How Buddy Valastro Really Made It As A Celebrity Chef

Forget Netflix's bandwagon-jumping contest and all those Instagram-friendly pics in which delicious baked goods are made to look like everything from coffee cups and canines to shoes and spaghetti, Buddy Valastro was one of the first bakers to pose that all-important question, "Is It Cake?"

Yes, ever since "Cake Boss" (the TV show, not the accounting software) first aired on TLC way back in 2009, the New Jersey native has wowed audiences with his and Carlo's Bakery's intriguing creations, which appear to defy the laws of both food and gravity. And Valastro has since built up both his broadcasting portfolio and business empire with a string of similar establishments and imaginatively named shows, such as "Kitchen Boss" and "Bakery Boss." When asked about what advice he'd give to entrepreneurs by Fox Business, Valastro replied, "See, I'm lucky in the fact that I'm diversified. I do television, and I own a production company that makes the television, and I own bakeries and I own restaurants and I own real estate." He added, "So if you're diversified, yeah, you might be doing bad here, but then you're not going to do well there. ... You've got to pivot, man."

So how did Valastro get to be the cake king of American television? From parental inspirations and pastry educations to lucrative deals and legal troubles, here's a look at Buddy Valastro's eventful journey to making it as a celebrity chef.

You could say that Buddy Valastro's profession was never really in doubt. His late father earned a living as a baker, as did his grandfather and great-grandfather. And the "Cake Boss" star believes that his baking heritage goes back way further, too.

In an interview with Italia Living, Valastro explained how much he was influenced by one man, in particular: "My father was the most inspirational part of my life. Not only in my career, but also in making me the man that I am today. He taught me how to bake, he taught me how to be a man and he taught me how to be a businessman. I owe everything I have to him."

Because of the family business, Valastro didn't have the time, or feel the need, to attend pastry school. He began honing his baking skills at the age of just 11. But he believes that Carlo's Bakery gave him all the education he needed. "My school was Carlo's Bakery," he said. "It was hard knocks!"

It seems hard to imagine Buddy Valastro being anything other than the Cake Boss. But although he came from a long line of bakers, his same-named father was adamant that his own son wouldn't get into the family business.

While writing about his late pop for Guideposts in 2011, Buddy Jr. recalled, "It wasn't until I was six I got my first taste of what my father did for a living. One day I stared up at him putting on his crisp white baker's uniform and announced, 'Daddy, I want to come to work with you.'" Although Buddy Valastro Sr. did give the youngster an apron and bucket to help him see him at work, it came with a caveat. The Food Network star wrote, "'You are not going to do this for a living,' he'd say in his husky Italian accent. 'You are going to college.'"

Buddy Sr. didn't exactly help quash Buddy Jr.'s ambitions when he put him to work at the age of 11, even if the bulk of his duties included bathroom cleaning, egg cracking, and floor scrubbing. But the then-owner still believed that his son would be better off gaining a bachelor's degree.

Buddy Valastro suffered heartbreak at the age of 17 when his father, Buddy Valastro Sr., died from lung cancer. More than three decades after he took over the family business, the "Cake Boss" star was still trying to come to terms with his loss.

In a 2021 Instagram post to commemorate his late dad's birthday, Buddy Jr. wrote, "Life just isn't the same without you. ... You're in my thoughts everyday and that's how it will always be. Today I lean on all the great memories we have with you. You're up in heaven now but you'll always be with me." He added, "Happy birthday Dad, missing you today and always, I love you."

The TLC regular also sadly lost his mother, Mary Valastro, in 2017 due to complications from pneumonia. Once again, Buddy Valastro Jr. had to throw himself into his work soon after. As he explained to People, this was one of his mom's last wishes: "She doesn't want me to stop. She wants me to be the patriarch of the family and keep doing what I'm doing, 100 percent. There's not even a doubt in my mind."

Buddy Valastro Jr.'s entire life changed at the age of 17 when he lost his father to lung cancer, as previously mentioned. As well as having to deal with his grief and become the man of the house he shared with his mother and four sisters, the young baker was also tasked with taking over Carlo's Bakery.

The future "Cake Boss" star subsequently abandoned his high school studies in order to focus on the bakery that his father, Buddy Valastro Sr., had bought in 1964. Buddy Jr. worked 18-hour days, taking only one day off each week — a workaholic approach that he'd inherited from his parents. "This is truly a family business. This is where we grew up and it's what we love to do," he explained to The National. "Very early on, my mum and dad instilled a very strict work ethic in me and my sisters. We work hard to keep the bakery successful."

