Buddy Valastro Just Shared A Sweet Memory About His Late Father

Buddy Valastro is known as the Cake Boss behind Carlo's Bakery, but he learned everything he knows from the original boss of the now nationwide bakeshop: his father. Bartolo Valastro, AKA Buddy Sr., bought the Hoboken, New Jersey, business from Carlo Guastaferro around 1960, 50 years after its original opening, according to Insider. "My father was a god. My father Buddy Sr. was this magnificent baker who everybody looked up to and respected," Valastro said in the first episode of "Cake Boss." "Words cannot explain what a good father he was," he added.

Dreaming of making the bakery a household name, Bartolo moved the Italian pastry destination from its original location to an area with more foot traffic, right across from Hoboken City Hall, in 1989. Five years later, he passed away unexpectedly, per Today. "When I was 17, I lost my dad, and my dad was grooming me to be the next boss, right, of the bakery," Valastro told Insider. He described feeling "in limbo" before discovering newfound determination: "I'm gonna make this place successful." The 45-year old pastry chef has certainly delivered on that promise and then some; his father was distantly hoping to one day have Carlo's cakes featured in magazines. Now, it's a brand known among food TV fans across the country.

Buddy Valastro recently shared a sweet family memory on his Instagram. He was at Carlo's making zeppole, which is "a doughnut-like ball of fried dough coated in sugar and filled with jelly or cream," per The Hoboken Girl. While frying the dough, Valastro said, "When I was a kid, my dad every year would make the zeppole dough for the church and the carnival, and I would go work at the zeppole station." He reflected on the memory as he shook the freshly fried dough in a paper bag filled with powdered sugar for an even coating. "There's not a day that goes by that I'm not thinking about you," he said in the caption. "We're making some zeppolis and it brings back all those memories spending precious time with you."

Valastro's heartfelt post was met with similar memories shared in the comments section. "Making these with my Nonna, best memories," commented one user. "That looks amazing, reminds me of carnivals and the Jersey shore! Definitely a cherished childhood memory," said another. Although Valastro's elaborate, hyper realistic cakes coated in fondant are a newer addition to the Carlo's lineup, he strives to keep traditional pastries — like zeppole, lobster tails, and cannoli — as a constant in the business. "I am hanging on to traditions because I want to, not because I have to. I can't turn my back on the way we did things," Valastro says on the bakery's website.