Dear Ace of Cakes: Come Out From Behind That Oven

Like many people, I spend an unhealthy amount of time watching the Food Network. My favorite thing to do is to watch it while I'm on my treadmill; there's something wonderfully terrible about watching Ina Garten sauté garlic in two pounds of butter while I'm trying to sweat off half an ounce of fat from my thighs.

But my favorite show hands down is Ace of Cakes, the show starring Duff Goldman and his posse of hipster friends who run a bakery, Charm City Cakes. It's not so much the creations themselves - while they're amazing, I've grown a little tired of watching them make groom's cakes shaped like schnauzers and birthday cakes depicting island vacations - but the atmosphere of the bakery reminds me of all the design shops (including my own) that I worked in over the years and the camaraderie that exists when you throw a bunch of creative people into a room together.

That said, I think it's time the people at the Food Network showed us a little more about the personal lives of the quirky bunch that we see on the show. Who's dating who in the shop? Doesn't anyone ever have a fight with their mother? How about an episode where the staff goes out for drinks after work, gets hammered and then all stumble back to the bakery for a little roll in the fondant? Okay, maybe that's more than we need to see, but you get the picture.

I understand the Food Network's desire to keep Ace of Cakes a food-centric show, but let's be realistic - you can't have a group of people working together day after day and not have a little personal drama. I'm betting there's some footage somewhere of Duff yelling at office manager Mary Alice for forgetting to buy staples, or maybe some scenes of Ben and Katherine naked and piping icing on each other behind the cake racks. And does anyone believe that Geof is always that mellow? I want to see the gag reel of him cursing a blue streak while he threatens Elena with a pastry wheel.

So how about it, Food Network - can we see a little more of the real lives of Duff and his merry band of hipsters? I say if you can show Paula Dean coaxing a 21-year-old up on stage so she can stroke his hair while he's helping her fry biscuits, you can show a little more action over at the bakery.

Comments

[helenel]

I love that show. I especially liked the episode where they made a cake for the ALA and all the librarians requested that Geoff deliver the cake. :^)

[Alison]

I don't know how I missed that one, but as a librarian I highly endorse that idea.

[Kristin]

I wouldn't be able to handle a scene with Duff yelling at Mary Alice because I LOVE HER SO MUCH and I don't want to have to hate on Duff... that being said, naked piping sounds right up my alley.

[BaltimoreGal]

You are gonna SO love me.

Get thee here to Baltimore for the 10/27 party:

"Ace of Cakes, the Baltimore-based Food Network show, is coming out with their first cookbook. So we're having a party!

The staff of Charm City Cakes will be here to sign your copy of the book, which is available for pre-order now."

http://www.atomicbooks.com/43/public_html/blog/2009/09/ace-of-cakes-book-party.html

(They're in my 'hood, ya know...)

[mouthy_broad (michele)]

i think this is a fantastic suggestion.

[Allison]

I'd really like to know if some of the employees are as stoned as I think they are.

[Kelly]

On one of the first episodes of this season, they showed a new guy working in the shop, that "Mary Alice brought him home from LA". Well, did Mary Alice bring him home to work in the shop only, or did she bring him home with her???? Inquiring minds want to know.

[BaltimoreGal]

I guess it's possible, but Mary Alice is married and was married before the show started.

[Jocelyn]

I would LOVE to see Geof explode with rage just once.

[sweatpantsmom]

See, that's what I mean - they missed a perfect opportunity to show all the librarians trying to stick their tongues in Geof's ear.

[helenel]

I'm a librarian, too - we're quite a demanding bunch, aren't we? :^)

According to the Food Network, it was Season 5, Episode 3. It also had the tower of toys cake and "Liberty's Blueprint" cake.

[Alison]

Have mercy - I have a feeling that poor Geof's head would have exploded if that had happened!

And leave it to a librarian to discover the exact information I needed to know. I'm thinking that youtube would be a valuable resource in this instance!

[sweatpantsmom]

Wish I could make it!!! But please keep your eye out for any personal, behind-the-scenes goings on. You know - make out sessions between co-stars and such.

[anna]

I always figured Ben liked boys.

[helenel]

Surprisingly, youtube was no help. Nor were Hulu or Food Network. I tried "www.charmcitycakes.com" and "www.aceofcakes.com" - nuthin'.

And then, mea culpa, this website says Season 5, Episode TWO. And they have the full video, with a lot of ads at:
http://www.fancast.com/tv/Ace-of-Cakes/95532/838594711/Elephant-Delivery-Service/videos

[BaltimoreGal]

That was a great episode. Geof handled it well, like he handles it everything.

[BaltimoreGal]

I wasn't planning on going, mostly because I'm terrified of the crazed fans (you should see some of the people that hang around outside the Charm City Cakes HQ) that will show up and swarm the shop. Great business for Atomic Books though, and they are a fantastic store.

Shameless plug: http://www.atomicbooks.com/

If you want me to go and live-tweet for MamaPop though, I will suck it up.

[sweatpantsmom]

Yes, but I truly don't think he ever loses his cool. He's the guy I'd want around during the apocalypse. Plus, he could probably build a bomb shelter in under 30 minutes.

[Katya]

Screw this. One of the best things about Ace of Cakes is that it stands on its own merits without cheap stunts, drama and pandering. It's watchable even though they don't stoop to making it all about threatening someone with a pastry wheel.

But you want to make it like that? If that's what you want, go watch a show that's about that and leave what's good untainted. I'll agree that I am curious about these folks as private people, too, but you can get that without all the insincerity of typical reality show trash and manufactured drama.

I don't ever want to see any of these people swearing at each other, for the record. Aad I think anyone who has worked in a creative field can agree that deadlines and work-related difficulties provide the drama. It's refreshing. The last thing this show needs is to be like everything else.

When a gem is just like everything else it's called a rock.

[Kara]

I watched some chef's bio about Duff where they reveal that he and Sophie are a couple. But maybe everybody already knew that?

That actually made me like Duff more than I already did.