Sweet offer! A lesbian couple who were recently denied service because of their sexual orientation may get to have their cake and eat it too after all, thanks to Ace of Cakes baker Duff Goldman.
The Baltimore-based celeb chef reached out via Twitter on Feb. 4 after seeing a story on Huffington Post about how Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery owner Aaron Klein reportedly refused the women’s request for a wedding cake earlier this year. Speaking with KATU about the controversy, the Oregon-based Klein said: “They can buy my stuff. I’ll sell them stuff. I’ll talk to them, it’s fine.” He draws the line at marriages, however, because “marriage is a religious institution ordained by God.”
“I’d rather have my kids see their dad stand up for what he believes in than to see him bow down because one person complained,” Klein continued.
Reading that compelled Goldman — who owns Charm City Cakes and had his own Food Network show until February 2011 — to take action. “I saw this story and I was like, ‘Wait — I can do something, there’s injustice involving a cake!'” he told HuffPo Live. Then, addressing the couple directly, he added: “If you guys want, I will make you a cake for free, drive it up to Portland — no charge — just to right this wrong.”
“For a cake decorator to really feel like he really needed to take a stand…it just makes absolutely no sense,” Goldman told HuffPo. “It’s petty, it’s small…this man has wrapped up his hatred in the cloak of religion.”
The Ace of Cakes star is no stranger to taking on high-profile clients. His bakery was recently tapped to create the cake for President Barack Obama‘s inauguration on Jan. 21.