Cake Boss
Cake Boss is an American reality television series, airing on the cable television network TLC. Set at Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, the show mainly follows Buddy Valastro and his family as they operate their business, with a focus on how they make their cakes, along with family gatherings and celebrations.
The show premiered on April 19, 2009, and three additional seasons followed, premiering October 26, 2009, May 31, 2010 (returning in October), and January 31, 2011 (returning in September), respectively.[1][2][3][4]
Cast
Present
- Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro (b. March 3, 1977[5]) - The cake boss, worked at the bakery since age 17 in 1994.[6] He is the only son and the youngest child of Bartolo "Buddy" Sr. and Mary Valastro. He grew up in Little Ferry, New Jersey. He is married to Lisa Valastro (née Belgiovine) who now have four children: Sofia, Bartolo "Buddy" III, Marco, and Carlo.
- Mauro Castano - pastry chef and Buddy's right-hand man. He is married to Buddy's second oldest sister, Maddalena Castano (née Valastro) who works front counter. They have three children: Dominique, Buddy, and Mary.[7]
- Danny Dragone - multipurpose employee, worked at the bakery since before Buddy was born. He is a close family friend, and married with one child: Tatiana.[8]
- Frank "Frankie" Amato Jr. - cake decorator. He is Buddy's first cousin, the godfather to his son Marco, and married with two children.[9]
- Joseph "Joey" Faugno - head baker, working at the bakery since 1987. He is married to Buddy's oldest sister Grace Faugno (née Valastro) who works front counter. They have two children: Robert and Bartolina.[11]
- Mary Sciarrone (née Valastro)[12] - front counter and Buddy's third oldest sister. She is married with two children.[13]
- Lisa Valastro -Buddy's youngest sister, was married to Remy and has one child.
- Anthony "Cousin Anthony" Bellifemine - baker and former delivery boy. He is Lisa and Maurizio's paternal cousin.
- Maurizio Belgiovine - delivery boy. He is Buddy's brother-in-law.[12]
- Ralph "Ralphie Boy" Attanasia III - bakery sculptor.
- Dana Herbert - Buddy's intern (winner of Season 1 of Next Great Baker).
Past
- Mary Valastro Pinto - Buddy's mother. A show regular until her 2010 retirement; still appears on the show on occasion.
- Emilio"Remy" Gonzalez - Buddy's former left-hand man and the ex-husband of Buddy's sister Lisa. Remy's first and only child, daughter Isabella, was born on the Cake Boss episode "Mother's Day, Mama and Mom-to-be"
- Salvatore "Sal" Picinich (1947[14] - January 30, 2011[15][16][17]) worked at the bakery from 1964 and was one of Buddy's most trusted employees. Picinich stopped appearing on the show at the end of 2009, when he began battling cancer, but returned in the summer of 2010 to accept the Employee of the Century Award on the occasion of the bakery’s 100th anniversary.[16]
- Kevin "Stretch" Krand - a delivery boy, left for schooling
- Tony "Tone-Tone" Albanese - Buddy's second intern.
Reception
The popularity of the show has resulted in increased business for Carlo's Bake Shop, and increased tourism to the Hoboken area.[18] Due to the series' popularity, Carlo's Bake Shop has become a tourist attraction, with lines to enter the bakery often extending down the block and around the corner.[19] In 2010, Hoboken renamed the corner of Washington Street and Newark Street to "Carlo's Bakery Way" in honor of the bakery's centennial.[20]
Season one averaged 2.3 million viewers[21] while season two averaged 1.8 million viewers.[22]
Tie-ins and spinoffs
On November 2, 2010, Buddy Valastro's book, Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, which is based on the series, was released. Published by Free Press in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Carlo's Bake Shop, the book features the history and stories of Valastro's family and the bake shop, along with recipes.[12]
The success of Cake Boss has led to a spin-off competition series hosted by Buddy Valastro himself, Next Great Baker. Ten people compete to win the show's top prize: $50,000 cash, a new car and an apprenticeship at Carlo's Bakery. The program's first season was seen on TLC December 6, 2010[23] through January 24, 2011.[4]
Another spinoff series, Kitchen Boss, debuted January 25, 2011. This series, which is seen weekdays, features Buddy presenting his family's recipes, as well as special guests, including members of his own family.[4]
Episodes and DVD releases
| Season |
Episodes |
Originally aired |
DVD release date |
| Season premiere |
Season finale |
Region 1 |
Region 2 |
Region 4 |
Discs |
|
1 |
13 |
April 19, 2009 |
August 17, 2009 |
December 15, 2009[24] |
TBA |
TBA |
2 |
|
2 |
18 |
October 26, 2009 |
February 22, 2010 |
May 18, 2010[25] |
TBA |
TBA |
2 |
|
3 |
24 |
May 31, 2010 |
November 29, 2010 |
February 1, 2011 |
TBA |
TBA |
3 |
|
4 |
36 |
January 31, 2011[4] |
November 28, 2011 |
December 6, 2011 - Vol. 1[26]
TBA - Vol. 2 |
TBA |
TBA |
2 |
As of November 28, 2011, a total of 91 episodes and 5 specials have been broadcast one is now on it is called Cake Boss Family Secrets. The first three seasons have been released on DVD in Region 1. Each episode name employs alliteration.
