TV • PAGE 21
THE BULLETIN • APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2021
Goldman explains the science behind cooking
and baking on ‘Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time’
Duff Goldman wants to make the science
behind cooking and baking fun and interesting,
which is why he’s stepping out of his comfort
zone to explain it all on “Duff’s Happy Fun Bake
Time.”
Part kids show, part cooking instruction, the
currently streaming discovery+ series finds the
baker and “Ace of Cakes” personality in his
laboratory kitchen with his puppet crew from The
Jim Henson Company creating delicious dishes
and explaining how the various ingredients interact
with heat and one another to produce the final
product.
It’s an idea that came to Goldman, a new father,
as he was watching “Sesame Street” and he came
up with sketches of characters, which he then
brought to the Henson people. They liked it
and a show was born, thus putting Goldman in
the decidedly unfamiliar role of acting opposite
puppets.
“I’m just a guy on TV that makes cakes,” he
says. “And so having a script and having lines
and having to do acting was definitely not in my
comfort zone. But working with The Jim Henson
Company and everybody ... (they’re) not only pros
in their craft at operating puppets and making
them come to life but also pros at just improv
comedy. And for somebody like me who has never
done anything like this, having people that are
amazing at what they do around you, they just
make you good.”
So the six episodes, Goldman says, work on two
levels. For kids, it’s a zany adventure with Henson
characters. But for adults seeking food knowledge,
there are lessons on fundamental techniques and,
of course, recipes, many of which are Goldman’s.
“We also are taking people through the science
behind what it is that we’re doing, like why certain
things happen,” he explains. “Why do you put
eggs in cake batter? What’s the point? Can you
make it without eggs? And then we show people
what happens when you make it without eggs and
we explain what the egg is and what it does in the
cake batter recipe and why protein is important
and why the fat is important. You know, we sort of
illustrate all these things.”
For someone who has been through culinary
school, read myriad textbooks and understands
how the chemistry and physics behind cooking
and baking can put people off, presenting that
information in an accessible way was key.
“If you have a bunch of puppets and you turn
whatever concept into a story,” he says, “people
are just going to be like, ‘This is so cool! This
is fascinating! I had no idea chocolate was this
complex.’ ”
tastytv
BY GEORGE DICKIE
Duff Goldman