10 Sweet Nothings about Carlos Bake Shop

10/29/2009

What does it take to be the Cake Boss? How much flour, sugar, time, and love go into these sweet treats? Buddy offers a sneak peek behind the scenes of the bakery.

Bigger and Better: Cake Boss is Back on October 26!

10/21/2009

I’m so excited for this. Season two and it’s one with a lot of late nights. You know, once you’re on tv, and people have seen some good stuff. So we have to kick it up a notch.

We bent over backwards, taping late nights, just to get things done.. Looking back and seeing moments, it's awesome.

It's pretty crazy. Season two, the cakes get insane. It's nuts. We really push the bar. I think

TLC as a network wanted to challenge me, but it's also the fact that people have seen the cake, and now they have even stranger requests. They don't want a cake. They want a cake that'll spin, talk and move!

We did a pizza cake. We have one cake coming up, it's the craziest ever, but I don't know if I can spill it yet.

Thing is, you learn techniques as you go. I feel like I've been doing this forever, but I'm learning everyday. Every time someone asks for a cake, I challenge myself and my staff. We want to kick it up. We just made a pizza cake and burned the molding chocolate with a blow torch. Awesome.

In the bakery, we’re really up to maximum capacity now. We do probably 50 to 60 cakes a weekend, and anywhere from 300 to 600 birthday cakes. Three or four cakes make it on the air, but unless they shoot the inside of the refrigerator, you don't see all that we've got going.

 And, it's not just the cakes. People come by, they want to visit. They get cookies or cannolis, and they just want to see the bakery.

Honestly, all the feedback is so overwhelming, and everything is positive. It’s special. I get back to all my fan mail, send them pictures. We do all we can. It's been great. It’s been hardwork, and my life is a blur, now, but it’s all a good thing.

Last season, I felt so bad, felt like I missed a lot of time at home. But my kids... they love seeing Daddy on TV and we're getting into a routine, soI can have more time with them. There are trips I have to take for the show, and we're going to bring them with us. That's the thing: you just have to live for the moment, take advantage of it and enjoy..

Season Two is pretty sick. I’m already impressed.

And for everyone that asks about my mom: She's doing great. She yelled at me last season for doing an adult cake. This season, she'll yell at me for riding a motorcycle.
Stay tuned!

Tune in October 26, at 10/9c for the season premiere. If you missed any of the chaos from last season, you can catch up right here.

Families, feuds, and fabulous fan

10/14/2009

Season one was amazing. I think the biggest thing that surprises me is that it's become a family show, families watch it together.

I had this one guy from Chicago come see me, and I just couldn't believe it. He said his daughter was getting picked on at school, and just didn't fit in. I guess they watch the show together, and she really got into baking. Over time, she came out of her shell, and she made some friends, and they bake together. You know, something like that, when you realize you're having an impact on people, that's good stuff. How do I not love that?

It's crazy to me when I get a call that some sick child wants to meet me. I have the opportunity to put a smile on some child's face, of course I'm going. I do everything I can. People are so good. I've been out at the mall with my kids, and they think it's awesome. It's cool to see Daddy on tv, but people are nice. They aren't intrusive. I'll always stop and get a picture with people or sign something. I didn't think that would happen. But it's great. I'd never complain about it. It's part of the show, Now it's part of what I do.

I got a lot of feedback on the episode with Alison, the bride who decorated her own cake. I know it looked awful, and I was hurt. I won't lie.

She thought because the cameras were on, and she knew the icing was there, she could do it and it'd be funny. But it wasn't. I was hurt. I was angry. And I didn't know what to do when it's on film, and she ruins our work.

She's a really good girl. I wish people knew that. It was a one-time thing, and she really thought it would be funny. She just has a different sense of humor, I guess. She apologized over and over. She sent me a two-page email right after that. We made up. Really. I know she didn't mean to come off like a bridezilla. I'd never, ever make my brides feel uncomfortable because of the cameras. I'd never want them to look bad on the show. It's just she apologized to me, and the rest of America doesn't know, she thought it was a joke.

That's the one thing that I've always tried to do: to keep the cameras to a minimum and not be intrusive. We'll go to a wedding to deliver a cake, and the crew knows, we've got to be quick. We don't want to intrude on their day. It's not about the show. We get in and out fast, so we don't intrude.

We've got a lot of great stories coming. I hope you'll all tune in October 26, at 10/9c for the season premiere. If you missed any of the chaos from last season, you can get caught up here.

Share Your Buddy Story

09/15/2009

FROM THE EDITORS:

Have you made the pilgrimage to Carlo's City Hall Bake shop? Have you ever met Buddy? Share your story and photos here.

Ultimate Cake Off: A Contest of Culinary Construction

08/02/2009

From the Editors:

If you love Buddy's cakes, then the Ultimate Cake Off is the perfect compliment to your love of confections.

In the sneak peek, airing Monday, August 3, 10/9c, three contestants vie for a $10,000 prize, and for center stage at the Aquarium of the Pacific's Shark Summer Celebration. Host and judge Michael Schulson explains the challenge, and what ensues is a cross between Cake Boss and Discovery Channel's Shark Week. 

The three challengers design intricate and massive underwater visions. Tariq Hanna, of New Orleans, aims high with a multi-tiered, ocean-blue cake featuring sea creatures and a cake-eating shark in the center. Georgia-based Ashley Vicos begins constructing from the bottom, with crystallized sugar coral and starfish, while challenger Richard Medina installs a water pump, filled with plant life in the center of his cake. Each of the contestants are debating species of sharks, and which will resonate with the judges, and their client, The Aquarium of the Pacific.

