Not every bakery in Baton Rouge has a king cake-making class, a drag queen and bingo games on a Friday night in February, but Eloise’s Market and Cakery combines all three to foster Carnival community and bring a New Orleans flair to the capitol city.
For the past three Carnival seasons, the bakery has offered king cake classes, but like many Louisiana traditions, the classes are centered not just on food, but also on community. On Jan. 31, the bakery was decorated with neon lights, hanging streamers and spray-painted hearts and filled with 50 people chatting to friends and strangers as jazz music played in the background.
“I hope that I make everybody realize that there is a place here that every single person is welcome no matter what,” Maddie Schmidt, the owner of Eloise’s Market and Cakery, said. “We’re just here to build a community and get to know each other.”
To attend the sold-out class, participants bought $40 tickets that provided the materials needed to make the king cake, including the dough, cinnamon sugar, icing and even a small, plastic baby. Schmidt directed attendants to roll the dough out, add filling and shape their cake. From there, the cakes needed 40 minutes to rise and bake.
During this time, drag queen Zia Lush performed and led bingo games. Clad in a purple-sequined leotard, thigh-high boots and a multi-color wig, Lush strutted through the small bakery to cheers and applause.
“New Orleans and drag queens could be synonymous, and so it just felt like an awesome extra touch,” Schmidt said.
After her energizing performance, Lush led bingo games to entertain the amateur bakers. Schmidt said she chose bingo as the activity to fill the 40 minutes of rising and baking, because it was a fun activity for all, but also because it reminds her of New Orleans.
Calling numbers, cracking jokes and awarding winners with Mardi Gras beads and noisemakers, Lush said she was happy with the evening’s turnout and atmosphere.
“My favorite part is just meeting people,” Lush said. “I love making people happy, I don’t know. Just like, changing someone’s mood from, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t want to do a bingo,’ to like, ‘Oh my god, I’m glad I went to the bingo.’”
Lush feels Baton Rouge and New Orleans are the “most open” places in Louisiana for drag queens; she doesn’t think the rest of the state is as welcoming. She has felt a sense of community and support with the sold-out classes at Eloise’s.
“I think it really shows how many people don’t mind it, so I feel like it is really good for the community,” Lush said.
Krista Rippel, Lynne Browning and Shawn Graphia sat in the back corner, shaping their cakes and enjoying the atmosphere. The three women attended the class for a “girls night out,” packing a full charcuterie board and a bottle of wine. This was their first time seeing a drag performance, an experience they greatly enjoyed.
“She did awesome,” Browning, 53, said of Lush. “She was incredible. I wish I could dance that well,” she joked.
Another attendant came to the class to learn more about the state’s culture as Mardi Gras approaches.
“I moved here recently, so Mardi Gras and king cake, the whole culture is kind of new,” Jada Daniels, a 26-year-old from Georgia, said as she spread cinnamon-sugar filling. “So I thought that it would be fun. What is a better way to understand than to do it?”
Daniels was unsure what king cake was before she attended the class, but caught on quickly as she rolled her cake into the circular shape Louisianians know and love. Embracing the culture, she sipped a daiquiri and laughed with her friend, Evian Vo, as they played bingo, watched the drag performance and prepared for Mardi Gras.
“Just the culture of it,” 24-year-old Vo said when talking about her favorite part of Carnival season. “Like being able to be in a city just partying, celebrating Louisiana culture. It’s just a fun, welcoming environment.”
Schmidt provided attendants a replicable experience. She shared her king cake recipe so participants can recreate the king cake to continue sharing the tradition.
“This class is super important to me, because I feel that king cakes are a huge part of our culture here,” Schmidt said. “But we always eat them, and we never make them, and it’s kind of some big-kept secret that I don’t really agree with because the only way for traditions to continue is to share them with each other.”
Bre Meilleur and her friends attended the class to celebrate Meilleur’s 27th birthday. The group had never been to Eloise’s before, but after seeing a post on TikTok about the event, Meilleur said the group was excited to attend the popular class.
“When I found out they had king cake plus drag, that motivated me to find a date that had both things, because that is so fun to me,” Meilleur said.
Meilleur graduated from LSU in 2020 with a degree in food sciences. She said she was familiar with baking, but did not know how to make king cake, and found the process very fun. Born and raised in New Orleans, Meilleur is excited to share her new knowledge with those around her this Mardi Gras.
“I love being around the people and cooking jambalaya on the neutral ground and celebrating the culture of the city,” Meilleur said. “The king cake is just the icing on the cake, literally.”
Eloise’s has scheduled king cake classes to continue past Mardi Gras, though many are already sold out, including classes with drag queens. Find class availability online at Eloise’s website.
