Jeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman is a celebrity chef, master baker, published author, business owner, restaurateur and star of the Food Network series Ace of Cakes, Cake Masters and Sugar High. In addition to those Food Network favorites, he is featured on Kids' Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship.

As a celebrity pastry chef and world-renowned cake expert, Duff has made cake creations for former President Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Sir Roger Moore, Tom Clancy, the cast of the series 30 Rock (on which he appeared) and the cast of Lost. He is the founder and owner of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Johnna Colbry Goldman, and their daughter, Josephine.

History and Background

Duff was born in Detroit, Michigan, and spent much of his early life moving between Northern Virginia and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He attended McClean High School in McClean, Virginia, and, in 1993, graduated from (no joke!) Sandwich High School in the city of Sandwich, Massachusetts. Duff often praises his mom, with whom he is close. "Nobody inflates my ego like my mom," he says. "Like, I could bake something and it’s good, but I know it’s not my best work, and my mom will act like it is manna from heaven."

For college, he attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he earned a bachelor's degree in East Asian history with a minor in philosophy. He also attended George Washington University's Corcoran School of the Arts & Design and received his chef's training at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in California's Napa Valley.

Duff's chef résumé includes working as a trainee in the famed Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry and, later, as executive pastry chef at Vail Cascade Hotel in Colorado and Olives Restaurant in Washington, DC.

"The thing about baking is that it’s always magical, every time you do it," says Duff. "You take a bunch of weird ingredients — flour, butter, sugar, eggs, spices, things like that — you combine them together in different ratios, in different orders, different quantities with different flavors and you get literally millions of different things."

Duff's Bakery: Charm City Cakes

In 2000, he returned to Baltimore to become a personal chef and, in 2002, he opened his own bakery, Charm City Cakes, which has since served as the perfect venue for him to show off his genuinely unique baked creations. And, as you might expect, "creativity" is paramount at Charm City. In fact, in a profile in The Washington Post, Duff said he only hires art-school grads to work in his bakery.

It was not long after the opening of the now-famous boutique bakery that Duff caught the attention of Food Network. The reality series Ace of Cakes would follow soon thereafter. In 2022, Charm City Cakes opened its second location in Los Angeles.

Duff's Food Network Shows

Duff's affable and endearing manner, along with a famously engaging smile, has made him a staple in the Food Network family. Aside from the shows mentioned above, other Food Network series featuring Duff include Duff: Ace of Taste, Duff Till Dawn, Duff Takes the Cake, Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time, Buddy vs. Duff, Holiday Baking Championship, Kids' Baking Championship and Dessert Games. Other network appearances include Iron Chef America, Food Network Challenge, Worst Bakers in America and Man vs. Food.

Duff's Relationship

Duff married his wife, Johnna Colbry, in January 2019 and, if you're assuming it was the furthest thing from an everyday occasion, you'd be correct. It was held at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles — beneath the museum's full-size T. rex fossil exhibit. As reported in Martha Stewart Weddings, the colorful and highly visual celebration had themes that tied in with some of the museum's exhibits, many of which were open to the guests. In homage to the couple's shared love of animals, the celebration also featured a petting zoo with live farm animals, an alpaca and miniature horses.

The bride wore a full-length ballgown from Anthropologie's BHLDN line and carried a classic bouquet of dark red roses. The groom sported a black tuxedo and black Converse All Stars. The wedding cakes (plural!) were, of course, the work of Duff himself and his team at Charm City Cakes. As for the food at the reception, that was all planned by Duff and included such informal fare as LA street tacos, soft pretzels and Kansas City-style barbecue.

Where Does Duff Live?

The Goldman family — Duff, Johnna and their daughter, Josephine — live in Topanga's Santa Monica mountains. Though at home in Los Angeles, it was important for the couple that they raise their daughter in a natural, rural setting. "There's no noise at night. There are stars," Duff told People magazine. "There's no light pollution. Like we are out here."

Fire on the Mountain

Like many in Los Angeles, Duff and his family were forced to evacuate their Los Angeles home during the Southern California wildfires in early 2025. Fortunately, the family escaped safely and their home was spared from the blazes. On Jan. 17, Duff posted on Instagram that the family had gotten word they could return home, offering gratitude to friends and fans for their support and soliciting help for those still in need following the disaster.

Duff's Books

Duff has written four cookbooks: Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes, Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home, Super Good Baking for Kids and Super Good Cookies for Kids. He also co-authored The S'mores Cookbook with Susan Whetzel and Pies Are Awesome: The Definitive Pie Art Book with Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin.

Duff's Emmy Nomination

In 2024, Duff was nominated in the Outstanding Children's Personality category in the third Annual Children's & Family Emmy Awards. Though he didn't take home the Emmy, which went to nominee Meryl Streep for her work with Storyline Online, Duff was nevertheless thrilled by the nomination and his company in the competition. In a post on Instagram, he said, "Losing to Meryl Streep might be the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me! … I’m still just on cloud nine that I’m on a screen with such incredible talent. So, so cool."

Fun Facts About Duff

• Duff's Nickname: Jeffrey "Duff" Goldman got his nickname at a very early age when his older brother, Willie, had trouble pronouncing the name "Jeffrey" — instead saying "Duffy." The moniker stuck and he eventually took on the shortened form, Duff. As he told The Washington Post, "In college, I dropped the 'y' to be cooler. If my name was 'Jeffrey' Goldman, I'd probably be a CPA right now."
• Duff on Ice: Duff played hockey in high school, and his love of the sport continues to this day. He's a big Boston Bruins fan, but having moved to Los Angeles, some of his allegiance now goes to the LA Kings.
• A Chef in the Making: Duff's cooking career began when he was a teenager. His first job was at a shopping mall bagel shop. He also worked as a fry cook at McDonald's. He was in college when he found his true culinary calling after dining at the highly revered Baltimore restaurant Charleston. After applying to be a cook there (albeit underqualified at the time), he did in fact land a job at the restaurant — but at first only making cornbread and biscuits. It was from such humble gastronomic beginnings that a future world-famous pastry chef emerged.
• Artistic Expression: While in high school in the 1980s, Duff made a name for himself as a graffiti artist. Or, as he then referred to it when talking to his mom, a "mural" artist. "I walked a fine line between the law and the needs of my creatively fertile mind," he now admits. To keep him out of trouble, his mom enrolled him in art school.
• Whole Lotta Love: Asked what his dream baking gig would be, Duff says, "I would bake a cake for the band Led Zeppelin in the summer of 1977, and I would have to deliver it to them backstage at Madison Square Garden — so I could go and see that show." Alas, this would have been tough to pull off since Duff was only 2 years old at the time.
• Rock On: When he isn't baking, Duff is a bassist and member of the Elvis Presley tribute band Danger Ace. "I actually started the bakery so I could play music in a band, so I'd say [I was] a working musician," he says. "But, like, realistically, I'd probably be a mechanic."
• Bread Baker: In culinary school, Duff baked bread for an alumni event. He made beautiful breads in different shapes and sizes. "My teacher’s like, 'Hey, you know, all the bread really looks awesome,'" Duff recalls. "We went over to the rack … I took a bite of it, and I had forgotten the salt."

Keep Up With Duff

Interested in keeping track of Duff and all of his Food Network shows, recipes and activities? Check out his website and Instagram account @duffgoldman.