NEW ORLEANS – Antoine’s Bakery and Caluda’s King Cake emerged victorious in the 2020 King Cake Snob annual “Seal of Approval” ranking competition. The King Cakes earned first place in the highly coveted best overall “Traditional” and “Filled” categories, respectively. Caluda’s won the “Filled” category for the third straight year, while Antoine’s previously won best “Traditional” and “Freshest” king cake in 2016.
This year’s competition saw nearly 2,500 King Cake reviews from Jan. 7 through Feb. 18 on KingCakeSnob.com, featuring 546 different cakes from more than 170 bakeries.
In the best overall “Traditional” King Cake category, Manny Randazzo fell short of defending its crown behind Antoine’s, while Tastee Donuts / McKenzie’s earned third place honors. Caluda’s three-peated the “Filled” King Cake category with its Strawberry Cream Cheese cake, and its Praline cake finished in second place. Manny Randazzo came in third place with its Cream Cheese cake.
Other categories voted on were “Presentation,” “Flavor” and “Freshness,” with Caluda’s earning the top spot in both the “Flavor” and “Freshness” categories, while Fremin’s Food & Furniture in New Iberia bested the competition in the “Presentation” category.
For the third year, King Cake Snob partnered with local clothing company Dirty Coast to design several custom Mardi Gras products, including t-shirts, door hangers and tea towels, to benefit Northshore Food Bank. These items are still available at both Dirty Coast stores and online at DirtyCoast.com.
King Cake Snob is a community project by Mandeville marketing communications agency Innovative Advertising. Jay Connaughton, managing partner for Innovative Advertising, said the 2020 competition was another fun King Cake clash.
“We were thrilled to once again give Louisianans, and King Cake Snobs everywhere, the opportunity to vote for their favorite King Cakes and bakeries,” said Connaughton. “Our fifth competition was another delicious celebration of one of Mardi Gras’ tastiest traditions. Congratulations to the bakeries and voters who contributed to the crowning of our 2020 winners!”
As in previous years, the 2020 competition not only named the top King Cakes but, voter questionnaires revealed Louisianans preferences in King Cake consumption habits during Carnival season.
Specifically, 70 percent of voters admitted to eating King Cake at least six to 10 times during Carnival season, and 76 percent claim to have never put the King Cake baby back when nobody was looking. Additionally, 48 percent of voters would wait over an hour to purchase a King Cake, 83 percent have picked up beads off the ground during a parade and 44 percent have asked to use a stranger’s bathroom during Mardi Gras.
To view all the results of the 2020 competition, visit KingCakeSnob.com.
