace of Cakes Tonight!

Tonight!
10pm EST!
Season Six!
Ace of Cakes!


Mary Alice promises us Tiki Parties, Kissmobiles, Hank Hill, Charlie Brown and Duff the Firefighter!

Can't wait!

Food Network Addict - 2008 Year In Review, Part I

What a year it's been here at Food Network Addict!

In January, we finally got a look at Ina Garten's new barn & kitchen that's seen in her new episodes. Although I kinda miss the old kitchen (with the mysteriously empty room behind it) at times, this new one is so beautiful to just sit and gaze at, wishing I had two hidden Sub Zero fridges, three ovens, and an 18-foot kitchen island.


Giada De Laurentiis was barely showing her pregnancy back in January, as seen here in her appearance at the Mad Money premiere.


February was a BIG month at FNA.

We wondered who Paula Deen was hiding in the blurry photo behind her...


... we shared our opinions on the just-premiered show Down Home with the Neelys... I gave my review of Ultimate Recipe Showdown... we learned about Robert Irvine's resume embellishments... and I hit up a million fun events at the 2008 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival.




In March, I posted an awesome interview I was able to do with Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman, Mary Alice Yeskey, and Geof Manthorne and another with Tyler Florence.




...my girl Sandra Lee gave a great interview filled with fancy PowerPoint transitions...


March closed on a happy note with Giada giving birth to her first child, a girl named Jade.


I got in a good April Fool's joke this year with my announcement that Dave Lieberman would be taking over Emeril Live.


...I also did my first interview with Sunny Anderson... we learned of Paula Deen's intention to start a daytime talk show... Cindy McCain's "family recipes" were discovered to be stolen verbatim from Food Network's Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis...


...when asked what she liked best about attending charity events, Sandra Lee told OK! Magazine "Open bar... am I allowed to say that?"


...Michael Symon was announced as Robert Irvine's replacement on Dinner: Impossible... and Food Network nabbed 8 Emmy nominations, including one for "Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling" for Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee (she lost).

In May, I posted about Amy Finley not coming back for a 2nd season of The Gourmet Next Door... I asked many times "Who Bobs It Better?"...


...Emeril made a quiet exit from Food Network (save for repeats and some eps of Essence of Emeril)... I scored an interview with Bob Tuschman... Rachael Ray drew some fire for sporting a scarf in a Dunkin Donuts ad that somehow deemed her a "terrorist sympathizer"... and I gave my review of the first episode of The Next Food Network Star, season 4.

In June, Lisa Garza (remember her?) reached out to this blog and tried to explain those illusive "three Cs"... we saw a Rachael Ray fan taking her love a bit too far...


...I scarfed down a cupcake with Sunny Anderson while in NYC... Rachael Ray closed on her home in the Hamptons, effectively locking Ina Garten up even tighter in her own Hamptons home...


...I railed on the trainwreck that was Mary Nolan... I gave Anne Burrell's new show an A+ rating... and we learned that Ellie Krieger is just like us...



***********

Stay tuned for Part II of my year in review. It's been fun looking back on all of the exciting happenings of 2008. What was your favorite memory?

The Important Question: Mary Alice

Subject: Mary Alice
Question: Bangs up or down?


Personally, I'm partial to the early seasons' Mary Alice with red hair... but that's probably just cuz I don't like change in general. Keep it stagnant and keep me happy!

What's This?!? Full episodes on Foodnetwork.com

Has anyone else seen this? FoodNetwork.com now has a video player that includes, among other things, full episodes of Cooking for Real, Iron Chef America, Ask Aida, Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Ace of Cakes.


You still have to watch them in Food Network's inferior-to-hulu video player... but it's hard to compete with NBC Universal, News Corp, and $100 million in private investments. So, three cheers are still in order for Food Network and Scripps for taking the plunge and putting their content on YouTube and, now, their Website.

And just in case you're wondering, I don't really like watching full episodes online. They are good if they're sneak peeks before the episode airs on TV, though. Love how they did that with 30 Rock recently.

Soooo Food Network Interactive: how 'bout you put up that Thanksgiving Special with Ina Garten! ;-)

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Would you watch full episodes online?

No Charm City Cakes in L.A. -- Yet!

Charm City Cakes' manager / Ace of Cakes star / Disliker of Isaac Mizrahi Mary Alice took to the bakery's official blog to clear something big up...



There is no Charm City Cakes in L.A.!

Just because in last week's episode of Ace of Cakes Duff and Mary Alice went to LA to "investigate the possibility" of opening a location there, doesn't mean there is one now.

Evidently, Mary Alice is already getting job applications sent to her.

But a west coast location would be nice, wouldn't it? How would that work? Duff goes there Mon-Wed, flys back to Baltimore for Thu-Sat, and then sees where he ends up on Sunday? Hmm...