I just watched Ace of Cakes, a new series premiering tonight (10pm ET/PT) on Food Network Canada. It follows pastry chef Duff Goldman (owner of the much-acclaimed Charm City Cakes) as he drills, blow torches and sculpts some of the most unusual cake creations. From a sushi cake, to a tilted seven-tiered Dr. Seuss-like cake, to a huge German Shepherd cake. Their motto is: You dream it, we’ll bake it.

This larger-than-life baker is more Mick Jagger than Betty Crocker. He even plays bass in an indie band but don’t let his laid-back style fool you. This guy is an accomplished chef with some serious cred. He studied pastries at the Culinary Institute of America and did stints at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Todd English’s Olives before he launched Charm City Cakes in 2000 and he’s only 31.

Today he’s one of the most sought after cake makers in the country. His cakes range from $200 for a simple square to $20,000 for a massive, mechanized cake with edible moving parts. He even made a cake for Hilary Clinton. (It was a cake resembling a piece of rare black Wedgwood China).

I would describe the show as 95 per cent Food Jammers with a sprinkle of Anna Olson’s Sugar thrown in. It’s entertaining enough (it’s amazing to watch Goldman and his hip young staff at work). But I’m a sucker for instructional food shows like Nigella Feasts, Barefoot Contessa or Chef at Home, where I can pick up a technique or two about cooking. I know - call me old-fashioned and conventional.

Ace of Cakes is worth checking out, if only to see Chef Duff maneuver a 50-pound cake through a crowd of drunken revelers and some antsy race horses.  Here’s a transparent gimmick to get you guys to watch the show. I have four copies of Anna Olson’s latest book, Another Cup of Sugar (Whitecap Books) to give to the person who emails (not posts!) the correct answer to the question below with the subject "Ace of Cakes."

In tonight’s premiere episode of Ace of Cakes, what event did the massive 50-pound cake commemorate?

The answer: Preakness 
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.  

Congratulations to Willa from Victoria, B.C., Anthony from London, Ontario, Spyros from Laval, Quebec and Nina from Vancouver, B.C.