"Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro Sweetens up the Holidays on Food Network

quotPeople ask if I am the Grinchquot Valastro pictured at top with his oldest son Buddy Jr told MediaVillage in an exclusive interview quotDo I hate Christmas because of the title I love Christmas It is my favorite holidayquotThe fourepisode competition show pits Valastro and his merry band of children and bakery workers against artisans in other fields No footage was available of the show shot in the early fall but the network is promoting it as quotbakers versus makersquot The two sides have 24 hours to craft a Christmasthemed creation Valastro takes on Broadway set designers glass blowers animatronic experts and Lego brick mastersOver the years Valastro39s elaborate creations have included a NASCAR cake that weighed over 10000 pounds and a scale model of St Louis The fourthgeneration baker does not shy away from an artistic challenge This though was a little different His competitors may have an advantage in their fields but only a fool would count out ValastroHis new creations which promotions reveal include a working car made out of cake are among the last he did before a freak bowling accident The pinsetter in his home alley malfunctioned and impaled his hand Valastro has already had three surgeriesquotIt39s coming along slowly but surelyquot he said quotThe thing is it39s time I just don39t know how much strength or which muscles will come back or how much dexterity I will have I had nerve damage Using it a lot is part of the recovery not only physical therapy It39s hard because you are so used to going to wash your face and two fingers poke your eye out because they39re bent in Depending on how the next couple of months go because of recovery there might be more surgeriesquotAs usual Valastro sounded evenkeeled almost buoyant There39s a Jersey tough to this family man whose bakery Carlo39s went from a cherished Hoboken spot with arguably the best biscotti in New Jersey to one where after episodes of Cake Boss were telecast the line snaked down the block He seems unchanged from his successes which include shows Buddy vs Duff and Bake it Like Buddy store branches and most recently TGI Fridays selling his sixlayer rainbow cakeLast Saturday night his middle son Marco helped Valastro make 50 batches of cake batter Each batch is 240 pounds That39s 12000 pounds roughly the size of a bush elephant but much tastier quotThe rainbow cakes have been doing really well so I wanted to keep up with the demandquot he explainedThrough his injury and recovery Valastro did what he always has amp8211 stayed close to his family and worked hardquotI am determined to be able to get back to what I doquot he said quotAnd because it is Thanksgiving and the bakery is slammed even though I can39t work with my hands as much I am still here and working crazy as ever 14 to 18hour days The other night it was midnight so I slept on the couch in my office I am not letting the hand stop me from running my company and doing what I doquotWhile the new show was shot before Valastro39s injury his attitude has not changed and he continues to want to best himselfquotI wanted to kind of challenge people that have different mediumsquot he explained quotThey are masters in their own craftsquotFacing off against a glassblower Valastro summoned the help of blownsugar artist The artisans baked in commercial kitchens in New York while Valastro worked from his commercial kitchen in Jersey City In Sunday39s premiere he bakes the tallest cake he has ever fashioned a 16foot high gingerbread house While Valastro was genuinely wowed by his competitors39 artistry he reckons they may not know the perfect recipe for a good cake to sculpt or how to work fastquotThis show is more about the appreciation of artistry it is about how much respect we have for one anotherquot Valastro concluded quotAnd to step back and appreciate each other39s work And from my perspective I felt like the advantage that we had a little bit was the time crunch A lot of these people work on a piece over a week or a month but I am used to working on deadlines I could not be happier with the show pieces that were donequotBuddy vs Christmas premieres Sunday November 22 at 10 pm on Food NetworkClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

"Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro Sweetens up the Holidays on Food Network

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Jacqueline Cutler

"About That" with Carl Mayer: Corinne Casagrande (Episode 8: Consumer Spending) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

"Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro Sweetens up the Holidays on Food Network

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jacqueline Cutler

"About That" with Carl Mayer: Corinne Casagrande (Episode 8: Consumer Spending) - By Carl Mayer

The payment was successful

Cookies