INDIANAPOLIS — Picture a wedding cake. Now picture a wedding cake made entirely out of meat. That’s what you’ll find at the fourth annual Meat Cake Invitational this weekend.
The culinary competition was cooked up by the folks of the Harder Brunch podcast.
“I'm a pastry chef so I do a lot of wedding cakes,” Bridget Persell said. “I think Dyke [Michaels] and Zach [Rohn] at one point were like, ‘Well, if we could make it out of meat, we could definitely make a better cake than you,’ And I thought... let's do it.”
One of the three cakes featured in the inaugural competition was a surf-and-turf inspired crab cake that was the size of a hubcap.
This year’s competition will feature 10 local chefs making 10 meaty meat cakes.
“It's a way to show your craft but be silly about it ,” Persell said.
Dyke Michaels said the invitational is set up like a high school science fair.
“You get to walk around, meet the chefs, ask questions, [and] take pictures of the cakes,” Michaels said. “After the judges do their judging, everyone gets a sample of each of the cakes.”
And while a sample might sound small, Michaels said everyone typically leaves with a full stomach.
“I've never had someone walk away and say they wish they'd had some more food,” Michaels said.
But if the protein-packed punch of 10 meat cake samples isn’t enough to suit your stomach, you can top off your taste buds at this year’s host, Half Liter BBQ. Oh, and don’t forget a drink.
“They’ll have some specialty cocktails that they are making with meat,” Michaels said. “There's a pepperoni washed cocktail, there's a brisket washed cocktail.”
“We always have so much fun with it,” Persell said. “Indianapolis’ food industry is just riddled with so much talent.”
The Harder Brunch Meat Cake Invitational is Sunday February 25 from 11-2 p.m., at Half Liter BBQ at 5301 Winthrop Avenue in Indianapolis. Tickets can be purchased here.
Click here for a taste of the Harder Brunch podcast.
