Food Network star Jeffrey ‘Duff’ Goldman has revealed he could be left with no option but to relearn how to cook using only his left hand after his right hand was crushed in a head on collision with an alleged drunk driver.
The pastry chef’s dominant hand sustained severe injuries in the road traffic incident, which took place as he was being driven to his home in Topanga, CA, from the airport on February 1.
Duff, 49, is currently unaware if his injuries are life-changing and will only learn of the true extent once his bandages and stitches are removed – but he recently revealed his middle finger, index and thumb were twisted and bent in different directions.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, he insisted: ‘I’ll do what I got to do to get it working again. And if it’s not working a hundred percent, I got to relearn how to do stuff. I can do that. I’m not too worried about it.
Food Network star Jeffrey ‘Duff’ Goldman was rushed to the hospital at the beginning of the month after being injured in a car accident
The 49-year-old pastry chef’s dominant right hand was ‘crushed’ in the ‘windy country road’ collision and required stitches
‘Honestly, I think no matter what, once I get all the stitches and bandages off and I can actually start moving it around and seeing if it’s actually moving right, I’ll take it day by day, but worst comes to worst, I’ll learn how to do it with my left.’
On the day of the crash, Duff, who recently celebrated his five-year wedding anniversary with Johnna Colbry, was getting excited to bake a cake for his daughter Josephine’s third birthday bash.
‘Next thing I knew I was bleeding and surrounded by airbags,’ he penned in an Instagram post at the time.
‘A drunk driver had swerved into my lane on a windy country road.
‘After doing a systems check and finding that my only injury was to my hand I thanked my lucky stars that I’d still be there to celebrate her third birthday even if I couldn’t make her cake.’
Duff, his driver and the alleged drunk driver were all taken to hospital. It is unclear if the man was arrested for DUI/DWI.
The Bake It ‘Til You Make It host previously told People that the other driver was ‘stumbling around’ at the scene as he recalled how when he went over to check if he was okay, he ‘smelled his breath, and I was like…’ He added: ‘Man, I was pretty angry.’
Since his accident, Duff has found a new appreciation and zest for life.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Duff revealed he will have to start building strength in his left hand should worst come to worst
He said of his dominant injured hand: ‘It’s not working a hundred percent, I got to relearn how to do stuff. I can do that. I’m not too worried about it’
‘I just have such an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything: my life, my family, my career,’ he continued to DailyMail.com.
‘I’m just so happy to be here, and that’s it, right? I mean, you’re here for a good time, not a long time.’
In the immediate aftermath, Duff recalled quickly checking himself over for injuries.
‘I was in the backseat and I made sure the driver was okay too,’ he said.
‘I just kept saying, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God. Just over and over again.
‘If this guy’s zigged instead of zagged, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. That’s powerful stuff.
‘You hear people talk about those kinds of experiences and how they change you and they really do. I think it just, you go, you’re going to die intellectually.
‘We all get that right? But I think when you really face it head on that you learn things that you really can’t learn any other way.
‘It’s weird, right? Because my hand is really messed up and that’s a problem because this is all I got.
‘And so, you would think rage, right? Honestly, I’m almost filled with joy. In a strange plot twist.’
Duff revealed on Instagram earlier this month: ‘I’m fine, but it’s gonna be a long road to recovery. And for someone like me, who makes a living with my hands, you can imagine that this is no joke’
The Food Network star will soon be back on our screens for the Food Network’s Spring Baking Competition
But it’s not just Duff’s cooking that could be at risk following the accident, as he revealed that his newfound passion for toymaking could also be at threat.
Duff, who signed a multiyear contract with the Food Network last September, shared: ‘I’ve always been a carpenter, just building all the big crazy cakes that we do. I’ve always been a builder and now that I have a daughter, I’ve been making a lot of her toys.
‘We’re starting the process of actually starting a toy line and I’m going to be doing all the manufacturing myself.
‘So, when people get a Duff toy, it’s actually me building it.’
Next month, Duff will be joining forces with celebrity chefs Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller to judge the Food Network’s Spring Baking Competition on March 4.
Hosted by Jesse Palmer, the competition show will see 12 bakers go head to head in a series of challenges as they are tasked with making the best desserts possible.
Teasing what viewers can expect, Duff spilled: ‘We really lean into a lot of the spring holidays, which I think is one of the best ways to really showcase really crazy food.
‘Whenever you have a big festival, people kind of go all out. There’s a May Day episode and a bunch of really good Spring themed episodes.’
