Melbourne Hosts Australia's Inaugural Cake Picnic

Melbourne recently hosted Australia's inaugural Cake Picnic in Kings Domain as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF). The event featured 1,600 cakes presented by attendees and subsequently shared. Alice Bennett, a baker also known as Miss Trixie Drinks Tea, served as an assistant judge at the event.

The Sweet Beginnings of a Global Phenomenon

The Cake Picnic concept was initiated in San Francisco in 2024 by amateur baking enthusiast Elisa Sunga.

The event aims for participants to share baked goods, promoting a communal experience.
This initiative has since toured nine cities globally and is scheduled to visit Sydney.

A Potluck of Epic Proportions

The event operates on a potluck principle, requiring attendees to bring a cake to share in order to gain entry and sample others' contributions. While a "best in show," decorated like a tin of anchovies, and two runners-up were announced, the event is described as a large-scale redistribution of cakes rather than a competition.

Participants, including Polly Stokes and her daughter Milly who traveled over 600km from Canberra, emphasized the fun and relaxed environment.

The event served at least a metric tonne of cake.
According to Sunga, the collective effort involved substantial amounts of ingredients, reflecting the community's dedication.

Friends Sarah Grinzi and Hannah Millicer noted that baking for the Cake Picnic felt like an act of self-care. Millicer's chocolate fudge cake, for example, cost nearly $150 to make, including $28 for butter alone.

A Sweet Success

By the end of the day, founder Elisa Sunga declared the event "absolutely spectacular." The Melbourne event pushed the total number of cakes served across all Cake Picnic events past 10,000. Sunga noted the distinctive potato chip bill of the Australian Women's Weekly's duck cake as a memorable local custom.