The Only Way to Make Cake Picnic More Viral? Add Flowers. | Eater San Diego

"Held over the weekend on April 12–13, this first-ever San Diego cake potluck in a ranunculus field drew more than a combined 310 attendees and featured a ticketed ($65) sold-out format with a portion of proceeds benefiting Los Angeles fire relief organizations. Founder Elisa Sunga said, “Cakes and flowers. It’s such an organic, natural thing,” and launched the potluck after a viral meet-up in San Francisco; the event has since gone on tour to cities like New York and San Francisco, with London next. Doors opened by 9 a.m.; attendees received name tags for socializing, posed against backdrops of pink, yellow, and orange ranunculi in a Cotton Incorporated photo area outfitted with Bohemian chairs and (100 percent) cotton tablecloths, and played Cotton trivia to win embroidered merch while bakers set up labeled tables with quirky cake names like “Cakechella” and “Tasting San Diego.” Local pastry chef Arely Chavez of Michi Michi contributed a green-and-yellow airbrushed strawberry jam citrus olive oil cake with sorrel buttercream, and said, “I feel like a cake just brings joy.” Out-of-towners included Heather LeBlanc, who flew from Connecticut with two cakes and said her favorite part is meeting “like-minded people that enjoy cake and hanging out and just talking.” San Diego native Christina Acosta returned with a buttercream pound cake flavored with vanilla, hibiscus, and mezcal and said, “It is so therapeutic, it smells nice, and it brings out a warm vibe.” With almost 200 cakes on offer and only five minutes on the clock per group, guests rushed through rounds to collect slices in logo-stamped pizza boxes and picnic on the lawn while live music played; the spread included a Severance-themed almond cream cake dubbed “Devour Gateau,” a carrot cake with orange jelly beans spilling from its center, a tri-level peanut butter and jelly cake, a mango sticky rice cake, a black cocoa cake with matcha buttercream, an Earl Grey bundt cake, and a Liliko’i crunch yellow cake with pineapple preserves and passion fruit. The gathering got messy (crumbs, frosting, and sticky chocolate ganache) and had a playful competitive edge as expert picnickers returned for seconds using Tupperware; sponsors previewed an upcoming collaboration between Cotton Incorporated and Abbode, attendees collected free Abbode caps, and Sunga has partnered with Chronicle Books to publish a cookbook about hosting similar cake picnics, due next spring." - Roxana Becerril