The Big Book of King Cake

02/11/2026

Is the baby in your king cake Jesus?

Since I wasn't able to ask the man himself, big thanks to Ayu Bakehouse, D**g Phuong Bakery, Joe Gambino's Bakery, Loretta's Authentic Pralines, Levee Baking Co., and Liz Williams for helping me get to the bottom of things in my article this week for The New York Times and NYT Cooking!

Does the popular figurine represent Jesus or the Crescent City’s typical joie de vivre?

01/23/2026

I LOVE amateur baking events! Especially when it becomes a fun community gathering, which is exactly what's going on this Saturday at Second Line Brewing.

If you're an amateur king cake baker, then check out the information in Second Line's bio so you can sign up and compete for a trophy! Or, if you don't fancy yourself a baker, come by around 1pm to start tasting slices of king cake! All money raised goes to The New Orleans Family Justice Center.

I'll also be selling and signing The Big Book of King Cake and The Little Book of King Cake, AND I'll be judging the entries. Hope to see you there!

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01/07/2026

I'm thankful to Gambit Weekly for hiring me to write this cover story. There is little more interesting to me than how our traditions -- food or otherwise -- are tied to similar customs around the world.

I had a blast learning about how (and why) cultures across the globe celebrate Carnival this time of year, and I hope you'll check it out in print or online at
https://www.nola.com/gambit/digital_edition/gambit-digital-edition-january-5-2026/html_f380a49d-d766-4f3a-892e-c392f9dd8664.html

Happy Carnival season!

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01/06/2026

I hope to see you tonight at ! I'll be giving my fun king cake history talk and signing copies of and The Little Book of King Cake! 6:30pm!

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02/23/2025

Are you bummed tomorrow's parades are postponed? Well...***looks directly into the camera***...how about the nonstop parade of bakers making endless varieties of king cakes in New Orleans for centuries?

I'll be talking about them as well as 4,000 years of king cake history tomorrow at Deutsches Haus! The event is at 2pm and totally free. And, after the presentation, I'll be selling, signing, and personalizing copies of both The Big Book of King Cake and The Little Book of King.

I hope to see you there!

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01/28/2025

In a season full of king cake events, some of my favorites are these pairings. Cheese, wine, sake, cocktails, spirits? It all tastes great when we pair it with one of my favorite king cakes!

This Thursday, at NOLA Brewing, we'll be matching king cakes with beer! An almond frangipane northern French-style galette des rois from La Boulangerie. An inspired-by-McKenzie's unfilled king cake from Nolita New Orleans with satsuma zest in the dough and a brown butter glaze on top. An amazing king cake from Tartine bursting at the seams with cinnamon cream cheese. And Bittersweet Confections' chocolate king cake -- brioche dough filled with chocolate cream cheese and topped with chocolate ganache.

I can't wait to see which four beers NOLA Brewing pairs with this line-up of cakes. They'll also be providing their pizza to give some savory to my sweet, and I'll be there with a fun king cake history presentation (each king cake I chose represents a different era) so you can impress your friends and family with sometimes-funny/sometimes-bizarre king cake knowledge.

All of this for just $28, and then I'll be signing The Big Book of King Cake and The Little Book of King Cake after.

I hope to see you this Thursday! A small number of tickets are left at nolabrewing.com

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01/27/2025

**ONLY 2 TICKETS LEFT!**

Four king cake samples, four NOLA Brewing beer samples, and pizza. Plus some king cake history, all for $28 this Thursday!

Just a few more seats available for next Thursday's King Cake & Beer Pairing! Going to be tasty and fun! Buy them now on our website!

https://products.spothopperapp.com/checkout?spotId=80772&externalProductId=1445417&_gl=1*710uc2*_ga*MTg3NTEwNDY5NC4xNzI4Mjk0NjA1*_ga_VG24VK2VKT*MTczNzcyODkzNi4xMjMuMS4xNzM3NzI4OTQxLjAuMC4w*_ga_X589XD70E3*MTczNzcyODkzNy4yNTQuMS4xNzM3NzI4OTQxLjAuMC4w

01/24/2025

Are you a lawyer? Consultant? Real estate agent? Freelancer? Are you thinking of getting a Mardi Gras-themed gift for your client? Or for alumni of your program?

