Cake Boss

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cake Boss
Genre Reality
Starring Buddy Valastro
Opening theme Sugar, Sugar, sung by:
The Nerds (2009–11)
Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights (2011–)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 148 (plus 5 specials) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Art Edwards
  • Jim Berger
  • Matt Walker
  • Pamela Healey
  • Scott Feeley
Producer(s) Laney McVicker
Casey Bauer
Editor(s)
  • David T McCurley
  • Patrick Bryant
  • Christopher Schultz
  • David Miers
  • Stacey Martins
Running time 22 minutes, special 42 minutes
Production company(s) High Noon Entertainment
Broadcast
Original channel TLC
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original run April 19, 2009 (2009-04-19) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows Next Great Baker
Kitchen Boss
External links
Website

Cake Boss is an American reality television series, airing on the cable television network TLC. The show follows the operations of Carlo's Bakery, an Italian American family-owned business in Hoboken, New Jersey owned and operated by siblings Buddy Valastro (to whom the series' title refers), Lisa Valastro, Maddalena Castano, Grace Faugno and Mary Sciarrone.[1] The show focuses on how they make their cakes, and the interpersonal relationships among the various family members and other employees who work at the shop.

The show premiered on April 19, 2009, and four additional seasons followed, premiering October 26, 2009, May 31, 2010 (returning in October), January 31, 2011 (returning in September), and May 28, 2012, respectively.[2][3][4][5] The show's sixth season debuted on Monday May 27, 2013 at 9PM ET,[6] the second part of the sixth season aired on December 30, 2013.

Cast

Present

  • Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro, Jr. (born March 3, 1977)[7][8][9][10] – The star of the show, who has worked at the bakery since age 17 in 1994.[11] He is the only son and the youngest child of Bartolo "Buddy" Sr. and Mary Valastro. He grew up in Little Ferry, New Jersey.[12] He is married to Elisabetta "Lisa" Valastro (née Belgiovine) with whom he now has four children: Sofia, Bartolo "Buddy" III, Marco, and Carlo Salvatore. In 2012, as a result of the attention that the series brought to Hoboken, New Jersey, the Hudson Reporter named him as an honorable mention in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people.[13]
  • Mauro Castano – pastry chef and Buddy's right-hand man. He is married to Buddy's second oldest sister, Maddalena.
  • Maddalena Castano (née Valastro) (born August 15, 1967)[14] who works the front counter. She is married to Mauro. They have three children: Dominique, Buddy, and Mary.[15]
  • Danny Dragone – multipurpose employee, worked at the bakery since before Buddy was born. He is a close family friend, and married with one child who works at the bakery: Tatiana. He is nicknamed "the mule" for his versatility.[16]
  • Frank "Frankie" Amato Jr. – cake decorator. He is Buddy's first cousin, the godfather to his son Marco, and married with two children.[17]
  • Joseph "Joey" Faugno – The shop's head baker. He is married to Buddy's oldest sister, Grace. They have two children: Robert and Bartolina.[18]
  • Lisa Gonzalez (born December 31, 1974)[14] – Buddy's youngest sister, she works the store front. She has three kids, Teresa, John, and Isabella.[19]
  • Anthony "Cousin Anthony" Bellifemine – baker and former delivery boy.[20]
  • Maurizio Belgiovine – delivery boy. He is Buddy's brother-in-law.[21]
  • Ralph "Ralphie Boy" Attanasia III – bakery sculptor.[22]
  • Dana Herbert – Buddy's intern (winner of Season 1 of Next Great Baker).
  • Marissa Lopez – Buddy's intern (winner of Season 2 of Next Great Baker), later becoming manager of Carlo's Bakery's new location in Ridgewood, New Jersey.[23]
  • Ashley Holt – Buddy's intern (winner of Season 3 of Next Great Baker).
  • Mary Sciarrone (née Valastro)[21] (born September 30, 1969)[14] – Cake Consultant and Buddy's third oldest sister. She is married with two children.[24] In the fifth season episode "Stained Glass & A Surprised Danny", she was fired because of multiple incidents involving her making inappropriate statements.[25] Mary was rehired as a cake consultant a few weeks after being fired.[26]
  • Grace Faugno (née Valastro) - (born June 30, 1966)[14] Buddy's oldest sister. She works front counter. She is married to Joey Faugno, the shops head baker. They have two children: Robert and Bartolina.