Legal issues
In July 2010, Masters Software, Inc., of Cedar Park, Texas, obtained a preliminary injunction forbidding TLC from calling its show "Cake Boss".[27] Since 2006, the company has operated the domain name cakeboss.com, and since 2007, it has sold a bakery management program called CakeBoss. The suit claims that Discovery Communications infringes on its trademark by causing confusion among customers and vendors.[28] In October 2010, Masters Software and Discovery Communications reached a settlement, the details of which are not public.[29][30]
See also
References
- ^ "Cake Boss Returns October 11; Production Started on Next Great Baker" The Futon Critic; September 14, 2010
- ^ TV Listings for Cake Boss at TLC.com; Accessed October 5, 2010
- ^ Gorman, Bill. "‘Cake Boss’ Returns With New Episodes" TV By the Numbers; September 28, 2010
- ^ a b c d TV Guide: "TLC Orders New Buddy Valastro Series Kitchen Boss", January 5, 2011. Note: The article mentions that the show would be previewed following Next Great Baker; however, 19 Kids and Counting will be seen instead, per promos.
- ^ Cake Boss on Twitter
- ^ "Buddy Valastro". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-buddy-valastro.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ "Mauro Castano". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-mauro-castano.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ "Danny Dragone". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-danny-dragone.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ "Frank Amato, Jr.". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-frank-amato.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ "Joe Faugno". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-joe-faugno.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ a b c Buddy Valastro. Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia. ISBN 978-1439183519.
- ^ "Mary Sciarrone". TLC. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/cake-boss/about-mary-sciarrone.htm. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^ "'Cake Boss' and family mourn loss of 'Employee-of-the-Century' Salvatore Picinich". The Jersey Journal. 2011-02-01. http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2011/02/cake_boss_and_family_mourn_los.html.
- ^ Buddy Valastro on Facebook, January 31, 2011.
- ^ a b "Sal Picinich, 'Cake Boss' celebrity, dies at 63". The Bergen Record. 2011-01-31. http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/013111_Sal_Picinich_Cake_Boss_celebrity_dies_at_63.html.
- ^ "Salvatore Picinich". The Bergen Record. 2011-02-03. http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/115162429_Salvatore_Picinich.html.
- ^ Staab, Amanda. "The 'Cake Boss' effect". The Union City Reporter. July 11, 2010. Pages 6 and 8.
- ^ Sachs, Andrea (03/14/2010). "Reality TV's 'Cake Boss' shows off his bakery and his home town, Hoboken, N.J.". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031104352.html?sid=ST2010031202661. Retrieved 04/01/2010.
- ^ Hyman, Vicki (06/08/2010). "'Cake Boss' kicking off Carlo's Bakery centennial with Hoboken block party". The Star Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/06/cake_boss_kicking_off_carlos_b.html. Retrieved 06/09/2010.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (07/29/2009). "'Cake Boss' renewed by TLC". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/07/29/cake-boss-renewed-by-tlc/23822. Retrieved 05/31/2010.
- ^ Levine, Stuart (01/31/2010). "'Cake Boss' earns third season". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014529.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2630&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+variety/boxofficeandratings/tvrenewalsandrejections+(Variety+-+TV+Renewals+%26+Rejections). Retrieved 05/31/2010.
- ^ "Cake Boss Gets Competitive with New Spinoff Series". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Cake-Boss-Spinoff-1019881.aspx.
- ^ "Cake Boss Season 1". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M2Z3AG/. Retrieved February 19, 2010 (2010-02-19).
- ^ "Cake Boss Season 2". Discovery Store. http://store.discovery.com/detail.php?p=257504&v=discovery&pa=discoveryxml. Retrieved March 20, 2010 (2010-03-20).
- ^ [1]
- ^ "TLC's "Cake Boss" Could Crumble Under Litigation". NBC Universal. 2010-07-27. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Cake-Boss-No-More-99338484.html. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Richard A. Jones (2010-07-16). "Masters Software, Inc. v. Discovery Communications, Inc., et al.". United States Department of Justice. http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/washington/wawdce/2:2010cv00405/166219/40/0.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Katie Colaneri (2010-10-22). "'Cake Boss' will keep his name, settles 'amicably' with software company". Jersey Journal. http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2010/10/cake_boss_will_keep_his_name_s.html. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ Tierryicah Mitchell (2011-01-23). "Who’s the Boss?: Settlement Allows Buddy Valastro To Continue To Use “Cake Boss”". Law JournalFeeds. http://law.journalfeeds.com/information-technology/wake-forest-intellectual-property-law-journal/who%E2%80%99s-the-boss-settlement-allows-buddy-valastro-to-continue-to-use-%E2%80%9Ccake-boss%E2%80%9D/20110123/. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
External links