Even though the golf was suspended at the 72nd Senior PGA Championship, there was plenty else going on around the grounds of Valhalla Golf Club Thursday morning. Probably the most interesting of those was a demonstration being put on by the “Ace of Cakes” himself, Duff Goldman. Duff performed in front of a packed room, full of fans standing on their tip-toes and holding camera phones high in the air.
In between sharing hilarious anecdotes and answering fans’ questions, Duff was putting the finishing touches on two spectacular cakes at the KitchenAid Fairway Club. One cake was a replica of the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy (given to this week’s winner) and the other a model of the 7th hole at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores, Michigan – site of next year’s Senior PGA Championship.
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| From KitchenAid and Senior PGA Championship |
One story Goldman told was one about when he accidently chopped off the tip of his finger while cooking and used duct tape to re-attach it. He lined up the two pieces of finger and wrapped it in duct tape for three days. Miraculously, it worked! So there you go, duct tape has healing powers (see video below for Duff’s version of the story).
“Yeah, the last time I was in Louisville was for Lebowski Fest,” exclaimed Goldman to the crowd.
The trip Goldman was referring to was in 2008, when he prepared a cake themed after the cult film The Big Lebowski (1998) for Lebowski Fest. Lebowski Fest is an annual festival that honors the film with bowling, costumes and music and started in 2002.
Goldman admitted that besides mini-golf and messing around with friends, he’s never actually played golf before, but has done several golf-themed cakes for clients.
Following the hour-long demo, I was able to get Duff Goldman aside for a few questions. When introducing myself as Michael from louisville.com, Duff had me repeat “Louisville” for him 3 or 4 times.
“Lou-e-ville, I don’t know. I can’t say it the way all you locals do, laughed Goldman.”
Me: Besides Lebowski Fest, is this your first trip to Louisville?
Duff: No, I’ve been in and around the city a few other times growing up, you know? I’m on the road a lot, I’ve seen the city and let’s see…saw the [Slugger] Museum. That was cool.
Me: How different is Baltimore from Louisville. Are the people dramatically different?
Duff: Well, people are people really. The people here are fun. One thing I notice is everything is so beautiful and green down here. Like Ireland or something [laughs]. But I do, I love it.
Me: You mentioned your new show Sugar High. Any chance of us seeing you guys shooting an episode here in Louisville in the future?
Duff: I’d love that man! We’re about finished with this season, two more episodes to go. Then you know, we’ll see if the network picks up a 2nd season. But, the cool thing is, we basically tour the country. So, I’d love to go somewhere like Cincinnati, hit up Louisville, then go on to somewhere in Tennessee you know? I think that would be awesome.
Me: I gotta ask you Duff. You were telling stories earlier about getting your finger chopped off. So, has Duck Tape ever come to you about a sponsorship deal?
Duff: No [laughing]! Can you believe that? Look at that [shows me the scar line on his thumb]. Duck Tape re-attached my thumb man; [a sponsorship] would make sense.
Goldman was a lot of fun to watch. His skills as a cake craftsman are un-matched and his sense of humor is equally as unique. Goldman’s ‘R2-D2’ cake replica is supposedly his favorite, but the cakes on display at Valhalla this week are quite a sight to behold.
Maybe we’ll see Duff and his camera crew back in “Lou-e-ville” soon. If not, you can check out his new show ‘Sugar High’ starting August 8th on the Food Network. Goldman will cruise around the country on motorcycles, stop in major cities and test/critique desserts in Duff-like fashion.
