For Buddy Valastro—baking cakes for a living is much more than just mixing ingredients together and piping designs with icing; it is what he describes as “living the dream.”
Buddy, who is better known as ‘The Cake Boss’ has taken the baking industry to new heights with the success of his world-renowned business Carlo’s Bakery.
After his father’s unexpected death; the then 17-year-old Buddy was left to run the family business himself—with the help of his other family members who all had one goal in mind: honouring the legacy of Buddy Sr. while making the bakery a household name.
Creating unique, delicious and elaborate cakes helps reconnect Buddy with the memory of his father and his extended Italian family history.
Now, 37-year-old Buddy is married and has four children, with his wife, Lisa Valastro. As a fourth-generation baker, with a keen eye for detail and a mind for business—Buddy landed the starring role on TLC’s hit reality TV series ‘The Cake Boss’ which chronicles the everyday happenings in Carlo’s Bakery, located in New Jersey. With six successful seasons of the show under his belt, plus starring in three other shows; Kitchen Boss, The Next Great Baker and Bakery Boss—Buddy has become a familiar face on the small-screen.
He recently partnered with Canadian Tire to launch a line of bake-ware products to help people become their own cake boss right at home. It offers a wide range of items from baking to decorating tools, as well as serving dishes and cake carriers—all inspired by the Cake Boss himself. The collection is designed for both the novice baker and the professional baker, offering affordable prices; with products ranging from $5 to $60.
Buddy was a special guest at the Canadian Tire Home, Auto & Outdoor Show on April 5 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
He sat down with 604 Now to discuss the bakery, family-life and how he manages to make time for it all.
604 Now: The response to your bakery has been huge—did you ever expect it would get to this level?
Buddy: When I started out doing Cake Boss, I wanted to make the bakery a household name, and I think we’ve done that. But, I didn’t know that we would get the response that we’re getting. It’s kind of surreal, sometimes I still have to pinch myself and say ‘is this is my life?!’ Especially here in Canada, every time I come here, the fans are just so awesome. I feel like I have a dual citizenship whenever I come here.
604 Now: Why do you think the show has become so popular?
Buddy: The show does a lot of good. It inspires people to want to bake. It inspires people to watch Cake Boss together as a family. It has helped the baking industry. The original idea was to do it because we wanted to promote the bakery, now we’ve realized, it’s helping people. So that’s really been the main focus of the show over the last four years.
604 Now: What has been one of your greatest accomplishments?
Buddy: My family. Out of everything that I’ve done—being able to see my kids grow up, see my wife, see what we’ve done and what we’re continuing to do and what my plans for the future are, is the greatest accomplishment to me. As for the culinary aspect; being able to be as world-renowned as we are and having such success with the shows and the brands. I was a successful businessman before Cake Boss; I had a thriving bakery, I dabbled in real estate and I was always doing things. I feel like it’s just an extension of who I have always been. I feel like this has just given me the platform and the opportunity to do more.
604 Now: How has your life changed since appearing on TV?
Buddy: It has definitely changed in a lot of ways, a lot of good ways. Everywhere I go, I get recognized. Seeing people and little kids get so excited to see me, I mean it’s a great feeling. The transformation has probably been the hardest on my wife because she always says ‘I share you with millions of people,’ but she says she would never want to take me away from that. She knows that I’m doing a lot of good and helping a lot of people. I really love what I do, I love the fans and I feel like throughout the years I have always remained who I am and the fans know that and I feel like that is why it has been so successful.
604 Now: Can you tell us a bit more about your new bake-ware line?
Buddy: I’m very excited about the bake-ware line; I wanted to give people the tools to become their own cake boss at home. I honestly feel if you have the right tools and a little bit of ‘know-how’ it’s not as hard as it looks. It’s been a lot of fun and Canadian Tire has been a great partner, they truly believe in the brand.
604 Now: How do you balance the bakery, shows, appearances and family-life?
Buddy: Carefully…very carefully. Whatever I’m doing, I give 100% of myself to it. If I’m with my kids, they have 100% of me, if I’m making a cake, it’s 100%, you’re interviewing me, you have 100% of me. It’s about doing one thing at a time and then moving on to the next thing. That’s really been my philosophy so far and it’s worked. There are days it’s overwhelming, there are days I don’t want to talk to anybody and just clear my head, it’s like that for everyone. It’s not easy what I do, there are days when I don’t know how I can get it all done, but we always do.
604 Now: You’ve made cakes for so many high-profile celebrities, what have been some of your favourites?
Buddy: Oprah. We also did cakes for Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj, those were fun. We’ve done cakes for Rihanna…we’ve done so many cakes for so many different people!
604 Now: Who haven’t you made a cake for but would like to?
Buddy: The Prime Minister of Canada. Call him and tell him I want to make him a cake!
604 Now: How do you keep yourself and the bakery so grounded when it is known internationally?
Buddy: I have to attribute that to my parents. They just raised me that way, to never forget where you came from. A lot of the organizations I deal with really help me keep that perspective. Like Make A Wish, if you’re having a bad day and then go see a sick child that has one month to live…it puts life in perspective. There’s always something there showing me that my life is good.
Interview by: Meagan Gill
Photo Credit: Buddy Valastro/Facebook