Unsurprisingly, Buddy Jr. has high hopes that his own offspring will follow in his footsteps one day. "But I'm not going to force them," he clarified. "I want them to love what they do and hopefully it involves the bakery. My daughter and two of my sons, Marco and Carlo, love to decorate, and my son Buddy loves being in the baking room with me."

Although Carlo's Bakery had always been renowned locally for its wedding cakes, Buddy Valastro took things to a new level when he became its owner, with his elaborate creations putting the establishment on the national and international map.

Valastro first caught attention when he was asked to show off his bridal-themed baking skills on the third season of "Food Network Challenge." Alongside his mouth-watering delights, the star also impressed with his natural stage presence and was invited to return to the show on several occasions, eventually emerging victorious in the episode titled "Battle of the Brides" for a prize of $10,000!

In his book "Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia," Valastro revealed how he felt comfortable on screen from the get-go: "Whenever the host asked me a question, I was ready with a snappy answer, and everything I said seemed to delight the producers, who loved my accent and the way I bantered with [host and judge Jeff] Mauro." He added, "I think they thought it was an act, but it wasn't; all those years of shooting the breeze around the benches in the back of Carlo's, or with my buds in the parks and woods of Little Ferry proved to be perfect training for being an on-camera personality."

Buoyed by his performances on "Food Network Challenge" and with encouragement from the show's producers, too, Buddy Valastro decided to pitch his very own show based around Carlo's Bakery to TLC producers. Having got the green light for "Cake Boss," a star was subsequently born.

Indeed, the behind-the-scenes look at one of Hoboken's premier bakeries became an instant hit on its 2009 debut, with its success even surprising the man himself. Valastro told The Aquarian, "To tell you the truth, it's kind of been a whirlwind. It's been awesome." The celebrity chef added, "At first I did it because I thought it would help the business and help it grow and accomplish what I wanted to do, but as time went on, I saw that it was bringing families together, and showing positive things, and helping people in the industry, so it's become so much more to me than it was."

"Cake Boss" enjoyed nine seasons and 208 episodes before wrapping up in 2020, by which point it had also spawned numerous spinoffs, including "Bake You Rich," "Next Great Baker," and "Kitchen Boss," not to mention several tie-in books.

The instant success of "Cake Boss" made Carlo's Bakery one of Hoboken's hottest tourist attractions — and owner Buddy Valastro didn't waste any time in capitalizing on all the new-found interest. Just a few years after the show premiered, the baker opened up his first location outside his New Jersey hometown: Cake Boss Café in New York City. By 2016, Valastro had also launched branches in Las Vegas, Florida, and Sao Paulo, as well as several others in the Garden State. And he's still expanding, as of this writing, with a Toronto shop opening up in 2022, the same year he announced plans to add to his Big Apple portfolio.

You might think that having more than a dozen outlets to oversee would be a headache. But speaking to students at the University of Delaware, Valastro revealed that he thrived on staying busy: "Chaos soothes me. I like to hear problems and have 10 different things going on and I'm like okay, do this, do that, and I need people around me who (follow the) beat to the same drum." 

The baker also gave the class advice on how to follow in his footsteps. "The principles of me are that you have to dream big. You have to work hard and you have to be willing to do the dirty work," he explained. "To this day, If I'm at my factory, I will still get down on my hands and knees to scrub the floor if I have to."

In 2001, Buddy Valastro became a married man when he said "I do" to wife Lisa Valastro in his New Jersey hometown. Decades on, they still appear to be as head over heels for each other.

To celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary in 2022, the "Cake Boss" star uploaded several throwback photos of the big day to Instagram, captioned, "I love your beauty, your laughter, the way you take care of me, the way you keep me safe. You have brought our kids and I pure happiness the last 21 years. Happy anniversary, I love you beyond words." In turn, Lisa also gushed about their marriage on her own Instagram account. So how exactly do the Valastros keep the magic alive?

Well, speaking to Good Housekeeping about his home life, Buddy revealed that he can be quite the old romantic at heart. When asked how he shows this side, the Food Network favorite responded, "Always bringing home flowers or trying to do something nice. Saying, 'Honey, you look beautiful today.' You can tell when a girl went out of her way to look good."

Having grown up with four sisters in the Hoboken area of New Jersey, Buddy Valastro seemed keen to have a large family himself. Indeed, the baker and his longtime wife, Lisa, have three boys — Buddy, Marco, and Carlo — and a daughter named Sofia. So what kind of dad is the "Cake Boss" star?

