No. 15 || Cake It 'Till You Make It
. . . and I guess I made it because The Cakewalk's 1st Anniversary Issue is here! Featuring some cake-eating friends: Andrea Sham, Cake Zine, Phamily First, Rachel Khoo, Elisa of CAKE PICNIC, & more!
Dear Readers & Cake Eaters,
I can’t believe it’s been 1 year since I launched The Cakewalk.
I don’t know if I’m more surprised by my dedication and the fact that I made an edit calendar, stuck to it (for the most part) and cranked out 15 issues + then some this past year, or by the fact that The Cakewalk has a legit community of people who support and actually enjoy this content - like, you guys get it.
Whether you subscribed because I told you to (lolz), someone recommended me to you, you stumbled across me on your own, or you forgot to opt out when subscribing to someone else’s newsletter that recommended me, thank you for being here.
This anniversary issue is a special one for me, but the first of many to come (I hope). To commemorate this issue, I asked several cake-eating and cake-making friends whom I also deeply admire, and who have supported me from the beginning to tell me what cake means to them. I told them it could be anything from a few words to a few sentences. That it could be a memory, a feeling, or anything they want. These friends include Andrea Sham, Phamily First, Rachel Khoo, Cake Zine co-founders Aliza Abarbanel & Tanya Bush, Zoe Messinger of Gelée, Jolene Handy, Elisa Sunga - founder of CAKE PICNIC and saltedrye, and a few other special friends. You can check out what they all had to say below in the Main Course section - the scroll is worth it, I promise. Now, a bit on The Cakewalk’s backstory if you didn’t already know it!
The Cakewalk is a play on words, combining cake with the catwalk. Intersecting two things I love, and apparently know a lot about - food and fashion.
I was in a rut when I started this NL. I was fed up with working in the fashion industry and determined to leave and do my own thing BUT was also afraid of leaving the only industry I’d known. I had been sitting on the idea of my concept store, The Cake Shoppe for almost 5 years at this point and was eager to make it happen already. I figured like any store or brand, it would have a newsletter component and I wanted to make it slightly more fun than your average brand newsletters about new product releases and flash sales, but that it would nevertheless, be a small, minor component of the concept store to come.
I had already been collecting some food content over the years but when push came to shove and I wrote my first issue of The Cakewalk, I didn’t even realize just how much niche food related info I had all ready to go, literally spilling out of me. (If you think these NL’s are long, just know that I *actually* have to edit down a SIGNIFICANT amount because there’s so much more info I have to share for each theme lolz). I’ve always been my authentic self but there are still certain rules you have to play by when working in fashion, let alone the French fashion industry, and having the “right” curation of your life on social media also played a big part of that. It’s exhausting to say the least. But all that changed when I launched this newsletter.
For the first time, I felt like I could be the unpasteurized, whole milk version of me. And I’m into it. And apparently y’all are too. So that’s it, that’s the story. The Cakewalk was and is my ticket to creative freedom and once again, thank you to all the readers and cake eaters that match my freak.
Now let’s dig in!
xo Khuyen
P.S. Stay tuned for Part II coming later this week and I think I gotta cut the audio portion you guys. It takes too much time. I will save the audio versions for The Caketalk Interviews for now, unless enough of you write to me and tell me otherwise!
Weekly Specials Menu
Tuesday, April 15th, 2025
Appetizers
“Awaken Your Senses at the Regent Street Sensorium this April” - You know that starting this issue off with some cake news is mandatory right? Well, for my London-based (or traveling) jelly lovers, this one’s for you! “Architects of Taste” Bompas & Parr aka the Kings of Jelly aka the cult I’d be a part of are behind “this one-of-a-kind, free experience will take you on a multi-sensory journey through Regent Street – where you can trace history through scent, taste architectural interpretations of the iconic street, listen to local icons and explore the vibrant colours of the area.” It’s “a feast for the senses” if you will, and this experience is accessible to you now through April 27th, open Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 8pm. I’ll be catching it on the last weekend so if any of you are Londoners - I’m coming! :)
ICMYI - Laila Gohar x Marimekko let them eat cake at Salone del Mobile aka Milan Design Week. Gohar was backed by an all-star cake team - Sarah Hardy aka Hebe Konditori and Julia Aden aka SÜSS Cake Studio. Besides cake, Marimekko and Laila Gohar came together to bring us “a larger-than-life bed at Teatro Litta, celebrating the softer side of life. The installation introduces a new capsule collection Laila Gohar for Marimekko, with Maija Isola’s iconic stripes.”
