Interview: Cupcake Boss Tone-Tone Goes To War

He goes by many names - Tony, Tone-Tone, The Pastryarch, but one thing is consistent throughout each alias -- he is an amazing culinary artist. Once again he has come back to the reality TV stage to demonstrate his talents, but this time in the form of a competition. He will be proving himself on this week's episode of Cupcake Wars, and of course I was right there to get the behind the scenes info.

(Note: Views expressed in this interview represent Tony Albanese and not necessarily those of myself. Yup, guys. This one gets a tad controversial!) 

You made your TV debut with "Cake Boss". I'm sure you are sick of answering questions about that period by now, but how do you reflect on your time on the show?

It's funny you say that because since I can reflect now, I have a whole new perspective on that time and experience. When I started at Carlo's Bakery, I was fresh out of culinary school. Buddy and I hit it off very well and before I knew it, I was his assistant. Once the cameras started showing up, I had no idea how to act. Things became very tense and there was always whispers of who should get more camera time. I have a big personality, a crazy sense of humor and can be very sarcastic but I usually chose to hide that around the cameras because I didn't want to come off as desperate. As you can imagine, when cameras are around, some people will go to any length to get the spotlight. Every day I would be walking to work and say to myself "Hmm, do I want to make an ass of myself for attention or do I want to work hard and show my talents?". Of course I had my moments with the erotic stripper cake for example but that was really just me being me and having fun with a fun cake. No body told me to go as far as I did with it. At the time I did sometimes wish I had opened my mouth up more but I am glad I didn't. My character was not dependant on silly jokes and making a fool of myself. My skills as a cake decorator always shined through, and I am extremely proud of that.

Recently "Cake Boss" has come under fire for it's treatment of transgendered reality TV star Carmen Carerra. Being a part of the Cake Boss family as well as a member of the LGBT community, what was your reaction to the situation?

I get asked about this all the time and the next question is always "Is Buddy homophobic?!" and the answer is no. After seeing the clip with Carmen I was actually shocked, but for a completely different reason than I had been seeing written all over the internet. Now, here we have a transgendered woman knowingly playing a joke on an innocent straight guy and exploiting the fact that she used to be a man. This was her choice. From my experience, serious transitioning people would never do such a thing. Then she tried to write it off as 'education'. Give me a fucking break. You don't educate people by deceiving them, especially for a joke at their expense. In my opinion, both "Cake Boss" and Carmen made irresponsible decisions trying to exploit the whole idea of transgenders. At the end of the day, it was like a bunch of kids in the schoolyard playing an immature joke. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me but I take things for what they are and not what I want them to be.



Yikes! That's not to say you are anti-drag though. I heard you made a cake special for fan favorite Pandora Boxx, RuPaul's Drag Race fan favorite.

Of course I am not anti-drag. I'm about as progressive as it gets. Hence, I did make a cake for Pandora Boxx. It was a bit last minute but the result was really cool and she was great. My friends and I all love 'Drag Race' and we loved her on the show so I created a cake of the Drag Race Main Stage and added a chocolate piece of her face at the start of the catwalk and her name in chocolate letters at the end of the stage. Then I threw in some chocolate boxes with bows for fun and themed the rest around the layout of her website. It was a big hit and she was a pleasure.


You certainly have kept up with your baking talents. I understand you have a new business of your own?

Yes, I do. It was something I toyed with the idea of doing and people were always telling me to do it. Then one night when I was laying in bed thinking of names, I came up with "The Pastryarch" and at that moment I knew it was time. I was also sick of making other people money and allowing my talents and brain power to benefit their businesses and wallets. So now I have my own business and it's been great. I do EVERYTHING on my own from the baking to the mixing to the decorating and everything in between. When customers come to me, they know they are getting a one-of-a-kind creation and there aren't a dozen hands touching it. I take great pride in the whole process. The modern day bakery-factory thing does not appeal to me and I love that every week brings different cake and cupcake designs my way. It's still very new but I have big plans and can't wait to expand The Pastryarch brand. I've even recently started filming and documenting my cake creating process and it's been great. I even edit the videos myself. You can check them out on my new YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/ThePastryarch

I went to the website and I have to say you need to hook me up with that Absolut Vodka cake. Who was that for?

My website, www.thepastryarch.com, is actually in the midst of a big overhaul and the final layout should be premiering any day now. It's being done by these great guys up here in Jersey, Brand Candy Media Group.  The Absolute Vodka and Redbull showpiece was surprisingly one of the first edible creations I ever made. I actually made it when I was in culinary school and it's definitely stood the test of time. It was after I created that that I knew the baking direction for me to go was in cake decorating and doing things by hand. I do as much as possible free-hand or by hand. You'll never see me relying on a fondant sheeter, cutters or molds.

You have just been announced as a contestant on Food Network's hit show "Cupcake Wars". How did you get on such a show?

Yes, and I am so excited about that. I always put myself out there and my cakes often go viral and get seen all over the world. People are always telling me 'you need your own show!' and with "Cupcake Wars", the casting actually contacted me. To be honest, since my business is so new I did not think I was ready to put myself out there on such a humongous platform yet for everyone to see. However, since it came to me, I couldn't say no. I'm glad I didn't turn it down.

I know you can't tell me if you win, but at least give me some insider info on the gist of what goes down on your episode.

All I can say is that if people think I didn't speak up enough on "Cake Boss", they will be getting what they wished for. I definitely work my ass off and bring my A game. People may also recognize my baking partner because, well, it's my awesome sister Jaclyn. She was the one who ordered the infamous bachelorette/stripper cake with my cousin Rachele on that classic episode. That being said, if people want to see what REAL cake and cupcake decorating is all about, they have to tune in.


Who else will we be seeing in the show?

This was actually a very special episode because we competed for Kristin Cavallari's Hollywood Baby Shower. People know her from Laguna Beach, The Hills and Dancing with the Stars. Naturally, this added lots of pressure and made the competition even more demanding. I love doing the high profile events so this was perfect for me.


Do you have any more reality TV up your sleeve?

I've had a few things come up and I've definitely planted a lot of seeds but time will tell. I also have a VERY cool cake coming up soon for a really big name that I can't wait to make.

You do a lot of other guest spots, too. Don't think I didn't see you in Adam Barta's newest video. How did you score a music video credit?

Adam and I actually met judging a Halloween costume contest together with Kim G. We became friends and first he asked me to be in his video for "Give Yourself Up" along with several other reality TV stars. The video ended up being a big hit and even leaked on TMZ. I guess I did a good job since I got asked back to do the next one. They're always so much fun!


Again, Kim G inadvertently invades my interviews! How do you know this Bravo Celeb?

Haha, ironic knowing her character on the show, right? That was actually my first time meeting her as well. All three of us became close after that event.

You can catch Tony "The Pastryarch" Albanese on this Sunday's episode of Cupcake Wars on Food Network. That's August 12 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.