By Monica Garzón Ramírez
Buddy Valastro is one of the world’s best-known pastry chefs. Thanks to his culinary masterpieces, he has become a television star with a reality show on Discovery Home & Health.
He recently premiered the second season of “Buddy vs. Duff,” along with his working rival, Duff Goldman. They compete head to head in the second round of the most incredible pastry battle of all time.
The wives of the beloved bakers, Lisa Valastro and Johnna Goldman, support them as they try to succeed in the various challenges that will test every aspect of what makes up the essence of a true pastry artist.
Metro talked to Buddy, who revealed some secrets that have led him to maintain that sweet image and to discover his most competitive side.
Which challenges that you have overcome together with Duff were the most difficult?
In this season of Buddy vs. Duff, the cakes went to another level. This year’s format of the program was not about supporting competitions, it was strictly about cakes and who can make the biggest ones. And I think we both pushed each other to the brink of cake madness, if I may say so. We both made incredible cakes.
I think this year’s viewers will be impressed by what we were able to do. So, if I had to name the most difficult cake this year, for me mentally, was the cake carousel. It was big enough for the judges to ride.
How many people was that cake designed for?
This season’s cakes could have fed thousands of people. I think of the eight cakes we made, six of them forced me to use a forklift to get on and off the car.
What challenges should the audience expect?
I think people are going to realize how much this means. These cakes, as I said, are on another level. Each cake weighed a couple of tons, and they were probably the best job he or I ever did. And I think the audience is going to be surprised. Duff and I respect each other enormously. I think we always have and always will.
Also, Duff and I have gotten much closer during this second season due to the fact that we were both doing things that were so incredible. We were secretly supporting each other.
What was the challenge that made you happy this season?
We made a dinosaur and a whale, and those cakes were fantastic.
Is there really an animal or an object that you’re afraid to make?
None in particular. It’s just a matter of taking the approach of thinking and asking myself: what is the issue or challenge and then finding out the best way to put it in my world, and in my brain, I finally turn it into a cake. It is about asking myself if it’s a serious cake, if it’s fun, if it’s beautiful, if there are special effects. I’m a child at heart, I put on my child’s hat for a second and just dream. I dream and I believe that everything is possible, and I apply that to my cakes.
Did Duff and you become friends during the shooting?
During the entire competition, I felt like I was watching his cakes when we were being judged. And when the judges criticized him, and if he thought they were unfair, I wanted to tell them, ‘Come on guys, that’s not right.’ I was supporting him. Realistically, that’s the truth. And I think he felt the same way.
So, this season for me was less about winning or losing. It was about two amazing bakers making the best cakes that anybody had ever seen. And, of course, yes, you want to win, but it became really secondary for me. I think my relationship with Duff and what we accomplished this year means more to me than winning.
What can viewers expect to be different in season two?
Well, it’s funny you ask because during the first season, Duff and I became friends. Actually, believe it or not, we didn’t know each other personally before the shooting. I mean, we knew each other but we never went out together. And the first season was a way to really know who we were.
We became very good friends in the first season, but I think in the second season it amplified. And I can tell you that Duff pushed me to the edge of the cake madness, and I’m sure I pushed him. And it brought out the best from each of us.
This story first appeared on our sister publication philly.metro.us.
