I simply can't stand to watch ace of cakes anymore. Duff makes none of the darn cakes anymore but man he can fly around the country for the photo ops on all of his decorators hard work and take credit for them. It is just endlessly annoying. I walk into Michaels and see his face on a poster announcing that HIS line of cake decorating tools will soon be there, he's in good housekeeping with HIS cake (only mary smith made the darn thing), he's flying to california to be there to introduce the guitar cake (that geoff made) and then off to Georgia to be there for the aflac cake and photo op (which the other male decorator, I am so sorry I cant remember his name since he is incredibly talented and deserves more credit than that, made)

Ok venting over

I totally agree with you. The people working for him do all of the work, take all of the crap from Duff and more than likely customers that are not pleased with their cake (we all know that every decorator gets PITA customers). It is annoying for him to get all of the accolades and fir him to accept them.

I'm sure I'll catch plenty of heat for this. Such is life.

Michele

I totally agree with the both of you! It's one of the reasons that I never watch the show.

And Michele...totally off the subject but I just have to say that your fondant ROCKS!!! Thank you so much for sharing. If not for your fondant I'd never make a fondant covered cake

Thank you! I probably wouldn't do fondant if I had to buy it. Being broke got me started on it and being cheap and picky keeps me with it.

Michele

I feel the same way... that's why I do't watch anymore.... he has an amazing staff of talented artists... but he is just being lazy now... I dunno... I think he is star struck...

BTW: We got some colored pencils from"Chef" Duff as promo items in a cake show... they $U(K.... you cant even finish coloring a sketch because the pencils need to be sharpened in like 3 seconds... and when u do sharpen them... they are like those cheap pencils that looks like splinters coming off when you sharpen them.... so if I was him... I wouldn't brag oo much, specially when you see satin ice all over his shop... and now he wants to sell 2 lbs of fondant for almost 10 dollars.... pppppphhhhhhllleeaaaseeee

Oh I wouldn't be too harsh on the guy...keeping in mind that we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. I don't watch often anymore, but I never saw him actually making many cakes and I always assumed that it was because he's busy running a successful business. Charm City decorators are amazingly talented, but the bottom line is that Duff is the 'rock star' and if it's time to make an appearance, people probably ask for him. He is the face of his business. Not trying to start anything, just sayin.

I totally agree that the show is getting a bit stale and ridiculous. I think I'm missing something though: What's wrong with him using Satin Ice?

well, i haven't watched the show for awhile, but i do agree he is the face of the business, and people spending thousands on a cake want to see the man.

He is blessed with a very talented staff, that he must have had the sense to higher.

He has done alot to bring cake up in the world. Especially 3d stuff. Duff and the food network has a lot to do with the popularity of the average joe wanting that stuff.

Oh, gotcha. I heard from another post that Duff's fondant and Satin Ice are one in the same!?

ahh ok, I gathered from the previous posts that it was another brand. I love Satin Ice so no problem for me there. lol

i believe the fondant that has Dufff's name on it is Fondarific. I bought some, out of curosity and with a 40% off coupon, and comapared it to the Fondarific website. It's not SI.

it's still not at my Michaels.

well ive been watching his shows for a few months now but for what i know he has come a long way to be this popular plus he is the owner of the bakery and if you really notice most of the times he takes the decorators with them to the deliveries and people know who made the cakes, and if we are going to talk about taking someone elses glory than mary alice is the only one that is not a decorator and she is always talking very proudly about the cakes that they all make and if you remember right a few months ago she was even a judge at food network challenge instead of a decorator at the bakery, is not that i dont like mary alice she cool and all but I guess they all work as a group and are all proud of what comes out of the bakery.

If you really want to trash someone I hate the cake boss he has such a big ego and even dough the most detailed work is made by the girls he is alway talking like he is the king.

Yeah, don't watch cake boss either

I agree about cake boss, I think he is a Duff wannabe. I think Duff does appreciate his employees.

