The Truth About Diego Chiarello From Spring Baking Championship Season 8

Food Network's "Spring Baking Championship" features talented bakers who compete against each other and try to overcome a plethora of baking challenges. Per FoodSided, the show's eighth season includes 12 talented contestants who have to deal with unique challenges such as coming up with scrumptious desserts using fresh flowers and fruits while trying to impress judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Nancy Fuller.

One of the participants in this season is Diego Chiarello, an ambitious baker who is currently based in Houston, Texas. Per Food Network, Chiarello grew up in Sicily, Italy, where he picked up the art of baking desserts from his four siblings. 

Fun fact: Chiarello's brothers are all experienced pastry chefs who have been in the food industry for several years. There is a slight twist here, though. Chiarello is also a gifted dancer — he was keen on chasing a career as a choreographer and a dancer before he changed his mind and pursued cooking instead, per Houston City Book.

As a child, Diego Chiarello wanted to live in New York City, per Houston City Book. He made his dream come true as an adult and moved to America with little money. He recalled, "I had a suitcase with a few things in it. I didn't know anyone there, and I didn't even speak English."

Around that time, Chiarello met the love of his life, and the couple made the decision to tie the knot a short while later. On the work front, Chiarello struggled a bit, only finding a breakthrough when he discovered a Sicilian bakery in Queens and impressed the owners with his cooking skills. Chiarello spent a couple of years at the shop before he was hired as the head pastry chef at a restaurant called Cafeteria.

A few years later, Chiarello and his husband took another leap of faith and launched their own bakery business in Houston. Chiarello was grateful for the opportunity. He once said, "It's been really great getting to do whatever I want. There is no one who can tell me what I need to make." The chef also wrote on Instagram that he doesn't find baking stressful and thinks that it's a magical process. He explained, "The great thing about cake is it doesn't feel like work ... kids, adults, they all get the same look in their eye when they're decorating cakes ... That's the magic right there."