Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time
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Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time is a kids' cooking series featuring Food Network star Duff Goldman and a crew of puppets. There's no iffy content, but the cooking tutorial focus will probably be most interesting to grade school kids and up. The show is lots of fun and has great educational elements, including segments like "Science Bites," which explain food science or showcase ingredients' cultural origins. It's great family viewing, and parent foodies won't mind watching along with their pint-sized bakers.
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What's the Story?
In Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time, Food Network star Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes, Kids Baking Championship) bakes fantastical treats with the help of puppet friends. His crew includes Couscous the robot, S'later the sloth, Edgar the crab, Dizzy the elephant mixer, and the Dragon Oven. Every episode focuses on an ingredient like chocolate, bread, or pasta, and begins with a reason Duff and his friends are going to be baking that day. In the chocolate episode, Duff is hoping to lure the magical Chocolate Unicorn to the kitchen so he can add a picture of the unicorn to his Culinary Cryptozoology Scrapbook. He makes three different recipes over the course of the episode, and explains foodie tips about ingredients or baking techniques. Along the way, there are segments like "Science Bites" that explains food science or a globe-trotting segment that showcases the cultural origins of food. Goldman's Ace of Cakes sidekick Geof also makes appearances as a singing grocer, crooning about that day's ingredient. There's fun throughout as Duff and his crew whip up delectable confections.
Is It Any Good?
Kids will eat up this entertaining show with yummy treats and whimsical puppets from The Jim Henson Company. Reality star Duff Goldman is a surprisingly great actor who seems very comfortable with the puppets' silly antics, and does an admirable job of explaining complicated baking techniques to kids. The puppets themselves are wonderful: robot Couscous helpfully melts butter with his laser eyes and is very enthusiastic about food, S'later the sloth has a chill surfer dude vibe, and the anthropomorphic kitchen appliances bring the laughs. Kids that enjoy watching cooking shows will love that this one is tailored specifically to them. There's lots of antics sprinkled throughout the recipes, making 'Happy Fun Bake Time' more than just a standard cooking show.
The show is great family viewing, and parent foodies won't mind watching along with their pint size bakers. Grown-ups will also appreciate the learning that's woven throughout the episodes (though they may be less keen on the puppets' extreme enthusiasm towards dessert food without any counter messages about a balanced diet). Many of the recipes on the show are too complicated for the show's target audience to make in real life, but part of the fun is seeing expert baker Duff create fantastical desserts. The show will inspire young (and not-so-young) bakers to get in the kitchen and make something delicious.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the cool baking techniques Duff demonstrates. Have you ever baked a treat that you think is TV-worthy? Did it require patience?
How do people become professional chefs? What kind of work and practice is involved with this career?
What kids of ingredients are used on the show? Did you learn anything about how it's made or where it comes from?
TV Details
- Premiere date: April 29, 2021
- Cast: Duff Goldman, Geof Manthorne
- Network: Discovery+
- Genre: Educational
- Topics: Cooking and Baking, STEM, Magic and Fantasy, Puppets
- TV rating: TV-G
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: October 5, 2021
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