Past

Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey, where the series is filmed.
  • Mary Valastro Pinto – Buddy's mother. A show regular until her 2010 retirement; still appears on the show on occasion. Announced in 2012 that she has been diagnosed with ALS. The family's struggle and reaction was documented on the Season 5 finale, "A Bittersweet Homecoming", on July 23, 2012.[27]
  • Remigio "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". He left the show after being arrested for alleged sexual assault.[28]
  • Salvatore "Sal" Picinich (1947[29] – January 30, 2011[30][31][32]) 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. He passed away January 30, 2011.[31]
  • Kevin "Stretch" Krand – a delivery boy who left the shop to continue his education.[33]
  • Tony "Tone-Tone" Albanese – Buddy's second intern.[34]
  • Stephanie "Sunshine" Fernandez- top decorator at Carlo's. She was the first female employee who did not work with sales, as stated by Buddy Valastro.
  • Paul Conti – bakery employee (former contestant of Season 3 of Next Great Baker). was only in a couple of episodes because he lost his house and his job.

Reception

The interior of Carlo's Bake Shop on a busy holiday.

The popularity of the show has resulted in increased business for Carlo's Bake Shop, and increased tourism to the Hoboken area.[35] 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.[36] In 2010, Hoboken renamed the corner of Washington Street and Newark Street to "Carlo's Bakery Way" in honor of the bakery's centennial.[37]

Season one averaged 2.3 million viewers[38] while season two averaged 1.8 million viewers.[39]

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.[21]

Valastro's second book, Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets, is a cook book, also published by Free Press, released November 1, 2011 and featuring Valastro's cake, pastry and decorating recipes.[40]

The success of Cake Boss has led to a spin-off competition series hosted by Valastro, Next Great Baker, in which people compete to win a top cash prize, other valuable prizes, and an apprenticeship at Carlo's Bakery. The program's first season was seen on TLC December 6, 2010[41] through January 24, 2011,[5] with a second season televised November 28, 2011 to January 30, 2012. The competition's third season premiered on Monday, November 26, 2012.[42]

Another spinoff series, Kitchen Boss, debuted January 25, 2011. This series, which is seen weekdays, features Valastro presenting his family's recipes, as well as special guests, including members of his own family.[5]

A backdoor pilot special, Bakery Boss, debuted on May 27, 2013.[43] The special features Valastro traveling to a struggling bakery, Friendly's Bake Shop in Frankfort, New York, helping them reverse their fortunes, using a format similar to Kitchen Nightmares.[6] The program will be returning to TLC as a series on December 2, 2013.[44]

Episodes and DVD releases

Main article: List of Cake Boss episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired DVD release date
Season premiere Season finale Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs
1 13 April 19, 2009 (2009-04-19) August 17, 2009 (2009-08-17) December 15, 2009[45] N/A November 3, 2010[46] 2
2 18 October 26, 2009 (2009-10-26) February 22, 2010 (2010-02-22) May 18, 2010[47] N/A June 26, 2011[48] 2
3 24 May 31, 2010 (2010-05-31) November 29, 2010 (2010-11-29) February 1, 2011 N/A October 5, 2011[49] 3
4 38 January 31, 2011 (2011-01-31)[5] January 30, 2012 (2012-01-30) December 6, 2011 (2011-12-06) – Vol. 1[50]

May 7, 2013 – Vol. 2[51]

 N/A May 2, 2012 - Part 1[52]

December 3, 2012 - Part 2[53]

 5
5 30 May 28, 2012 (2012-05-28) February 18, 2013 (2013-02-18) September 3, 2013 N/A October 2, 2013 - Part 1[54] 2
6 28[55] May 27, 2013 (2013-05-27) February 24, 2014 (2014-02-24)[56] TBA TBA TBA TBA

As of February 3, 2014 (2014-02-03), a total of 148 episodes with six seasons and 5 stand-alone specials have been broadcast. The first five seasons have been released on DVD in Region 1. Up until halfway into the fifth season, each episode title employed alliteration.

