The Cake Boss

For those of you trying to figure out what my blog is all about… I am too so we will figure it out together eventually. I am trying to make my love for baking and cooking and creating happiness through food as exciting for my readers as it is for me. It has been challenging so far. Regardless this week I am excited to talk about a chef that I am so inspired by and would die if I ever met.

The Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro, is a fourth generation baker who was taught everything he knows from his father who owned Carlo’s Bakery before him. Buddy not only has the show that most of you are probably familiar with which is Cake Boss but he also films The Next Great Baker and Kitchen Boss. He also is the author of the book Cake Boss, Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia. He has opened a second bakery since taking over his father’s bakery and has changed thousands of people’s lives with his baking. That seems like an over statement for those of you who don’t know that much about his work but judging by the pictures below, you can see exactly what I mean.
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I watch cake boss pretty regularly. I haven’t been able to because I am here but from watching it I would have never guessed that as a kid buddy did not feel artistic. He didn’t even start his career at Carlo’s, which his dad owned at the time, baking. He started washing dishes there. He soon realized though that baking, like his father before him, was his calling and passion. Sadly he had to take on the family business too early. Buddy’s dad passed away when he was 17.

In almost every episode that I have watched Buddy will talk about his dad. It has been over 20 years and buddy seems to be effected daily by his death. Buddy lost his best friend, his teacher, and his number one fan when he lost his father. Something really interesting I learned that I would have never knew about Buddy had I not researched this more was that when his father first died the bakery was struggling to produce sfogliatelle, which as difficult dough to create and is used in lobster tails (shown below). Buddy though, somehow figured it out. He drew from the knowledge that his father had taught him and wore his father’s St. Anthony’s medallion which he still wears today, and recreated the dough. This gave him the confidence he needed to make this bakery work.

You are probably wondering, what about the big cakes?? Well they come after that. Buddy needed something to stand apart from everyone else. That is where the big cake idea came from and since then he has done a 10,000 pound cake for NASCAR, a cake for Oprah and even a life size cake of his wife.

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Buddy is truly an inspiration, really to people who aren’t even interested in baking as well. He is a hard worker, loves his family, and is self-made pretty much. One thing on my bucket list is to go to Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken NJ, and experience the baking magic for myself!

 

 

2 thoughts on “The Cake Boss

  1. lep5240

    As weird as it may sound, I am obsessed with Next Great Baker, but I have never actually seen Cake Boss. Anyway, I am so glad that you posted about Buddy because from what I have seen, his cakes look amazing!! It is so incredible to hear the story of how successful he became, especially having not originally thought that he was artistic. It is so inspiring, and I love hearing about how successful he has become. Like you, I would absolutely love to visit his bakery and see some of his incredible creations in person.

  2. nbg5058

    As soon as I saw the title for this post I knew I would end up commenting on it because I’m a huge Cake Boss fan myself. My love of food originally drew me into this show, but I soon became pretty invested in the Valastro Family and all the craziness that goes on at the bakery. I had the show on DVD, and liked it so much that my cousin who lives in Jersey City took me to visit the bakery for my birthday a few years ago. It was so worth it – the food was absolutely amazing, especially the lobster tails.
    Overall, I really enjoyed reading your blog, probably because I share your passion for food in all its forms. My passion blog is also food-based, so reading yours gave me a few ideas for mine!

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