Yes, Mardi Gras king cakes hit by COVID, supply chain woes. Here’s what to expect | Where NOLA Eats

The miniature porcelain porta-potties were stuck at sea for a month, and that was only the beginning of the trouble.

The thimble-sized trinkets were bound for Haydel’s Bakery, which commissions new porcelain collectibles to accompany its king cakes each Carnival season. The Jefferson Highway bakery annually debuts the new editions on Jan. 6, Kings’ Day, a.k.a. Twelfth Night, the official start of Carnival.

For 2022, Haydel’s has two designs. One represents Gallier Hall, where many Mardi Gras parades stop for a ceremonial toast; the other depicts a yellow portable toilet, an inelegant but indisputably essential part of the outdoor celebrations.

“Last year’s Mardi Gras was so crappy, we just thought we’d laugh at it a bit,” said proprietor Dave Haydel.

It turns out some crappiness continues this Carnival, at least in the king cake realm.

Chalk it up to the matrix of supply shortages, price hikes and the impact of the omicron surge on staffing. It’s all bringing an edge of uncertainty and added stress across the king cake business just as the season for the traditional treats begins.

Haydel’s delivery was snarled by the supply chain issues that have beset so much of the economy, even though, anticipating delays, the bakery placed its order two months earlier than usual.

The shipment of some 72,000 figures made it from a producer in China only to meet a port backlog in Los Angeles that dragged on four weeks. Once the ship docked, the delay extended nine days further awaiting workers to unload it and then another four days awaiting trucking for the final leg to Louisiana.

The upshot: Haydel’s will kick off Carnival with only the standard plastic baby dolls joining its king cakes. The collectibles are expected early next week.

“It’s been craziness upon craziness,” Haydel said. “But what can you do? At least we will still have king cake.”

Indeed, no one is predicting a lack of king cakes this year, but many in the business are wary of what unforeseen snags they’ll have to maneuver next.

The start of Carnival unleashes a typically torrential demand from customers with specific, often highly personal expectations for king cake season. Preparing for it has already entailed far greater effort and expense than normal behind the scenes.

Supplies and demands

Perhaps the most vexing factor on the eve of Carnival season are staffing levels that can now change day to day as employees report COVID exposures in the ongoing surge.

At Maurice French Pastries in Metairie, owner Jean-Luc Albin started a day of king cake preparation this week at 2 a.m. and worked until 5 p.m. to try to meet pre-orders and shipping requests. That’s because four of the bakery’s six production staff were out after positive COVID test results.

Albin, who recently turned 70, is taking it in stride.

“It’s bad but you just have to deal with it,” he said. “My people will be back eventually, it’s just bad timing that they’re out when Carnival is starting.”

Carnival season is a crucial span for many local bakeries. King cake sales are the primary source of revenue for some, while many others rely on what they ring in during Mardi Gras to sustain them through the travails of slow summers.

“We’re making it happen, but everything is that much harder to get,” said John Caluda, whose Harahan-based Caluda’s King Cakes supplies many local retailers.

Everything costs more too, from packaging to staff wages, he said.

Bakers are cautious about how much of that they pass on to customers. Caluda estimates he’s spending 30% to 40% more for some ingredients, while his prices have only risen by $1 to $2 for the most popular mid-sized cakes.

Keeping inventories up at Hi-Do Bakery has meant cobbling together ingredients from a patchwork of different suppliers, said Kim Do, who helps run the shop her parents Huyen and Ha Do founded in Terrytown.

But limits imposed by some vendors have left them nervous about keeping well stocked through a long Carnival season, which this year lasts more than seven weeks.

“It’s been across the board, oil, flour, even yeast,” said Do. “My parents are particular about the ingredients they use, and it’s been hard to find enough of what we usually get. It’s the same everywhere you go. Everyone has these shortages.”

Hope ahead?

But even with prices up and supplies constrained across the food industry, there are signs that things could be looking up for king cake makers.

The tightest pressure on supply networks came around the peak-demand time of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But Carnival revs up in Louisiana as other places are winding down from the holidays.

That has Gambino’s Bakery president Vincent Scelfo optimistic about the season ahead.

“It’s a slow time of year everywhere else, so things tend to open up, from supplies to shipping,” he said.

One example is cream cheese, a key ingredient for the “filled” king cakes that Gambino’s and many other bakeries produce. In December, cream cheese shortages made national headlines, with cheesecake makers and bagel shops scrambling to stock up. But Scelfo said after a lot of concern last month, supplies have resumed.

“If we had to milk our own cows and make our own cream cheese we were prepared to do that, but fortunately things have settled down,” he said.

While the pandemic scrubbed parades and large parties from last year’s Mardi Gras calendar, king cake sales remained strong, with many people doubling down on the tradition as one remaining emblem of the celebration. This year, with all indications pointing to resumed parades, Scelfo said the resolve to get back to normal is palpable when people visit the bakery.

“King cake is an essential part of Mardi Gras. We’ve got to make it happen one way or another,” he said.