Food Network Premieres BUDDY'S FAMILY VACATION Today

Buddy Valastro trades the bakery for an RV this summer and takes a memorable road trip to experience the sites and flavors of the South with his wife Lisa and their four kids in the eight-episode series BUDDY'S FAMILY VACATION, premiering today, May 27th at 8pm (all times ET/PT) with two back-to-back-episodes on Food Network. The adventure begins at home in New Jersey, where Buddy and Lisa come up with the rules of the road to keep any family trip on track, and the Valastro gang packs up to go South for their first destinations: Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina. From feeding alligators and eating spicy etoufee in New Orleans, Louisiana; taking ghost tours in Savannah, Georgia; to visiting the iconic Americana of GRACELAND and Dollywood, Buddy's Family Vacation is an epic road trip, Valastro style! After the premiere, episodes will air in the series regular timeslot on Fridays at 8:30pm.

"Buddy's Family Vacation is a perfect way to kick off summer," said Didi O'Hearn, Senior Vice President, Programming, Food Network. "Our viewers are getting ready for their own getaways, and watching the Valastros eat, laugh and have fun is sure to entertain and inspire some amazing road trips."

In the premiere episode, the Valastro family loads up the RV in New Jersey and hits the road for some much-needed family time. On their way south, they make a pit stop in Delaware to try some of the east coast's best seafood. Upon arriving in South Carolina, they make saltwater taffy the old fashioned way in Myrtle Beach, then continue west to Charleston to feast on creamy shrimp and grits and frozen custard. Immediately following the premiere, a bonus episode finds the Valastros in charming Savannah, Georgia where they chow down on a Tybee Island crab platter and fried chicken. After trying to catch a ghost in Savannah's haunted historic district, they sample catfish and pan-seared flounder with hand-crafted chocolate treats for dessert. Upcoming episodes feature stops in the Big Easy, Louisiana Bayou and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

Buddy's Family Vacation is produced by Leftfield Pictures and Cakehouse Media.

Image courtesy of Food Network