National Football League defensive end Justin Tuck’s achievements on the gridiron are commendable: two-time Super Bowl winner, two-time Pro Bowl performer, two-time NFC Champion, almost 500 career tackles. But, his accomplishments off the field are equally impressive, specifically the 2008 launch of his charitable initiative R.U.S.H. for Literacy that encourages children to READ, UNDERSTAND, SUCCEED and HOPE and embrace literacy throughout their lives.
To date, R.U.S.H. has raised more than $2 million, with the majority of those funds generated by “Tuck’s Celebrity Billiards Tournament,” an annual event first launched in 2009 and held at the SLATE bar and billiards club. The upscale extravaganza features a who’s-who of athletic and Hollywood royalty, as well as “Buddy” Valastro, the Cake Boss celebrity chef, who produced a magnificent billiards-themed cake for the event in the 2009 Season 2 episode “Painters, Pool and Pink.” The entire episode is available to watch here.
https://youtu.be/2YVbW-7CnlU
TLC’s Cake Boss is one of at least seven cake-based reality shows to have hit the airwaves in recent years. Now entering its sixth season, it is arguably the most popular, with an average 2 million viewers. The show stars Bartolo “Buddy” Valastro Jr., the proprietor of the family-owned Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, NJ, as well as his immediate and extended family members who work in the shop as bakers, decorators, sculptors and storefront managers. Buddy’s personality is warm and large, contributing to the show’s success, which, in turn, has contributed to the shop’s success and appeal as modern tourist attraction. Carlo’s Bakery Way, at Washington and Newark Streets in Hoboken, is a street renamed in honor of the Cake Boss establishment.
Carlo’s Bake Shop fame is attributable to their highly-detailed, one-of-a-kind, themed cakes, which are the focus of the Cake Boss episodes. Those cake themes have included a fire station, an Indricotherium, Mount Rushmore, a roulette board, and a life-size replica of comedian Betty White.
In “Painters, Pool and Pink,” the former New York Giant Mr. Tuck is planning his premier billiards fundraiser and recruits Mr. Valastro to provide (donate) a billiards-themed cake for the event. Mr. Valastro, a self-proclaimed pool star (allegedly once known as the “Hoboken Hustler”), is honored to prepare the dessert, though he also craves a chance to play in the tournament. Speaking to his culinary crew, he says, “You know how much I love to play pool. I’d love to show them how I roll.”
That opportunity emerges when one player drops out, thereby creating the standard pabulum of manufactured reality television tension, since none of his bake squad has confidence in his ability. Says one baker, “What do you know about shooting pool? You’re going to get killed.” And, indeed it appears that way when he goes to practice one afternoon. But, he more than compensates when he is paired with former New York Jet Kerry Rhodes, and accompanied by a good bit of hand-slapping and chest-bumping, makes it as far as the semi-finals.
Far more interesting than Mr. Valastro’s pool ambitions is his kitchen team’s ability to create a billiards-themed cake. The base is made out of red velvet cake (“Justin’s favorite”), which is then smothered with cream cheese. The pockets are carved out before layering the cake with green fondant, a sugary dough used to cover cakes, to resemble the baize of the table. Cereal treats are used to build up the walls, which are “dirty iced” before more fondant is applied. Then, to achieve the wood-grain appearance, a special tool and brushstroke is applied for texturing. Finally, cue sticks, chalk and pool balls, all expertly made from fondant, are gently placed on the table, prompting Mr. Valastro to proudly boast that the cake “looked just like a mini pool table…I mean, my kids could have played pool on this table.”
The cake is revealed at the end of the tournament, as celebrities such as Anthony Anderson, Vivica A. Fox, Eli Manning, Kelly Rowland, Michael Strahan, and Osi Umenyiora gallivant nearby. Even Billiard Congress of America Hall-of-Famer Jeannette “The Black Widow” Lee is in on the action. Available to provide on-site expertise to the tournament players and guests, The Black Widow ultimately pops up in the “Painters, Pool and Pink” episode…passing out slices of cake.
