Carnival season has long seen king cakes shipped around the country, and this only accelerated in the pandemic as restaurants and bakeries built up their shipping efforts to survive.
This year it feels like that will be another lifeline, especially for small neighborhood bakeries, as they contend with a shorter season (thus fewer days to sell king cakes) and with the many issues local hospitality businesses have been facing, from higher costs to longer summer slumps.
Go with the pros or DIY
Kim Do poses at Hi-Do Bakery as he family makes king cakes in Terrytown, La., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Plenty of king cake makers ship themselves, including mom-and-pop bakeries and local grocery chains. But you don’t need to leave your king cake shipping options up to a Google search.
Adrian's Bakery founder Adrian Darby makes king cakes at his neighborhood bakery in Gentilly. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
If you have a favorite bakery that doesn’t ship, the DIY solution is readily in hand. You can simply buy your own, box it and ship it out yourself.
People who live out of the market and have friends or family in town can assign one of them to the task as their ground team here in New Orleans. You can even throw some of the beads stashed in your attic into the box for lagniappe bling.
King cake travels well, as anyone who's hauled one roughly through a parade route crowd can attest (those that adhere to the traditional style, at least; others with intricate toppings or readily perishable fillings, not so much).
Baker owner Jean-Luc Albin poses with boxes of king cakes that are ready to be sent in the mail at Maurice French Pastries in Metairie, La., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
One easy (if more costly) way to outsource the effort is a specialty food shipping service. These move a great deal of king cake around the country every year.
The local shipping service NOLA Cajun has its own line of king cakes ready to go. And the national service Goldbelly handles king cakes from Joe Gambino’s Bakery, Maurice French Pastries and now also Dong Phuong (though this always-popular cake is already on a wait list via Goldbelly).
Why it matters more this year
Amid the flurry of sugar and festivities that always attend the return of king cakes, remember that they represent a cornerstone for many businesses. In a way, king cake has helped underwrite the revival of the neighborhood bakery in New Orleans.
Ha Do places cakes with filling onto trays at Hi-Do Bakery in Terrytown, La., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
But as valuable as these small businesses are, they're also more vulnerable than big brands (we just lost a gem of an example at year's end with the closing of La Petite Sophie in River Ridge).
For some, Carnival season king cake sales are their primary source of revenue; for many others, these sales make the difference that keeps them going in our deep and difficult summers.
This year, with local businesses contending with many issues and changing economics for their field, and with a short Carnival season, every sale matters more.
