in
Hoboken, New Jersey, where the series is filmed. •
Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Jr. (born March 3, 1977) – The star of the show, who has worked at the bakery since age 17 in 1994. He is the only son and the youngest child of Bartolo "Buddy" Sr. and Mary Valastro. He grew up in
Little Ferry, New Jersey. He is married to
Elisabetta "Lisa" Valastro (née Belgiovine) with whom he has four children: Sofia, Bartolo "Buddy" III, Marco, and Carlo. In 2012, as a result of the attention that the series brought to
Hoboken, New Jersey, the
Hudson Reporter named him as an honorable mention in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2017. •
Mauro Castano (born August 18, 1963) – pastry chef and Buddy's right-hand man. He is married to Buddy's second-oldest sister, Maddalena. He was born in
Milan, and left
Italy when he was 12. He arrived in the USA on February 15, 1976. His father is from
Bernalda,
Basilicata and his mother from near
Reggio Emilia,
Emilia Romagna. On September 16, 1989, he had his first date with Maddalena (her father orchestrated all), and in October 1991 they married. •
Joseph "
Joey"
Faugno (born October 10, 1967) – The shop's head baker. He is married to Buddy's oldest sister, Grace. They have two children: Robert and Bartolina. •
Frank "Frankie" Amato Jr. (born August 29, 1978) – cake decorator. He is Buddy's second cousin and godfather to his son Marco, with two children of his own. •
Danny Dragone – a multipurpose employee who has worked at the bakery since before Buddy was born. He is a close family friend, and his daughter, Tatiana, works at the bakery. He is nicknamed "the mule" for his versatility. •
Grace Faugno (née Valastro) – (born June 30, 1966) – manages the front counter. She is married to Mauro. They have three children: Dominique, Bartolo "Buddy", and Mary. •
Mary Sciarrone (née Valastro) In the fifth-season episode Trash, Twirls & Tough Love ", she was fired because of multiple incidents involving her making inappropriate statements. Mary was rehired as a cake consultant a few weeks after being fired. She returned to full-time work at the bakery in the episode "Silly Seuss & Surprise!". •
Lisa Valastro (born December 31, 1974) – Buddy's youngest sister. Manages the storefront and sometimes handles billing. She has three kids Teresa "Tessy" Colegrove, John Colegrove and Isabella Valastro. Early in the show's run she was married to baker Remigio "Remy" Gonzalez, who left the show when he was arrested on sexual assault charges. The birth of their daughter, Isabella, was chronicled in the third-season episode "Mother's Day, Mama and Mom-to-Be." •
Elisabetta "Lisa" Valastro (née Belgiovine) (born March 9, 1979) Her parents, Gloria Tammacco and Mauro Belgiovine, who are seen in the show, are from
Molfetta,
Puglia. •
Maurizio Belgiovine – delivery boy and structure builder. He is Buddy's brother-in-law and a graduate of
Rutgers Business School. – bakery sculptor. •
Marissa Lopez – Buddy's intern (winner of
Season 2 of
Next Great Baker), later becoming manager of Carlo's Bakery's new location in
Ridgewood, New Jersey. •
Mary Valastro Piccinch – (April 17, 1948 – June 22, 2017) Buddy's mother. A show regular until her 2010 retirement; still appeared on the show on occasion. Announced in 2012 that she was diagnosed with
ALS. The family's struggle and reaction was documented in the Season 5 episode, "
A Bittersweet Homecoming," on July 23, 2012. Mary died on June 22, 2017, after a five-year battle with ALS. Her second husband was Sergio Piccinch. •
Remigio "Remy" Gonzalez – Buddy's former left-hand man and the husband of Buddy's sister, Lisa. (They have since divorced.) Remy's first and only child, daughter Isabella, was born on the
Cake Boss episode "Mother's Day, Mama and Mom-to-Be." He left the show after being arrested for alleged sexual assault in August 2010. In May 2012 he was sentenced to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. It was expected that he would be deported to his home country, Mexico, following his release. He was released from prison on April 10, 2018. •
Salvatore "
Sal"
Picinich (1947 – January 30, 2011) worked at the bakery from 1964 and was one of Buddy's most trusted employees. Picinich stopped appearing on the show at the end of 2009, when he began battling cancer, but returned in the summer of 2010 to accept the Employee of the Century Award on the occasion of the bakery's 100th anniversary. He died on January 30, 2011. •
Tony "Tone-Tone" Albanese – Buddy's second intern. •
Daniella Storzillo – a sculptor and decorator at Carlo's. She left to work as a real estate sales associate. •
Stephanie "Sunshine" Fernandez – top decorator at Carlo's. She was the first female employee who did not work with sales, as stated by Buddy Valastro. She left for an opportunity to finish nursing school nine months earlier. Before leaving to become a nurse, she appeared on the show's spinoff,
Next Great Baker, where she was chosen by the
season 2 winner, Marissa Lopez, to help her build her
American Dream cake. •
Dana Herbert – winner of
Season 1 of
Next Great Baker •
Ashley Holt – winner of
Season 3 of
Next Great Baker •
Paul Conti – bakery employee (former contestant of
Season 3 of
Next Great Baker); was only in a couple of episodes because he lost his house and his job due to
Hurricane Sandy. He eventually got a job working for a baking supply company. •
Anthony "Cousin Anthony" Bellifemine – baker and former delivery boy, Bellifemine left unexpectedly at the end of season 6 (Ep. 28: Up, Up and Away). •
Chad Durkin – Bakery employee (former contestant of Season 3 of
Next Great Baker, hired by Buddy for his pastry skills (seasons 7–8). ==Reception==