Controversies

In July 2010, Masters Software, Inc., of Cedar Park, Texas, obtained a preliminary injunction forbidding TLC from calling its show "Cake Boss".[57] 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.[58] In October 2010, Masters Software and Discovery Communications reached a settlement, the details of which are not public.[59][60]

On June 11, 2012, transgender celebrity Carmen Carrera appeared in a Cake Boss episode, "Bar Mitzvah, Beads & Oh Baby!", in which she knowingly participated in a prank involving Cousin Anthony, who was set up with a date with Carrera. The punchline of the prank had Buddy tell Anthony that Carrera is transgendered. Carrera agreed to participate in the prank on the program in part to promote equality for the transgender community saying, "I'm totally cool with a prank like this, I, you know as long as it's in good fun." Following the airing of the program, Carrera was upset by an interview portion of the program where Buddy said, "And I tell him...that's a man, baby!" Carrera made a statement saying, "I made it VERY clear to the producers on how to use the correct wording before agreeing to filming this but instead they chose to poke fun and be disrespectful. That's not what I'm about! ... I may not have been born a woman, but I'm NOT a man... After taking this journey it's not fair at all to be lied to by the producers. Buddy Valastro apologized for the incident, saying, "I owe an apology to the entire LGBT community. It was absolutely not my intention to upset or offend her, or anyone within the community, and I was wrong to use the words I did. I am a supporter of gay rights and equality, and while I regret this situation and my choice of words, I am thankful to have received this feedback and the opportunity to learn from this mistake. I hope that Carmen accepts my sincere regrets."[61] The following day, on June 12, 2012, TLC announced that "Bar Mitzvah, Beads & Oh Baby!" has been pulled from rotation indefinitely, with plans to re-edit the episode.[62] The episode has since re-aired on July 23, 2012, but with the offending scene reedited.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diaz, Lana Rose. "Brothers & Sisters, Inc.: Hoboken businesses keep it in the family". 07030 Hoboken. (Winter 2012/13). Pages 16-20
  2. ↑ "Cake Boss Returns October 11; Production Started on Next Great Baker". The Futon Critic. September 14, 2010
  3. ↑ TV Listings for Cake Boss at TLC. Retrieved October 5, 2010
  4. ↑ Gorman, Bill. "‘Cake Boss’ Returns With New Episodes" TV By the Numbers; September 28, 2010
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 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.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 TLC: ""Cake Boss" Returns, "Bakery Boss" Premieres Memorial Day", May 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ Buddy Valastro – Zap2it
  8. ↑ The Life Of Bartolo (Buddy) Valastro Jr.
  9. ↑ Cake Boss – eNotes.com
  10. ↑ TRIBUTE TO MARY TUBITO VALASTRO PINTO L'ITALICO'S ITALIAN COMMUNITY 1997 WOMAN OF THE YEAR
  11. ↑ "Buddy Valastro". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  12. ↑ Staff. "The Cake Boss returns to Little Ferry", Little Ferry Local, May 7, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2012. "Cake Boss Buddy Valastro returned to Little Ferry on April 27 to accept the "keys to the city" during ceremonies at Borough Hall. Valastro, who grew up in town, is best known for his starring role on the TLC television program The Cake Boss.'"
  13. ↑ Adriana Rambay Fernández, Stephen LaMarca, Gennarose Pope, Ray Smith, Al Sullivan and E. Assata Wright. "They've Got the Power". The Union City Reporter. January 8, 2012. Pages 1, 4–7 and 10–11.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3
  15. ↑ "Mauro Castano". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Danny Dragone". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  17. ↑ "Frank Amato, Jr.". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  18. ↑ "Joe Faugno". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Former 'Cake Boss' assistant Remy Gonzalez to be arraigned on sex charges June 24". NJ.com. June 15, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2013. 
  20. ↑ "'Cousin Anthony' of 'Cake Boss' fame balances careers as DJ, Carlo's Bakery baker". nj.com. December 30, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2013. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Buddy Valastro. Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia. ISBN 978-1-4391-8351-9. 
  22. ↑ "A Golden Opportunity". Cake Boss. Season 5. Episode 17. November 26, 2012. 09:52 minutes in. TLC.
  23. ↑ "Seeing Double", Cake Boss, Season 6, Episode 6, TLC, June 10, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Mary Sciarrone". TLC. Retrieved December 4, 2011. 
