Posted on Feb 18, 2023
St. Louis bakery La Pâtisserie Chouquette takes the crown with its Mardi Gras king cakes
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The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States is in New Orleans. That makes sense because of the town’s strong French connection.
The French connection also is strong in St. Louis, a town founded by colonial French fur traders in 1764. And, in St. Louis, Mardi Gras celebrations are often hard and loud, most notably in the Soulard neighborhood.
The French connection also is strong in St. Louis, a town founded by colonial French fur traders in 1764. And, in St. Louis, Mardi Gras celebrations are often hard and loud, most notably in the Soulard neighborhood.
St. Louis bakery La Pâtisserie Chouquette takes the crown with its Mardi Gras king cakes
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
St. Louis
Food/Chow
Baking
Holidays
Tradition
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."But it’s not just the abundance of alcohol, beads and masks that are hallmarks of the Fat Tuesday celebration. So too is the king cake, a delicious ringed cake covered with icing and topped with green, purple and gold sprinkles.
The other thing about king cakes: There’s a tiny plastic baby hidden inside. Tradition says that finding the baby symbolizes luck and prosperity.
Simone Faure, chef/owner of La Pâtisserie Chouquette in St. Louis’ Botanical Heights neighborhood, knows king cakes well. The native New Orleanian recalls eating her first king cake in elementary school.
Faure opened the bakery in St. Louis in 2013, and she’s baked king cakes there every year since.
“I think the more aware that people become of [king cake] their curiosity is piqued and people want to taste it,” Faure said on St. Louis on the Air. “They start to realize that Mardi Gras goes far beyond public drunkenness and that there are traditions to uphold during the Mardi Gras season.”
Along with king cakes, La Pâtisserie Chouquette — or “Chouquette” for short — offers an array of traditional French and New Orleanian delicacies for the Mardi Gras season including beignets, blackberry bread pudding and crawfish hand pies.
“We're now wondering if we bit off more than we could chew because we do have our Saturday Mardi Gras festivities coming, but we're going to try to get to as many things as we can with lots of prayers, fingers crossed and Red Bull.”...
..."But it’s not just the abundance of alcohol, beads and masks that are hallmarks of the Fat Tuesday celebration. So too is the king cake, a delicious ringed cake covered with icing and topped with green, purple and gold sprinkles.
The other thing about king cakes: There’s a tiny plastic baby hidden inside. Tradition says that finding the baby symbolizes luck and prosperity.
Simone Faure, chef/owner of La Pâtisserie Chouquette in St. Louis’ Botanical Heights neighborhood, knows king cakes well. The native New Orleanian recalls eating her first king cake in elementary school.
Faure opened the bakery in St. Louis in 2013, and she’s baked king cakes there every year since.
“I think the more aware that people become of [king cake] their curiosity is piqued and people want to taste it,” Faure said on St. Louis on the Air. “They start to realize that Mardi Gras goes far beyond public drunkenness and that there are traditions to uphold during the Mardi Gras season.”
Along with king cakes, La Pâtisserie Chouquette — or “Chouquette” for short — offers an array of traditional French and New Orleanian delicacies for the Mardi Gras season including beignets, blackberry bread pudding and crawfish hand pies.
“We're now wondering if we bit off more than we could chew because we do have our Saturday Mardi Gras festivities coming, but we're going to try to get to as many things as we can with lots of prayers, fingers crossed and Red Bull.”...
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