The Next Great Baker; Snooki on Cake Boss

Exciting news: Everyone's favorite reality show about a cake bakery in New Jersey, Cake Boss, is coming back for a third season on October 11th. But it gets better: In a potentially epic New Jersey-based crossover event, an upcoming episode has none other than Jersey Shore star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi dropping by the shop, Carlo's Bakery, to order a cake for her mom.

Never mind that Snooki's hometown is Marlboro, New York (just outside of Poughkeepsie), and is in no way "a special Jersey resident" as the press release claims. It's sort of a long drive! But no matter, the episode airs November 8th! Set your DVRs!

Buddy Valastro, the owner of Carlo's Bakery and star of the show, is a busy man! Not only does he have a book coming out this fall and a spin-off competition series called The Next Great Baker premiering in December, he's also going to be traveling the country on an "interactive Bakin' with the Boss Tour."

Cake Boss Press Release

Fan favorite CAKE BOSS is back with all new episodes as season 3 returns on October 11 at 9pm ET/PT. The rest of the season has some of the series’ biggest moments yet (see below) and Buddy’s busier than ever: yesterday, he started shooting TLC’s new series THE NEXT GREAT BAKER, a competition elimination format that has Buddy searching for the next rising talent in the baking world. THE NEXT GREAT BAKER will premiere in early December, and more information will be available soon.

CAKE BOSS, season 3 continues - Mondays at 9p for 8 weeks starting October 11
October 11 (special hour-long episode) & October 18 (two half-hour episodes)
Over these three episodes, Buddy and the entire Valastro family visit Italy to attend a cousin’s wedding and visit the parents’ hometowns.

November 8
A special Jersey resident – Snooki – visits the bakery to order a cake for her mom.

November 22
Carlo’s Bakery, the setting for CAKE BOSS, celebrates its 100th anniversary with a giant block party, and a walk down memory lane for Buddy and his family.

November 29
It’s one of the busiest days of the year at Carlo’s Bakery – Christmas Eve.

There are more ways for fans to get their CAKE BOSS:
- Buddy’s first book, “CAKE BOSS: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia” will be available November 2 from Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
- Starting November 3 Buddy will be traveling the country with his live and interactive Bakin' with the Boss Tour. For more information visit buddyontour.com
- Season 2 of CAKE BOSS will be available on DVD at retailers nationwide on October 5.

· All Snooki Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Cake Boss Coverage on Eater [-E-]

[Photos: eonline.com]