Then came the devastating diagnosis. Just 17 when his father learned he had lung cancer, Valastro immediately insisted he'd take over the family business. "I looked Dad in the eye. 'I'm gonna work full-time at the bakery,' I said. 'I'm going to make Carlo's a household name, like you always dreamed, I promise. I'm going to make you proud, Dad. Just get better,'" he recalled. "That afternoon Mama drove me to school and we filled out the paperwork for me to officially leave high school. Three weeks later Dad died. He was only 54."

Two-and-a-half decades on, the 43-year-old has fulfilled his promise, turning Carlo's Bakery and the Valastro name into a household name thanks to his 2007 debut on the Food Network Challenge and, of course, the creation of his series, Cake Boss. 

Several spinoffs later, Valastro is now competing against another well-known baker, he and Duff Goldman going mano a mano on Buddy Vs. Duff 2. And before you eat up tonight's episode of the series (as advertised, the second go-round of their competition), enjoy this platter of trivia. 

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