Why A Famous Bake Shop's Vending Machine Failed To Impress Some Twitter Users
On August 14, Food Network posted a video to Twitter featuring a cake vending machine, captioned "A cake vending machine? Dreams do come true." If only this were news; however, cake vending machines have been dispensing freshly made cakes in some form or another, whether in a jar, a can, in cupcake form, or as thick slabs of brightly hued layer cake, going back at least to 2019, according to Eater Vegas. That was the year Carlo's Bake Shop, in a joint venture with its Canadian affiliate, Carlo's Bakery Canada, launched its first cake vending machines in Toronto and on the Vegas Strip, stocking them with individual slices of rainbow, red velvet, chocolate, and carrot cakes packed in plastic clamshell boxes.
Soon Carlo's Bake Shop "cake ATMS" began popping up elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada (via Dallas News and Insauga). In fact, at this point, one might wonder whether it's still accurate to refer to a cake vending machine as a "dream come true." So was Food Network just playing coy? It might appear that way, especially considering that Carlo's Bake Shop is the Hoboken-based bakery chain that put Buddy Valastro, aka Food Network's "Cake Boss," on the map in the first place. But to the extent that Food Network may have been playing coy, it seems Twitter has been playing right along. Few who commented seemed to recognize the Cake Boss connection, and a surprising number seemed to question how vending machine cake could be dreamy at all.
If only Twitter had realized these cakes were the work of one Cake Boss
Soon after Food Network posted a video featuring a Carlos Bake Shop "cake ATM" dispensing a big slice of rainbow cake to a delighted young man (pictured above), Twitter user @Shauns78 pointed out, "Anyone that's been to Hoboken is gunna recognize what that is." What Shauns78 didn't point out was that the cake vending machine in question is the brainchild of Food Network's "Cake Boss," Buddy Valastro. Nor did others – if they even knew, which it seems possible they did not. To wit, few, if any, mentioned Valastro or his famous bake shop by name.
Moreover, some seemed doubtful any cake from a vending machine could be anything but hopelessly stale or loaded with preservatives. "That rainbow cake looks nasty as [expletive deleted]," carped one user. "Amazing idea, looks a little dry though," snarked another. Had they known of the connection between the vending machine and the Cake Boss, perhaps they would have recognized what various media outlets have been saying all along, which is that the machines hold only 160 slices at a time and are restocked throughout the business day (per Eater Vegas). But even those who expressed admiration for the appearance of the vending machine cakes remained silent on the Cake Boss connection – if they knew about it at all. And considering how many comments consisted of inquiries as to where this vending machine might be found, it's arguable they didn't.