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Sugar High, Duff Goldman's New Food Network Show

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Paris Coffee Shop, Dallas
Paris Coffee Shop, Dallas
[Photos: Food Network]

Bicoastal cake man and unapologetic cupcake hater Duff Goldman has a new six-episode series coming to the Food Network called Sugar High. In the show, Goldman travels across America — stopping by Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, and Philadephia — to visit the "top dessert destinations" and steal their recipes (kidding about that last part). It premieres Monday, August 8th at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

Here's the press release and episode descriptions:

DUFF GOLDMAN’S SWEET RETURN RENDERS AUDIENCES WITH A ‘SUGAR HIGH’ NEW YORK – July 7, 2011 – Duff Goldman made famous by Ace of Cakes, has a knack for satisfying America’s sugary curiosity. In his new series, Sugar High, premiering Monday, August 8th at 10:30pm ET/PT, Duff takes a cross-country trek to capture the sweet secrets and tasty techniques that keep the cookies from crumbling in the top dessert destinations around the country. In the six-episode premiere season Duff visits a bevy of sweet spots from diners and snow cone machines to food carts and boutique bakeries, getting a full view of what it takes to sweeten up any soiree. His stops include Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia where in each city he brings his expertise and personality to his search to find the nation’s best baked goods.

“As a staple Food Network icon, Duff has developed a loyal following and this new show gives him an avenue to showcase a different side of his personality while celebrating the food category he loves and the people who create it,” said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Programming & Production, Food Network.

Throughout the season Duff highlights decadent desserts that are anything but ordinary from chilled bread pudding on the Venice boardwalk in California and tableside s’mores in Dallas, to Sno Ballz from the first-ever, shaved-ice machine in New Orleans and a slice of apple strudel in Chicago. Duff also satisfies his sweet tooth with lemon ginger mousse at a hip Asian diner in Boston and traditional rice pudding at a dessert boutique in Philadelphia.

Duff has been cooking since the age of four and started working professionally at a bagel shop in a mall when he was 14, and since then, Duff's been putting his own crazy spin on food. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with degrees in History and Philosophy, he went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California. He worked at several acclaimed culinary destinations, including the French Laundry, the Vail Cascade Hotel, and Todd English's Olives before returning to Baltimore in 2000 to become a personal chef. In March 2002, he opened Charm City Cakes where he was able to show off his creativity, and the bakery became a household name on Ace of Cakes, which aired for ten seasons on Food Network. Most recently, Duff and his team have headed to Los Angeles to open a second location of the bakery, Charm City Cakes West, which is scheduled to open in August.

Sugar High is produced by Authentic Entertainment.

SUGAR HIGH: Season One (2011) – Episode Descriptions

“Chillin’ with Chocolate”
Duff gets a sweet taste of the rebellious, down-home and totally foreign side of Los Angeles. From chilled bread pudding in the madness of the Venice boardwalk and a vertically challenged cookie in a funky eatery on the city’s eastside, to a radical take on shaved ice in bustling K-Town, Duff quickly learns that Los Angeles never takes its sugar with a grain of salt.

“Down-Home and Made From Scratch”
Duff eats his way through some of the best desserts Dallas has to offer: a delicious coconut pie at a legendary diner, tableside s’mores made from scratch at an updated roadhouse and a peppermint red velvet whoopee pie. When a dish is called a dessert in these parts, there’s no sugarcoating going on.

“Fire?Ice?and Bacon!”
In New Orleans, Duff has a face-off with a maple glaze bacon donut in a shop run by local cops. Across town, he learns to make fluffy Sno Ballz from the first-ever shaved-ice machine at Hanson’s Sno Bliz. Next, in the historic French Quarter, he indulges in Bananas Foster and learns why 35,000 pounds of bananas are set aflame each year to satisfy the city’s appetite for this New Orleans original.

“Something Old, Something Bold, and Something Rock’n’Roll!”
Duff revisits his European heritage in the Windy City with a slice of apple strudel at the legendary Berghoff Restaurant. He rides across town to Hoosier Mama Pies to try a dessert that’s fit for a king, and when he is just about sugared out, Duff makes a savory pit stop to try the radical motherloaf cupcake, a Chicago original.

“Doughlicious!”
Duff goes street-wise with some Boston cream fried dough at one of the most popular food carts of the Boston Common. Next, he learns the secret of Sfogliatella, a rare Italian dessert, at Modern pastry and his taste buds are turned upside down when he tries lemon ginger mousse at a hip Asian diner.

“Phreakin’ Phenomenal!”
Duff gets a taste of Philly’s finest, starting with drinks from a mad scientist’s erupting Hot Chocolate Volcano at the Rim Café. He returns down-home with an old school rice pudding at the Brown Betty Dessert Boutique. Then, Duff joins the Sugar Philly food truck and tastes their Milk-and-Honey Macaroons.

· All Duff Goldman Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Sugar High Coverage on Eater [-E-]