Challengers are given a nine-hour time frame to build their ultimate cake, which would seem reasonable to the average baker. However, these cakes are not built simply from flour and sugar. Rather, dowels, platforms, and electric wiring are all hidden beneath the tiers, as the cakes reach five feet tall and hundreds of pounds. This is part construction, part artistry, and part culinary talent.

Explains Judge Leigh Grode, "It's like throwing a cake on the top of a parking garage."

For those (of us!) who always wondered if these extravagant cakes taste as good as they look, there is a taste test as part of the Ultimate Cake Off, as well as random challenges throughout the day. Winners of the challenges can choose one competitor to sit out for 30 minutes, which proves excruciating for the contestants.  

The errors and fumbles are as huge as the cake themselves, and in the end, the judges choose the winner based on client satisfaction, ttechnical ability and aesthetic appeal.

As with all reality competitions, the judges add the spice to the show. Judges Michael Schulson, Margarent Braun and Leigh Grode are never at a loss for opinions or comments, and leave the viewer wondering if any of the three is the "nice" judge.

The final judging leaves one contestant commenting that building a cake for sharks was easy,  but facing sharks for judges was not.

Find out who survived the deep sea adventure in the sneak peek of TLC's new series, "Ultimate Cake Off," Monday, August 3, at 10/9c.

So, you think you want to own a bakery?

06/15/2009

 

My advice is that you have to follow your own dreams. You can't deny it. But you have to be realistic. As much as it seems like we're busy, busy, busy, our overhead is humongous. You can't be starving artists.

A lot of cake decorators will work hours on a cake, and only get a small amount of money for it. You can't do that.

 

I'm a business man. First and foremost, you need to make money. We'll occasionally do a cake for charity, or there are times when you mess up, but you need to cover yourself, your time, and your expenses.

 

I'm really not the type of guy to turn down work. There are increasing demands, but I don’t want to downgrade on quality. You pick and choose your battles. People come in, and we talk about the ideas. I have cakes with flames coming out of them. We have cakes coming up with live birds. Some of these cakes are $10,000 or $12,000 cakes. They aren't cheap.

 

Your time is money. Your time is important.

To me, it's all about family: nothing more important in life than family. I feel so bad when I'm driving home at 8 or 9 pm, and I feel bad that I’m not with my wife and kids, having dinner every single night.

Those things are the most important – and I appreciate and cherish them. When I was a kid, my dad always sat around the dinner table. I really miss it. Those are the things you want in life, do it. Make that important.

 

You know, people tell me, "Oh, I love to bake." You've got to realize, I own a bakery, I'm not at home on Christmas morning, watching my kids open presents. I’m at work. But I accept that. It’s a way of a life.

 

People ask me all the time if I want my kids in the bakery. I think, yea, I'd love them to carry on the tradition. But do I want them working as hard as I do? Probably not.

 

Every holiday we're at the bakery, and we've never known any different. It hurts me to know that I miss that with my kids, but it pays the bills.

 

Your equipment breaks, the mixer, the fridge... anything that happens is your problem.

As much as I love my employees, they leave at the end of the day. They don’t get the phone calls. My phone doesn’t stop ringing, until I put it on silent or turn it off at the end of the night.

 

And it's not just me. It's any business owner. You own a business, and you instantly become your own accountant, photographer, cleaner, painter, tax adviser...everything. It's not a job. It's a way of life.

 

I love it. I wouldn't do it, if I didn't. 

The good, the bad and the truth about the flour

06/10/2009

I was asked what it is like seeing myself and my bakery on the air. I love that people are seeing that we are an old-fashioned Italian bakery, that we make all these goodies from scratch. There's love in there.

It’s nuts. There is good and bad in doing the show. I can’t beat the advertising and publicity. I love that we’re spreading the name nationwide. But I don’t like that the busier I get, it’s more time that I can’t spend with my wife and kids. 

I’m always on call, we always have the problems of the bakery – now I got some TLC work. But it’s always something, and that’s what pays the bills. I mean, I never thought that I wouldn’t have time to get a haircut! But I have to find 15 minutes to get a haircut. 

I’ve heard a lot of feedback from people. A lot of people love the cakes, and they love the family dynamics. The only negative I heard is that people were mad that I dumped the water and flour. But, hey, it is all done in good fun; it happens to the best of us. It’s part of the gig.

When you work 12- to 18-hour days, you need to break up the tension. We gotta have a little fun. That’s what we do; it’s how we do things. Don’t get me wrong. We take things home with us. We leave the bakery and still scream at the kitchen table. I’m the peacemaker in the family; when all else goes wrong, I have to get involved, and fix the problem. You know, there’s times I’m involved, but usually, I’m just the referee.

That’s the downside. We don’t always see the good parts of working with family. We get along really well. We’re still a family. I just got back from lunch with my two sisters, my wife, and all the kids. We spend time together, even outside the bakery. You don’t see the nicer things together. I get it, it’s TV. They are more about the fights, than if there’s a hug and a kiss. But they don’t always catch me at my best.

My customers come in, and they are like, "Buddy, that’s not you. You’re a sweet guy." You don’t yell or scream, but it happens. It is a bit of editing, but it’s a lot of work and we all lose it.

I love my employees. I love my family members, and I couldn’t do what I do without any of them. If I was so horrible, I wouldn’t have Sal and Danny, who have been with me for 40 years. All of my employees are telling me they had to stick up for me.

Still, it's fun.  I'll tell you the truth - the cakes keep getting better. So far, the cakes are good. But we have some sick cakes coming up, and I can't wait for you to see them.