Duff's fondant in Michael's is made by Satin Fine Foods, makers of . It is printed on the label. It is NOT Fondarific.

Rae[/quote]

That's interesting because on the container I bought it says it distrubted by Gartner Studios, nothing about Satin Fine Foods. Also, seeing Fondarific has a buttercream flavor and that is the flavor of Duff's - it just seemed to be one in the same. Not to mention the tips on how to work with it are the same as the ones on Fondarfic's website. I'm wondering if the fondant has changed since I bought it over a month ago.

The mystery deepens!

I recently sat at a banquet with Julie Bashore, who works very closely (demos, etc.) with Kevin O'Reilly, president of Satin Fine Foods. She told me quite a bit about the Duff Goldman products being produced by SFF, including the fondant that will be sold at Michael's.

If you go to the Satin Ice Products page, you'll see that a new product offering is white/buttercream fondant.

http://satinfinefoods.com/product.htm

Rae

Hi to all,

I guess I need to clear up the confusion about Duff's new fondant. He does have a wholesale line with Decopac, which is Satin Ice, and he also has a retail line, which is in Micheal's Craft stores and it is Fondarific.

Take Care!
Laura

Welcome to CC.

Thanks for the clarification.

It's pretty sad that even people who work closely with SFF had it wrong.

Leave it to Duff to be raking it in with both hands using competing products.............

If I owned either company, I'd be pretty unhappy with the brand confusion this will create.

I guess nobody thought about a non-compete clause.........or else Duff has some great lawyers...............


Hmmmm
Rae

I Love watching CAKE_BO$$ not because he is the almighty mr super talented but because everything is soooooo scripted.... it's like a comedy series... so I love to get a laugh at how everything looks and sound sso scripted... but I do watch it just because I like comedy lol

IMO... i watched the show tonight and was not impressed with the guitar cake or the duck.

I think the people on here do a lot better work.

DH is always commenting on the PS that is left on the cakes. He is like, "I dont see that on your cakes or CC buddies cakes. I'd be ticked if I got a cake with PS marks all over it at those prices."

now this is a guitar cake...
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1475298

Tesso my hubby says the same thing all the time, he tells people that the cakes he sees on CC are ten times better then the cakes they make on Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. I agree!

I agree that cake boss is totally scripted but at least Buddy is actually working on most of the cakes. Yes he has very talented help but I think the last time I saw Duff WORK on a cake was the big lebowski cake, granted I dont watch all the time. And honestly his staff is much more talented than he is. Just my opinion

I was wondering why Duff gave a plug to Fondarific a few episodes ago.
He said something like it was good for a beginner to use and stayed softer than other fondants.
"Racking it in with both hands".

Personally, I think we should be grateful to Duff, Buddy and all the talented cake artists who compete on "Ultimate Cake Off" and "Food Network Challenges." They have put our art in the public's eye. Lots of non-cake-decorators watch those shows. One of the nicest compliments someone gives me is to say "you ought to be on (either cake-off or challenge) show." I am definitely not that talented but it is nice to hear.

I am also glad that Duff & Fondarific have teamed up to make decent tasting fondant available to the general public. Although I only do cakes as a hobby and only for friends or their families, I am tired of hearing brides say "I don't want that nasty tasting fondant on my cake" and then proceed to show me cakes that can only be made in fondant.

Those of us who are serious hobbiests or do cakes for a living, know how to make, purchase or modify fondant at more reasonable prices. Fondarific makes a great product. Whenever I pick up a magazine that shows cute cupcakes or cakes with fondant decorations, they always use Wilton fondant. Sure, that is readily available but now the casual decorator will have a choice when they purchase fondant. With Duff's name on it, they are likely to try it.
Plus, the next time a bride complains about the cost of a fondant cake, tell her it will take X amount of fondant to cover that cake. Price it at Michaels!!

Occther- Ditto to everything you said.