Queen of King Cakes

Most people in South Louisiana associate Mardi Gras with street parties, parades and gathering with friends.
When Cisha Ledet thinks of Mardi Gras ... well, she may not have the time to think.
To say that she is a busy woman during the Mardi Gras season is an understatement. She is regarded by most people in Acadia Parish, many in south Louisiana and even some across the country as the premiere Mardi Gras King Cake baker around.
There are many people who depend on her to deliver the thousands of cakes she makes each Mardi Gras season. And she only has a couple months to bake the orders she receives.
However, it wasn’t always this way.
Twenty years ago, after taking over the business from her parents, Ledet was merely baking king cakes as a means of putting a few extra dollars in her pocket.
“I needed to do something where I could work out of the house and also be around my kids,” she said.
During her first year, she made about 250 king cakes, which wasn’t bad for a woman who was just looking to make a little extra dough.
However, Ledet’s king cakes apparently left quite an impression on the people who ate them. Since then, her business hasn’t grown, it has skyrocketed.
Last year alone she sold 10,900 king cakes. On Super Bowl Sunday she sold 700 in five hours.
She learned her craft when her father, Tony Leger, had an idea 30 years ago.
“He had the idea to make a cream-filled king cake,” said Ledet. “So we created the first one in our home and people really seemed to like enjoy them.”
It wasn’t long before Ledet’s king cakes attracted area stores and other cake lovers from different areas of the country.
“The old Wal-Mart, the one that was located behind O’Reilly’s, was the first to start selling them,” she said. “That was before Wal-Mart even sold groceries. However, over time they eventually started making their own.
“Mine are still better though,” she said with a confident smile.
Judging by the response of some of her customers, her confidence is justified.
“The best king cakes around,” said Verline Hanks of Crowley. “My favorite is the Bavarian but you can’t go wrong with any of Cisha’s.”
“Her’s are quite simply the best,” said Bridget Guillot.
Over the years, Ledet began to tinker with the recipes that she learned from her father. And her creativity has yielded positive results.
“Most places fry their king cakes,” said Ledet. “They are good when they’re hot but once they are cold it’s like eating a day-old donut. Mine are soft, not overly sweet, and everywhere you cut into them you are guaranteed to get filling.
“At the moment, I have one store that is selling my king cakes,” she said. “But now I have stores in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans who have made requests.”
She has also gotten the attention of people from around the country. During her interview Wednesday, her phone never stopped beeping.
“Do you mind if I take this,” she politely asked.
It was a woman from Tennessee calling to place an order.
A quick look at her Facebook page is all one needs to do to see how many parts of the country she ships her cakes to. One of her most recent orders was to the mayor of Caldwell, Texas.
“I’m not even sure how he found out about me,” she said.
Another recent order was shipped to Las Vegas to a man who grew up in Crowley and has achieved a bit of fame in his own right.
It was to a man named Windsor Dewey Harmon who grew up across the street from her. Harmon is also known Throne Forrester from the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
“Tell Cisha I want a boudin cake and one stuffed with crawfish etouffee,” said Harmon during an interview last week.
When the message was relayed to Ledet, who is married to well-known Zydeco musician Corey Ledet, she replied, “Tell him they’ve already been shipped.”
Ledet’s operation has obviously outgrown her kitchen in Robert’s Cove. She now has a building in Mire where she keeps her ovens and other equipment. And she has six women who help her each Mardi Gras season.
“Greg Jones’ (Crowley’s mayor) wife, Amber, told me the other day that I have to open a bakery,” she said laughing. “My customers won’t let me stop. I’m still trying to figure out how to work on that large of a scale.
“I’m not doing too bad for girl who started baking in her kitchen at home.”