Food, family, and having a good time are universal and transcend cultures and nationalities. These were sentiments of Buddy Valastro, owner of Carlo’s Bakery in New Jersey and host of the American reality TV series Cake Boss.
Speaking at last week’s MiSK Forum in Riyadh, Valastro said that the family values that form the “core” of his own Italian-American culture are very similar to those seen in the Arab world.
“Growing up, a lot of my friends were from Syria and Lebanon so I am familiar with Arabs, and their values feel very much the same as the Italian way,” Valastro said.
“It’s about food, it’s about family, it’s about having a good time.”
The baker, who is from Hoboken in New Jersey, added that one of the reasons his TLC television series has done well in the Gulf region is that people can relate to it.
The show, currently in its eighth season, focuses on how the artistic cakes are made at Carlo’s Bakery, as well as the relationships between the family members and other employees who work there.
Valastro, its lead star, did not know how the program would evolve when it was in its early beginnings, due to his lack of understanding about the television business.
“We were ourselves, we were about family, about business, about creativity,” Valastro said.
“The fact that the program is (now) here in all the Gulf, in Malaysia and the Philippines… where they all know the program, (is) pretty crazy.”
The Cake Boss is currently viewed in 220 countries around the world, and dubbed in 45 different languages.
Valastro is no stranger to the region, having visited Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain numerous times. But last week was the first time the Cake Boss star had visited Saudi Arabia.
“I thought the fans’ reception would be good because I have had Saudis come to my bakeries in the US, and seen many Saudis through my visits to the Middle East,” he said.
“I was like, ‘cool, I want to come and see Saudi Arabia’.”
By Hussam al Mayman
