The Cake Boss Serves Up Sweets and Laughs

Carlo's Bakery has become a popular spot in New Jersey thanks to the kitchen talent of Buddy Valastro, who believes that baking should be as much a creative art form as it is a delicious treat.

Valastro is better known as the "Cake Boss," and he has brought his baking talents to three shows on cable's TLC. He is also a frequent guest on the Food Network cable channel and has inked a book, Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia. The book not only presents recipes for everything from Cannoli to Tiramisu, but explores his beginning years as a baking protégé and his close knit Italian family.

Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro was born in 1977 in Hoboken, New Jersey, a city best known as the birthplace of another well-known Italian - Frank Sinatra. Even as a child, Buddy enjoyed spending time in Carlo's Bakery with his father, who had learned to bake from his own father in Sicily. The younger Valastro always felt that he wanted to do more than just make a cake and enjoyed learning the tricks of the trade first-hand. The teachings didn't last as long as he wanted, though. When he was 17, his father died and it was left to Buddy to continue the family tradition at the bakery. He has certainly lived up to that obligation, with some help from his extended family.

The notoriety all started with Valastro's appearances on the "Food Network Challenge." TLC Network executives liked what they saw and wanted to give him his own show. The reality television show "Cake Boss" started on the air in 2009. Members of Buddy Valastro's family, including his mother, sisters and brothers-in-law, have appeared alongside him in the bakery since the beginning. His wife, Lisa, with whom he has three children, is also a show regular. Forty-five-year Carlo's Bakery veteran Sal Picinich, who passed away in February, was one of the few none family members seen working the kitchen on the show.

"Cake Boss" was just the beginning of Buddy Valastro's television shows. It was spinned off into "Next Great Baker" in 2010 and then an additional show was added in January. "Kitchen Boss" will go beyond dessert to explore the family's Italian recipes for dishes such as Pasta alla Norma and Stuffed Eggplant.

The "Cake Boss" airs on the cable network TLC. Check your local listings for days and times. Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia by Buddy Valastro is available at bookstores and on Amazon. If you are interested in visiting Carlo's Bakery to sample some of their tasty treats, be aware that special orders will take at least two weeks. For more information, check out their official website.