"You make your own fun here." - Duff on UMBC

Duff Goldman, star of the Food Network’s Ace of Cakes reality show and UMBC alum ‘97, gave a talk tonight serving as the finale to Global Entrepreneurial Week.  Duff spoke about his booming cake business in Baltimore and reminisced on his time spent here at UMBC as a history major.  He explained that his success as pastry chef and TV personality was not premeditated; his rise to fame surprised him more than anyone.

While at UMBC, Duff began as an economics major and switched to history because “it was like telling stories.”  He was an MA in Chesapeake for three years and remarked that he has probably saved upwards of $300,000 at his bakery by fixing practical problems like leaky faucets himself.  His favorite professor was Roy Templeton, by far.

When asked if he would ever move his bakery from Baltimore to Los Angeles, he responded with a firm “No,” eliciting a strong round of applause from the audience.  “There’s something about Baltimore that propels culture,” said Duff.

Duff also touched on why chefs have become such a prevalent part of popular culture.  In his words, “Chefs are kind of sexy.”  They create a multi-dimensional art encompassing sight, taste, smell, texture, and temperature.  Food is one of the basic needs of human culture, and we have turned that necessity into not only an art form, but also a massive industry.

It is both impressive and encouraging that one of our alums has become so successful and well-known by simply doing what he loves.