By Liz Kim
Buddy Valastro isn’t called the Cake Boss for no reason. Born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, he is a fourth generation baker. His childhood was spent in his family’s old-fashioned Italian bakery run by his father, Buddy Sr. Father and son dreamed of making Carlo’s Bakery a household name, and five restaurants (in New York City, New Jersey, and Las Vegas) and four TLC realty TV shows later, Valastro is bringing their vision to life. Now, he’s helping to make the cake dreams of one lucky couple come true in Brides Live Wedding, an unprecedented wedding competition by BRIDES. Read on for more of our exclusive celebrity interview with the star!
Exclusive Celebrity Interview with Buddy Valastro
Brides Live Wedding gives one couple the chance to star in their own celebrity wedding while also supporting their favorite charity. The catch? Once the public votes which pair will get the A-list treatment, they will also be able to vote on every detail of the wedding, from the dress to the decor. For the cake, there were four options to choose from, and Valastro is excited to get started. “This is the second year I’m participating in the contest,” he says. “I think it’s a cool concept; it’s fun to be a part of it; and it’s really great for the couple who ends up getting this amazing, huge wedding! I’m happy that I can provide the cake that they’ll enjoy on their special day.”
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Baking for weddings is nothing new for the reality TV star, and after creating cakes for countless events, he knows a thing or two about what’s trending in the wedding cake world. He explains, “You know, the cupcake cakes were getting big for awhile, but now I’m seeing brides looking for cakes with a rustic, natural, almost unfinished look to them.” He adds that “dessert tables are very popular. They just add more variety for guests to enjoy at the reception.”
Regardless of the couple’s final choice, Valastro makes sure that everyone walks away happy. “I always ask my brides and grooms to give me all the wedding details — color scheme, flower choice, the dress style, the location,” he shares in our exclusive celebrity interview. “All of these details are huge inspirations when designing wedding cakes. It makes it very personal.”
Carlo’s Bakery is a Hoboken favorite, but now, the Cake Boss is proving to be a reality television boss as well. In the early 2000s, he competed in several cake decorating competitions on Food Network Challenge. He won the “Battle of the Brides” challenge in season seven, and his quick wit and tell-it-like-it-is Jersey attitude caught the attention of producers. In 2009, Cake Boss premiered on TLC, and now, he has three more shows under his belt: Kitchen Boss, The Next Great Baker, and Bakery Boss.
Reality TV Star Opens Up About Celebrity Marriage and Family
As dedicated as he is to expanding his business, he is equally dedicated to his wife Lisa and their four children. In October 2011, he surprised his wife with a second proposal. The celebrity couple wed again in a tropical vow renewal ceremony, complete with a cake that Valastro created himself. “I think it’s really important for couples to reflect on why they got married in the first place and why they decided to share their lives together,” he explains. “We all get so busy and distracted with our lives, but I knew I wanted to do something special for my wife, and I wanted the kids to be part of it too.”
The secret to his celebrity marriage? Finding time to appreciate the simple things. “We’re not too difficult. I’ll either cook one of my wife’s favorite meals, or I’ll take her out somewhere nice,” he says about a typical date night. ”It’s good to have that time to yourselves, and then we come home and hang out with the kids.”
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Being on television seems to tear apart marriages rather than strengthen them, but Valastro feels fortunate that Lisa understands that his schedule is hectic to say the least. “You know, I’m a lucky man because the show hasn’t changed us. My wife, my kids and I are just the same on-camera as we are off-camera.”
And while he loves spending time with his children in the bakery, it’s up to them whether or not they want to take over the celebrity family business. “I definitely have passed along my love of baking, and my son Buddy is really coming along,” he shares. “I would love for them all to take over the bakery when they get older, but I’m not going to push it on them. They’ll make that decision.”
Family, he says, is the key to success, and he credits his dad with teaching him everything he knows about baking and business. His father died when he was just 17 years old, and although still young, he took on all of the responsibilities of the bakery. “My dad taught me to look at the bigger picture. He taught me at a very young age that not only did I have to learn to become a great baker, but I also had to become a businessman,” he candidly reveals. “You could be the best baker in the entire world, but if you can’t run a successful bakery, no one will ever know what you can do. Being business savvy is just as important as being the best at what you want to do, and for me, that was baking.”
Whether he’s constructing a life-size race car cake or whipping up lobster tails, his wife’s favorite pastry, Valastro puts his heart and soul into everything he does. And the Cake Boss has no plans on stopping anytime soon. “I’m always working the next project. I’ve got some fun things in the works, so stay tuned!”
You can keep up with Buddy on Twitter @CakeBossBuddy.
