A sweet visit from the 'Cake Boss'

It’s safe to say that all of the campers and employees of Rolling River Day Camp have had some experience with cakes in their lives, whether they’ve baked one, ate one or know someone who’s ever had a birthday, cakes have crossed their paths at one time or another. But the cake they got to try on Aug. 15 was no ordinary cake — the person known as “the cake boss” made it.

Cast members from TLC’s popular show “Cake Boss” made their way to East Rockaway last week to have some fun with the campers, film a portion an episode airing in the fall or winter and most importantly, to unveil a cake in honor of Rolling River’s 20th anniversary summer. Buddy Valastro, the star of “Cake Boss” oversees the day-to-day operations of Carlo’s Bake Shop, a family-owned bakery in Hoboken, N.J. Valastro and said he wanted to make a cake celebrating Rolling River because it, too, is family-owned.

“Being able to do this cake for Rolling River and them being family owned and operated camp … they really put a lot of love into it,” he said, “and the fact that it opened the way it did, the first of its kind, it was pretty awesome.”

Valastro and other cast members presented the Goodman family, the owners of Rolling River, and the hundreds of campers and employees with a massive cake that looked a lot like the camp itself. The finely detailed cake featured a basketball court, various Rolling River buildings and dozens of happy campers, among other things. Then to the surprise of just about everyone, the cake split in two and a large, white wedding cake sprouted from the center to commemorate Marc and Rhonda Goodman, the camp’s directors, meeting at a day camp in Connecticut in 1975.

Marissa Goodman and her siblings, Alison and Jon, were looking to honor Rolling River’s 20th anniversary in a special way while they were planning things last fall. They wanted to get a cake and thought of going to Carlo’s Bake Shop. The Goodman’s met with Mauro Castano, Valastro’s brother-in-law and right-hand man, to discuss ordering a cake. A short time later, the idea of filming an episode at Rolling River came about and producers of the show were working out the details with the Goodmans.