Well, in a chat with Good Housekeeping, Valastro admitted that he's the parent that his children fear the most when being disciplined: "My role is to be the last line of defense [when the kids are acting out]. When I step in, the kids know it's really 'game over.' How it works is, my wife does the yelling, but then she'll say, 'I'm gonna tell your father.' Then Daddy drops the hammer." When asked about the most challenging part of being a father, Valastro replied, "Patience. When you have four screaming kids pulling you in different directions, you can't lose it." 

Luckily, all the screaming, pulling, and hammer dropping seem to be worth it. Referring to the most rewarding part of parenthood, the TLC regular said, "When I come home and the kids run and tackle me, yell 'Daddy!' and give me a big hug."

As one of the world's most famous bakers, Buddy Valastro has inevitably been called upon by numerous A-list celebrities wanting something that little bit extra for a special occasion. The "Cake Boss" star has whipped up elaborate sweet treats for everyone from Britney Spears and Jennifer Hudson to John Legend and Beyoncé over the years. But his biggest showbiz fan appears to be Gigi Hadid.

The supermodel admitted on Instagram that she burst into tears after receiving a bagel-themed cake made by Valastro for her 25th birthday. She was still gushing about it when the pair teamed up to film a cake-baking internship video for Harper's Bazaar a year later. "It was the coolest cake ever," Hadid said. "I am an emotional person but not [usually] over people I watch on TV."

Valastro reciprocated the love-in when he responded, "When I found out you were a fan I was, like, honored. The fact that we were able to make that cake for you really touched my heart." Hadid then put herself forward for a guest spot on the baker's latest TV smash, "Buddy vs. Duff," something with which the baker got on board, too.

Buddy Valastro's squeaky-clean reputation took a bit of a hit in 2014 when he was arrested on a DWI. The "Cake Boss" star was discovered to be 0.01% over New York's legal blood-alcohol limit when he was pulled over in his famous yellow Corvette by cops on lower Manhattan's 10th Avenue, per AP News (via the Los Angeles Times). Valastro received a conditional discharge sentence and three-month license suspension for the misdemeanor after pleading guilty. He also had to pay a fine of $300 and attended a drink-driving program.

The baker later took to Twitter to express his sorrow over the incident. "I want to thank everyone for their support. I also want to apologize to everyone," he wrote, adding, "I learned an important lesson that if you have even one drink you shouldn't drive." Valastro further explained, "I thought I was fine to drive, but I wasn't. I put people in danger. I am very disappointed in myself." The TLC favorite concluded that he'd "never get behind the wheel of a car again, even after one sip. My sincerest apologies to my family, friends and fans."

Having your own bowling alley sounds pretty cool. Unfortunately, Buddy Valastro found out the hard way that there's also a downside to such an extravagance. The "Cake Boss" star nearly lost his hand after it was impaled by a pin-setting machine at his New Jersey home in 2020.

Describing the horrific accident to "Today," Valastro said, "I thought I was going to faint, I looked at my hand and there was blood everywhere and I was stuck, the rod going back and forth because the machine goes back and forth. Something told me to stay calm." The baker had to be cut out by his family before undergoing not just one but two emergency surgery procedures to save his hand. Luckily, within six months he was able to make a fist — and a year after the incident, he was 95% recovered.

In another interview with "Today," Valastro expressed how grateful he was that things hadn't been worse: "I might have to get another surgery over time, but considering what happened, a huge metal spike through my hand, the fact that I'm here talking to you guys today doing what I'm doing — and listen, the technology." Explaining that he'd had nerve damage that needed to be repaired, the celebrity chef added, "These fingers here, for like a year, just felt tingly and asleep, but now the nerve's starting to regenerate and it actually feels back to normal."

After more than a decade of flipping between Food Network and TLC, Buddy Valastro signed a lucrative contract with another media group in 2022 — and one, considering his previous trip to hospital with a hand injury, that was aptly named.

Yes, Valastro became part of the A&E Networks family with a deal that would result in at least 60 hours of original programs including several holiday specials and new series. In a statement (via Variety), the "Cake Boss" star said, "Our partnership with A+E is everything my family and I were looking for in a home on television — a media company with worldwide reach and distribution and thoughtful creative partners who can execute our shared vision from development to broadcast."

That vision, you might find hard to believe, included a Lifetime Christmas film that would also feature Valastro's family. Speaking to Mashed about the prospect, the celeb baker revealed that it had always been a lifelong wish of his. While only time will tell whether Valastro's acting will be more showstopping cake or moldy bread, there's no denying that his kitchen skills, showmanship, business acumen, and ability to forge a successful TV career have helped establish him as the ultimate Cake Boss.