  25. ↑ "Stained Glass & A Surprised Danny", Cake Boss, Season 5, Episode 3, TLC, June 4, 2012.
  26. ↑ She returned to full time work at the bakery in the episode "Silly Seuss & Surprise!", Cake Boss, TLC, July 2, 2012.
  27. ↑ "A Bittersweet Homecoming", Cake Boss, TLC, July 23, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Former "Cake Boss" assistant Remy Gonzalez pleads guilty to aggravated sexual assault". 
  29. ↑ "'Cake Boss' and family mourn loss of 'Employee-of-the-Century' Salvatore Picinich". The Jersey Journal. February 1, 2011. 
  30. ↑ Buddy Valastro on Facebook, January 31, 2011.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Sal Picinich, 'Cake Boss' celebrity, dies at 63". The Bergen Record. January 31, 2011. 
  32. ↑ "Salvatore Picinich". The Bergen Record. February 3, 2011. 
  33. ↑ "Strawberries, Sinatra and Sick Ovens". Cake Boss. Season 3. Episode 15. August 23, 2010. 18:47 minutes in. TLC. "Ever since Stretch left for school, we've been a little light on the delivery staff."
  34. ↑ "The Pastryarch". Retrieved May 3, 2013. 
  35. ↑ Staab, Amanda. "The 'Cake Boss' effect". The Union City Reporter. July 11, 2010. Pages 6 and 8.
  36. ↑ Sachs, Andrea (March 14, 2010). "Reality TV's 'Cake Boss' shows off his bakery and his home town, Hoboken, N.J.". The Washington Post. Retrieved 04/01/2010. 
  37. ↑ Hyman, Vicki (06/08/2010). "'Cake Boss' kicking off Carlo's Bakery centennial with Hoboken block party". The Star Ledger. Retrieved 06/09/2010. 
  38. ↑ Gorman, Bill (July 29, 2009). "'Cake Boss' renewed by TLC". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 31, 2010. 
  39. ↑ Levine, Stuart (January 31, 2010). "'Cake Boss' earns third season". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2010. 
  40. ↑ Buddy Valastro. Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets. ISBN 978-1-4391-8352-6. 
  41. ↑ "Cake Boss Gets Competitive with New Spinoff Series". TVGuide.com. 
  42. ↑ "Season Three of TLC's 'Next Great Baker' to Premiere Monday, November 26". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved November 1, 2012. 
  43. ↑ "TLC Serves Up a Double Dose of Buddy Valastro". The Futon Critic. May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013. 
  44. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (November 21, 2013). "TLC's New Series 'Bakery Boss' Premieres December 2". TV by the Numbers (Press release). 
  45. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 1". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010. 
  46. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 1". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  47. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 2". Discovery Store. Retrieved March 20, 2010. 
  48. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 2". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  49. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 3". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  50. ↑ Lambert, David (August 23, 2011). "Cake Boss – Buddy's Baking Up More DVD Fun with Season 4, Volume 1". tvshowsondvd.com. 
  51. ↑ "Cake Boss Season 4 Volume 2". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  52. ↑ "Cake Boss: Season 4 Collection 1". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  53. ↑ "Cake Boss: Season 4 Collection 2". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  54. ↑ "Cake Boss: Season 5 Collection 1". Ezy-Dvd. Retrieved August 5, 2013. 
  55. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 16, 2013). "'Cake Boss' Returns on December 30, Leading into All-new Episodes of 'Bakery Boss'". TV by the Numbers (Press release). 
  56. ↑ "Cake Boss: Up, Up & Away". Zap2it. Retrieved January 11, 2014. 
  57. ↑ "TLC's "Cake Boss" Could Crumble Under Litigation". NBC Universal. July 27, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  58. ↑ Richard A. Jones (July 16, 2010). "Masters Software, Inc. v. Discovery Communications, Inc., et al.". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  59. ↑ Katie Colaneri (October 22, 2010). "'Cake Boss' will keep his name, settles 'amicably' with software company". Jersey Journal. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  60. ↑ Tierryicah Mitchell (January 23, 2011). "Who’s the Boss?: Settlement Allows Buddy Valastro To Continue To Use "Cake Boss"". Law JournalFeeds. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
  61. ↑ Burra, Kevin (June 12, 2012). "'Cake Boss' Features Carmen Carrera, Transgender Star Claims She Was Butt Of Transphobic Joke". The Huffington Post.
  62. ↑ Kane, Matt (June 13, 2012). "TLC Pulls Cake Boss Episode After Carmen Carrera and Her Supporters Speak Out". GLAAD.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cake Boss.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.