Duff Goldman Competed On His First Food Network Show With This Injury

Duff Goldman's rise to fame was not the path that he thought he would be charting. In a recent episode of "Food Network's Obsessed," Goldman revealed that for a time, rock music was supposed to be his North Star. The lovable cake master had his heart set on being a rock star. According to Delish, Goldman's passion for rock music was the catalyst for his cake-baking business. He said, "That's the way the bakery was built — it was a bunch of dudes in rock and jazz bands who wanted to pursue a rock career. We weren't trying to be good on television; we were trying to be good in bands." 

Goldman explained to "Food Network's Obsessed" host Jaymee Sire that during those early years, he wasn't making enough money to pay the rent so, he started selling cakes out of his apartment while pursuing music. It was during this time that he participated in his first cake competition, which was for Bon Appétit. Despite making a cool cake, he came in second-to-last by breaking all the rules and accidentally setting his table on fire. But it also set everything in motion.

Some of Goldman's fellow competitors had ties to Food Network and saw potential in him. Food Network soon came a-knocking, and after a number of appearances, an "Ace of Cakes" star was born. But in the lead-up to his first appearance, Goldman had a rather unfortunate accident.

When invited to compete in a television competition, Duff Goldman asked his buddy Jeff, "Do you want to compete on Food Network?" And they did. But there was a land mine waiting for him. Goldman explained on the podcast "Food Network Obsessed," "I had moved out my apartment and rented this really crappy catering kitchen because the health department" told him he had to stop making cakes in his apartment kitchen.

But he didn't have a certification from the health department. In fact, Goldman said he was using a warehouse heater in the catering space. As he described it, there were pipes sticking out of the floor. Sounds like a bit of a deathtrap, right? Well, according to Goldman, two days before the competition, he tripped over one of these pipes and burned his hand on the heater. Goldman said, "I burned all the skin off my right hand. So, we show up and I have this huge bandage on." But he didn't let it hold him back and used the back of his hand to roll fondant. Goldman and Jeff came in third place, but they also had a great time. 

This isn't the only time Goldman has had to weather an accident. In 2012, he lost a few toes to a motorcycle accident. But per Us Weekly, it didn't stop him from getting back on a bike. It just made him accept he likes to live on the edge.