In June, the cake-centric reality show Ace of Cakes taped an episode at a Grand Ole Opry performance at the Ryman, in which the team scrambled to prepare a special cake for the Opry's 85th birthday.
I haven't seen the episode, but the synopsis on the Food Network site reveals that the cake sagged, the special ingredient (a live microphone) refused to work, and as generally happens on reality TV, chaos ensued. It was fun chaos, we hope.
The episode is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. tonight on the Food Network. If you haven't watched Ace of Cakes, it follows the antics of Chef Duff Goldman, the wisecracking, Culinary Institute of America-trained pastry chef who runs a business called Charm City Cakes in Baltimore. Chef Duff builds eye-popping cakes that defy gravity (until they don't) with the help of his trusty sous chef, Geof Manthorne. (Sardonic and scruffy, Manthorne is sometimes described as a hipster, not the most common phenotype on on the Food Network. We know he's a hipster because he wears plaid Western shirts.)
Meanwhile, the Opry is scheduled to return to the Opry House on Tuesday, Sept. 28, after almost five months of repairs to the flood-damaged venue. The night will include performances by Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels Band, Diamond Rio, Jimmy Dickens, Martina McBride, Del McCoury Band, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Mel Tillis, Josh Turner and Keith Urban. (I wonder if any of them will wear plaid Western shirts.)
