Buddy Valastro is an accomplished fourth generation baker born into the business owned and operated by his parents. Buddy grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey in an old-fashioned Italian family. He showed a flair for cake decorating at an early age.
Training
At an early age, Buddy showed he was a natural by displaying his amazing talent for baking and cake decorating. Aside from that passion, he loved spending quality time with his father as an apprentice. Countless hours were spent in the bakery where his father, Buddy Sr., a master baker, taught Buddy everything about baking and running a business. They dreamed that together, they would make Carlo’s Bakery a household name.
At the age of 17, Buddy experienced the sudden and tragic loss of his father, which placed all of the responsibilities of the bakery on Buddy’s shoulders. Buddy poured all of his energy into the bakery and continued to produce the same high quality work as his father. With the help of his family, Buddy has taken Carlo’s Bakery to new heights. His father’s recipes and Buddy’s innovative decorating and sugar art techniques have taken the business above and beyond his father’s wildest dreams.
At the age of 17, Buddy experienced the sudden and tragic loss of his father, which placed all of the responsibilities of the bakery on Buddy’s shoulders. Buddy poured all of his energy into the bakery and continued to produce the same high quality work as his father. With the help of his family, Buddy has taken Carlo’s Bakery to new heights. His father’s recipes and Buddy’s innovative decorating and sugar art techniques have taken the business above and beyond his father’s wildest dreams.
Mentors
Back in 1988, when Buddy Valastro was drafted by his dad to join the family business, Carlo's Bakery, he wasn't even allowed in the kitchen. "I started in the basement, washing the sink," he says of the Hoboken, N.J., bakery. "My dad wanted me to know what it was like to be everybody in the bakery. The thing is, everything they made me do, I was good at, says Buddy."
Things changed when his dad, Buddy Sr., died of lung cancer at 54, forcing Valastro, then just 17, to drop out of high school and take over the business. He lost his best friend, his mentor, his everything. Then he has 30 employees, and he had to step up and take over in father's shoes.
Things changed when his dad, Buddy Sr., died of lung cancer at 54, forcing Valastro, then just 17, to drop out of high school and take over the business. He lost his best friend, his mentor, his everything. Then he has 30 employees, and he had to step up and take over in father's shoes.