Consider The Big Book of King Cake -- it's a beautiful, tasteful, and calorie-free way to show the spirit of New Orleans and our Carnival season.

We can sign books, include personalized messages, and can even ship them. Depending on the size of your order, we'll be happy to talk through discounts, as well.

Please reach out here or at [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you!

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01/11/2025

Since I'll be signing and personalizing The Big Book of King Cake and The Little Book of King Cake tomorrow (Saturday) at Joe Gambino's Bakery from 9am until noon, tonight seems like the perfect time to share some of the Gambino's section from the book.

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If your nickname is The King of King Cakes, you’ve got to be doing something big. Gambino’s Bakery most definitely is, shipping hundreds of thousands of king cakes each season to recipients as diverse as Disney World, hotels, and Tulane University alumni scattered across the country and yearning for a slice of Carnival.

But at the heart of their impressive operation, The King of King Cakes is still a mom-and-pop shop. “I think people yearn for the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker,” said Vincent Scelfo, Gambino’s owner. “Bakeries like ours create memories. We baked your wedding cake, your grandma’s birthday cake, your mom’s birthday cake, your birthday cake, and now your daughter’s birthday cake. It’s special when a community bakery can provide that kind of continuity.”

As one of the oldest operations in the area, Gambino’s has thrived on that continuity. The business began nearly one hundred years ago, in the early 1920s, when Beulah Ledner baked treats for Tulane and Newcomb College students out of her Uptown home. Beulah became a legend when she invented the multi-layered doberge cake before selling the company and recipes to Joe Gambino in 1946 after she struggled with health issues.

Vincent’s father, Sam, was an employee at Gambino’s, and he purchased the bakery with his friend Joe Paternostro in 1978. “My dad still works here today,” Vincent said. “It’s the definition of a family-run bakery. My mom works here, my wife works here, and my two kids work here when they want to make a few dollars. They’ll be the next owners. I don’t understand building something just to sell it off.”

[That's as much space as Instagram allows. For more of this story, and 74 other baker stories pick up a copy of The Big Book of King Cake -- available all over town, including thebigbookofkingcake.com

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01/09/2025

Just a couple of king cakes talking shop. Thanks for having me, WWLTV! And thank to for giving me the chance to talk about king cake history, how New Orleans got all these amazing varieties, and about a pair of king cake baking classes NOCHI is hosting with Nolita New Orleans and The Big Book of King Cake!

The classes are January 28 and February 18, and you can buy tickets for either at NOCHI.org/enthusiast . They always sell out, so get those tickets soon!

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01/08/2025

Before they were honored with a James Beard Foundation award and before it was the norm
to see hundreds of New Orleanians lined up outside their D**g Phuong Bakery in hopes of buying what’s arguably the city's most popular king cake, Huong Tran, her husband De, and their children were refugees fleeing their war-torn Vietnam home. “We left hoping for opportunity, but we also left out of fear,” explained Huong and De’s daughter, Linh. De served in the Air Force for the American-backed South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. When the North took over Saigon in 1975, he was imprisoned and then placed in a Communist “re-education camp.”

But Huong and De met before all of that, teenagers in love. Huong worked at her parents’ bakery and coffee shop, and De visited often. “My Dad loved coffee,” Linh laughed. “He drank it in place of water.” When the war separated them, the two exchanged letters, dozens during the war and while De was imprisoned. And once he was released from the camp, he returned to Huong. They married and had two of their three children in Vietnam, including Linh. They were attempting to start a new life. “But my parents were educated, and the communists were forcing everyone to become farmers,” she said. “There was nothing for us there anymore, so we left.”

It wasn’t an easy journey. The young family left their possessions behind and had to bribe their way onto a boat carrying hundreds of passengers to Malaysia. Pirates boarded the boat and robbed them. Malaysia wouldn’t accept the refugees, saying the camp was full. But the desperate passengers wouldn’t take no for an answer and Linh said her father jumped into the water and helped pull the ship ashore.

The Trans spent a year in the crowded refugee camp before learning De’s best friend was sponsoring them to live with him in an American city called New Orleans. They arrived in 1979, but their journey was just beginning.

**Instagram has a word limit. For the rest of this story -- and 74 others celebrating New Orleans king cake makers -- check out The Big Book of King Cake at thebigbookofkingcake.com**

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