For king cake fanatics, any Carnival season arrives with the knowledge that there is only so much time to sample the range before Fat Tuesday brings the curtain down. This season, that time is especially short, with an early Mardi Gras making every chance for king cake that much more important.
So it's good news that a roving event called King Cake Fe(a)st is back this year. It brings the chance to sample from among dozens of different cakes by the slice, with the contours of a self-guided king cake tasting party.
King Cake Fe(a)st is held at a progression of local bars and taprooms each Thursday over the next four weeks (details below).
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King Cake Fe(a)st is a roving party to try king cake by the slice, and it's back for Carnival 2024. (Contributed image)
It gathers more than 30 vendors selling king cake by the slice or whole and king cake-inspired goodies (cookies, pie, macarons, etc.). There is also a wide spectrum of king cake-themed creations, like jewelry, home décor and costumes pieces.
![sticky fingers](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=225%2C161 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=400%2C286 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=540%2C386 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=640%2C457 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=750%2C536 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=990%2C707 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C739 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C857 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C952 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C1054 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/89/58993c88-abe4-11ee-9f54-13874a132df0/659829a18288a.image.jpg?resize=1703%2C1216 2008w)
Sticky Fingers Dough Co., a pop-up from Chelsea Nauratan-Burgos (right), is one of the founding members of King Cake Fe(a)st, a roving party back for Carnival 2024. (Contributed photo by Flamingo Photographer)
“Anything you can think of, there’s a king cake version of it,” said co-founder Jillian Duran, of the local pop-up Rahm Haus Ice Cream, which will have its own range of king cake-inspired treats on hand.
“Last year, my favorite changed every time. It’s crazy the things people do with king cake,” she said.
Some king cake producers have become household names around the New Orleans area. But King Cake Fe(a)st takes a different approach to its roster.
![nobles](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=150%2C210 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=200%2C280 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=225%2C315 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=300%2C420 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=400%2C560 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=540%2C756 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=640%2C896 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/45/d4515c8e-abe4-11ee-a495-6f09d3c551fd/659829eab8a62.image.jpg?resize=645%2C903 750w)
Chris Nobles, of Piety & Desire Chocolate, checks out a slice of king cake at King Cake Fe(a)st, a roving party back for Carnival 2024. (Contributed photo by Flamingo Photographer)
The list of vendors is impressive not just for the numbers involved at each edition, but also for the deep dive it gives into the world of small, independent bakers working around the area.
Duran worked with Chelsea Nauratan-Burgos of Sticky Fingers Dough Co. to create King Cake Fe(a)st last Carnival season. This year, they’ve rounded up (and often recruited) a highly diverse range of vendors composed of pop-ups and many home-based bakers.
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Whipped panna cotta fills a king cake from Rahm Haus Ice Cream at King Cake Fe(a)st, a roving party back for Carnival 2024. (Contributed photo from Rahm Haus Ice Creaam)
The events give them a chance to reach a broader potential customer base. They give visitors an easy way to check out their ideas for king cake side by side and taste through as much as they’d like by the slice.
“Come prepared,” is the advice from Duran. “People bring bags or Tupperware to bring slices home. I saw people filling lasagna trays to bring home slices and have their own party with friends. King cake is always social.”
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Ice cream king cake from Rahm Haus, the pop-up ice cream brand in New Orleans. (Contributed photo)
There’s live music at each edition, and of course drinks at the bars.
Here are the dates and details for King Cake Fe(a)st:
- Jan. 11 at Courtyard Brewery (1160 Camp St.) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Jan. 18 at Bayou Wine Garden/Bayou Beer Garden (326 N. Norman C. Francis Parkway) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Jan. 25 at The Rabbit Hole (1228 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Feb. 1 back at Bayou Wine Garden/Bayou Beer Garden from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Duran started her Rahm Haus Ice Cream brand during the pandemic. She stepped away from it last year as she became pastry chef at Garrison Kitchen + Cocktails. She’s since left that Metairie restaurant and Rahm Haus is back full time.