What to know
- Louix Louis is offering a 13-layer King’s Cake for $400 and a Macallan-based cocktail for $2,000 during TIFF.
- The King’s Cake takes up to three days to make and uses the country’s highest-quality chocolate.
- The $2,000 cocktail includes rare Macallan M Black whisky, caviar, tableside service, and a take-home gift.
- Both items are designed as luxury experiences, not just food and drink.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is rolling out the red carpet with $400 cake and $2000 cocktail offerings. But what hikes up the price on these movie-inspired items?
Louix Louis, located on the 31st floor of The St. Regis Toronto, is a high-end restaurant and bar in the city.
The luxurious spot might come with gourmet food and drinks, but it’s also accompanied by a hefty price tag, especially during TIFF season.
Two menu items have been going viral for their high cost: the King’s Cake Red Carpet Special for $55 per slice, or $400 for the whole cake, and The Velvet Curtain, a limited-edition TIFF cocktail costing $2000.
But what makes a cake and cocktail cost so much? Yiting Mao, director of marketing for the hotel, restaurant and the spa, breaks down the price.
“Inspired by TIFF, we created a special edition King’s Cake featuring 13 delicate layers. The showstopping cake takes our chefs up to three days to craft, [and] uses the highest quality of chocolate in the country,” Mao told Now Toronto.
The cake is red velvet, flavoured with red-coloured vanilla buttercream and garnished with popcorn.
Toronto content creator @925justin_ set out to see whether the hefty price was worth it and bought the cake to taste.
@925justin_ Had to splurge on some sort of TIFF Exclusive food item so we had to go Louix Louis King Cake #toronto #tiff ♬ original sound – Justin
“Here we are paying a crazy price for a slice of cake,” he said in the video.
But after trying just one bite, he wrote in the video that this was “10s all around.”
What about the $2000 cocktail?
Mao says it’s driven by the type of alcohol in the drink.
“The Macallan M Black [is] an exceptionally rare limited-edition whisky with an approximate retail value of $15,000 per bottle,” she said.
Beyond the contents of the drink, Mao says ordering this cocktail becomes an experience in itself, with elevated presentation, bespoke tableside service, a caviar-and-blini pairing, and a theatrical smoking ritual.
Additionally, those who order the cocktail will get an exclusive take-home gift.