Just days after everyone had their fun with April Fool’s announcements, Pizza Hut announced the release of their Pizza Caviar. That’s right, described as “a pepperoni-flavored water and agar agar based caviar-style pearls”. I gotta say, I’m a sucker for product drops like this just as much the visuals that go with them and I gotta say, whoever shot and styled this series, ATE. Now unfortunately, if you had a hankering for some, the dates it was available in NYC (4/10 – 4/12) have come and gone. Better luck next time!
***Sorry if you wanted to know about it sooner! I don’t send out enough issues to always catch events in time but if you want to know things like this before it’s “too late”, follow The Cakewalk’s instagram account - @lecakewalk where I post news like this “hot off the press” lolz.
©Darian DiCianno - Caviar Kaspia Speaking of caviar, Caviar Kaspia joined forces with Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo to present us with a capsule jewelry collection made of black spinel, closely mirroring caviar itself. The collection consists of a spinel lariat, bracelet and ring ranging from $35 to $280 - dare I say it, the jewelry version of caviar is perhaps more affordable than the actual caviar itself. All that’s missing is a baked potato clutch or brooch to complete the collection. If you prefer to wear your riches rather than eat them, you can find the collection HERE.
Something ELSE smells fishy, and it’s the fact that indie legend, Bon Iver teamed up with Fishwife to release a *pause* tinned smoked salmon?!? P.S. it’s already SOLD OUT. You can subscribe HERE in case there’s a restock though. Does it make sense as far as collabs go? Well. . . it doesn’t NOT make sense lolz. What’s next for this space is all I want to know.
Well actually, speaking of collabs, Chipotle teamed up with NBA players, Mikal Bridges & Josh Hart to bring us limited edition “to-go” bags inspired by the brand’s “iconic brown paper takeout bags” complete with built-in napkin holders designed by Nicole Cho. For a chance to win one, you have up until April 16th at 11:59 pm PT to follow the Chipotle IG and tag a friend in the comments of this post. Otherwise, you can visit the website HERE for official sweepstakes info.
It’s funny because each of past 3 collabs mentioned just make total sense. I guess that’s the point of a collab though, no? To either shock people, or please them in bringing two worlds together. Or both. Regardless, these all still tickle me in how “appropriate they are - Linda Fargo/Bergdorf’s WOULD partner with Caviar Kaspia. Bon Iver WOULD make a tinned fish with none other than Fishwife. And NBA players? Yeah, they WOULD collab with Chipotle for a carry-all. Lolz. And I think Chipotle’s on a roll because just before this bag announcement, they released a limited edition “Extra Fork Collection” in honor of National Fork Day on April 8th. The Chipotle-branded box featured 53 of their “signature black forks and two free entrée cards” which sold out for $30 a pop. Apparently, the collection “is a tribute to Chipotle superfans who have long claimed the brand’s black forks make their meals taste better.” I get it, but this just felt unnecessary.
Aaaand just when you think we’re done, here’s one more collab for ya - NYC specific this time. NY’s resident King of Tomato Sauce, and dare I say of collabs as well, PJ Monte and his sauce brand, Monte’s have teamed up with Popchew for an exclusive, limited-time food drop launching this Saturday, April 19th. Where Monte’s excels in tomato sauce (and collabs), Popchew excels in smashburgers and so the two have joined forces to bring us “The Meatball Burger”. The “burger is available exclusively at Popchew’s Union Square location, and features a garlic & herb toasted bun, garlic aioli, a seared and smashed meatball patty, fresh basil, melted mozzarella, and a generous helping of Monte’s signature tomato sauce”. Go have one for me since I’m stuck in gay ole Paris!
We all know the Loewe tea was spilled back in March when JW Anderson’s departure as creative director was announced, but that didn’t stop his last act at the maison to be a curation of teapots for Milano’s Salone del Mobile. As reported by WWD, Loewe showcased “a collection of crafty teapots developed by 25 well-known artists, designers and architects.” “…the items will spotlight different takes on the everyday object, casting an arty and experimental light on its familiar shape.”
