King cake season is upon us, and that means south Louisiana bakeries are kicking production into high gear. At The Ambrosia Bakery on Siegen Lane, that means nearly doubling its baking staff during Mardi Gras.
New Orleans natives Cheryl and Felix Sherman opened Ambrosia Bakery in 1993. Twenty-seven years later, it has become a go-to for the local community, offering up wedding cakes, birthday cakes and, of course, king cakes to the Capital City.
Ambrosia Bakery sells king cakes with around 19 different fillings and in three different sizes. The team behind Ambrosia has also trademarked its popular Zulu King Cake, which began after a request for a signature king cake from the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club in New Orleans more than a decade ago.
225 Dine sat down with co-owner Felix Sherman Jr. to talk about how the bakery preps for the season.
How many employees do you have? How many more do you hire for king cake season?
“We usually have around 60—come king cake season, we have close to 100. The thing is that every one of our king cakes are handmade. There’s actually a video on YouTube that kind of gives you an idea. Every king cake is handmade, and it’s not made by a machine. I mean, we use machines to make part of it [such as mixing the brioche bread dough], but the overall king cake is all done by hand.”
How early do workers begin baking, and what does their typical day look like?
“They’re here baking right now. The ovens literally do not get shut off, and another crew will be coming in. What they’re doing is prepping and making all the king cakes for the next day. They usually come in and start making these around 2 p.m., and, as time goes on, they’ll be here longer into the night. The next crew usually comes in around 4 a.m., and they start getting everything else ready for the display case to actually open for the day.”
Read the full Q&A with Sherman from the latest edition of 225 Dine. Subscribe to the free e-newsletter to keep up with Baton Rouge food and events.
