“I’ve been literally working 18-hour days for the last month, says Buddy Valastro, AKA the Cake Boss, from the hit baking competition show Buddy vs. Duff. “I’ve been actually sleeping in my office.”
On the morning we caught up with Buddy, he is sitting in that office at his famed bakery in New Jersey – it’s his second interview and it’s only 9:30 AM. The feeling with Buddy is immediately comfortable; he is friendly, funny and down-to-earth, pulling you into the conversation as if you’ve known him personally for years. On the show, the vibe he gives off is the same – but adds an element of toughness and perfectionism some would call having grit. Oh, did we mention that he is not shy about telling it like it is?
Related: Watch the Holiday Season Trailer
What’s New This Season?
On this season of Buddy vs. Duff Holiday, Team Buddy and Team Duff (led by Duff Goldman) have to create seasonal-themed cakes inspired by things such as a winter wonderland, Santa’s workshop, The Nutcracker, and the Christmas cartoon classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
While in the past seasons the cakes have been equally as impressive, the holidays add something magical to each episode, and for brief moments during the judging, you might forget that you’re looking at edible cakes. The designs are truly breathtaking!
“When you do this show, you get immersed into it and let me tell you, it’s like a month where you can think of nothing else but this,” says Buddy. “You know, I’m constantly pushing myself to come up with the most creative, insane cakes.”
And while there are lots of impressive elements to the cakes such as motorized parts and painting details, making sure that the cakes are edible is an important part of the cake-making and design process, reiterates Buddy.
“I can tell you that when I make a cake, I try to put as much cake in it as possible. There’s always going to be some structure. There’s always going to be some other side where you might have some Styrofoam. Any cake that we did on Buddy vs. Duff is at a minimum 300 pounds to 2000 pounds of cake, depending on how big it can be. For me, I want the viewer at home to always say, ‘When Buddy makes his cakes, it’s all cake,’ and not just covered in Styrofoam or whatever.”
Related: Throwback to the First Season of Buddy vs. Duff
His Friendship With Duff
It might be hard to believe, but Buddy and Duff didn’t know each other until the first season of the show when they met on set. And like any relationship, it took time to build the friendship on and off the show over the past three years. Despite how TV may make it appear on the show at times, Buddy says the two have a great friendship.
“I think we both have an appreciation and respect for cake decorating and we have our respect and appreciation for ourselves, each other and our teammates. I’m sure he wants to win at the end of the day. I’m sure I want to win at the end of the day, but it’s not in a bad way.”
Working With Family
In this latest season, there is also a family connection – Buddy’s daughter, Sofia joins his team as a decorator. Working with his children is something Buddy says he enjoys and he hopes they follow in his footsteps if it they enjoy doing it.
“Right now, three out of my four children are in the back working and they’ve been working all the time,” says Buddy. “My son, Buddy, after he’s done with school, he drives to work and he stays because, you know, the way I act influences the people around me.”
As for expanding the family business north of the border to Canada, Buddy says his new bakery is under construction in Toronto (details soon to come on Food Network Canada) and he hopes it to be open before Christmas.
Watch and stream Buddy vs. Duff Holiday and all your favourite Food Network Canada shows through STACKTV with Amazon Prime Video Channels, or with the new Global TV app, live and on-demand when you sign-in with your cable subscription.