“Also specifically created for the Milan event, a special edition of an Earl Grey tea candle that combines black tea and bergamot oil will come in a lusterware terracotta vessel, brush-painted with iridescent pigment enriched with real gold. As for the actual tea, the blend “Fiori e Sapori” created with Postcard Teas and mixing black tea leaves from India, French lemon verbena, Moroccan roses, Croatian chamomile and Italian bergamot oil…” The Loewe x Postcard Teas collab is available for purchase HERE for those interested.
French leather goods brand, Longchamp has released a cookbook featuring “exclusive plant-forward recipes from chefs worldwide” that’s
specially crafted for their Summer 2025 collection. “This cookbook celebrates the vegetable garden, featuring diverse and unique dishes from chefs across the globe.” Download the Longchamp Cookbook HERE.
Main Course
And now it’s time to talk about cake.
Find out what cake means to me, and what it means to some of my cake-loving, trailblazing friends.
“Cake is communication. Cake is compassion. Cake is sex(y). Cake is a moment. There’s always time for cake.”
- says me, Khuyen Do :)
“Hmm, I have a memory of when I was young that’s a bit shameful but funny - we were at my mom’s friend’s house and this friend made cakes. I remember at one point, while they were talking, I went into the kitchen where I saw her cake. . . and I tried it! And after I had a taste, I couldn’t help myself - I kept taking more and more because I thought it tasted so good! Imagine this little girl, on her tippy toes, in the middle of gorging herself on a cake she never asked permission to eat.
Cake for me is basically this memory of eating with a sort of shame and guilt but because it’s so irresistibly good, it’s impossible to fight temptation. A guilty pleasure, haha!”
- Andrea Sham, food artist
“My rock”
- Tanya Bush || writer, baker, and Cake Zine co-founder
—
“Cake is a vessel for all our messy human experiences: joy and nostalgia, hopes and disappointments, fantasy and history. It is both fleeting and forever.”
- Aliza Abarbanel || writer, editor, podcast host & Cake Zine co-founder
“To me, cake is a figurative form of love, in the eye of the creator and the mouth of the beholder. It can be anything you want it to be, and brings people together, over one mound under oath, til death do them part.”
- Zoe Messinger, founder/creative director of Gelée
“Cake isn't just a mouthful of deliciousness. It's a way of connecting, breaking the ice. As someone who has been an immigrant in different countries, I've found it a way of bridging cultural divides. When words fail, a slice of something sweet creates an instant bond, a universal language of hospitality and warmth that transcends borders and backgrounds. Through sharing cake, I've started conversations that would have otherwise been impossible, turning strangers into friends one forkful at a time.”
- Rachel Khoo || cook, author, & broadcaster
“To me, the cake is the big prize in that very serious game of Life. I want a big piece of it for myself and my people. I want it delicious but well balanced. And I always have extra spoons for the good hearted people.”
- Julien Pham || founder of Phamily First
“I turn to cake in times of need and happiness. It reminds me of self-care: from the therapy of using my hands to bake a cake and its elements, the creative expression of decorating it, the joy of sharing it with friends, to the supreme delight of taking that first bite. I think that the answer to most things in like is cake, if we let it and decide to live by that. Choosing cake is choosing joy and that’s an easy decision for me each and every time.”
- Elisa Sunga, founder of CAKE PICNIC and saltedrye ( Elisa | saltedrye )
“If I could only have one more cake for the rest of my life, it would always be a creamy slice of New York style cheesecake. So luscious and satisfying. It reminds me of diners and department store restaurants when I was growing up.”
- Jolene Handy, founder of Time Travel Kitchen
“Cake to me means gathering with people you love. It means celebrating someone or something important, but sometimes it can also mean I'm overwhelmed and need something to make me feel better lol”
- Erica Paredes, cheffe, founder of Reyna in Paris and soon, Mischief!
THANK YOU FRIENDS! Getting your take on cake for The Cakewalk’s 1st Anniversary means the world to me!
Stay tuned for more treats in Part II of the newsletter coming later this week.
My next issue is already cooking but if you’d like to split the calorie intake, please share with friends! Instagram: @lecakewalk
Congrats cake walk!!! Happy bday xx
One year already!!!! 🍒🍰🧁