Saturday Sweets: Tatiana Vernot of Bakehouse Brasserie
This week’s Saturday Sweets led us to Bakehouse Brasserie in SoFi because I needed to have a Nutella Croissant (and maybe some frosé) - I’m not the only one, right?! Bakehouse is Miami Beach’s new hot spot for breakfast and brunch with French brasserie items like Croque Madame, Steak Frites, Crawfish Beignets and more, including some delicious pastries.
While there, I got the chance to hang out with Pastry Chef Tatiana Vernot, who had been in since 4 am re-stocking the pastry case after a busy weekend. Although she has only been working professionally in kitchens for three years, Tatiana turns out all of the most delicious treats in Bakehouse’s pastry display.
Tatiana singlehandedly creates and bakes all of the breakfast pastries and desserts on site and is always trying to create something new. Some of the highlights on the menu include classics like Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, Coconut & Pecan Cake, and Key Lime Pie, or more fun sweets like S’Mores Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel cookie, Fudge Tarts, and a flaky Maple Bacon Cinnamon Roll filled with bacon and topped with cream cheese icing. Whatever Tatiana is making, you can count on it being amazing!
Here’s a bit of our chat with Tatiana:
How did you get your start in pastry?
It was actually somewhat of a mistake. I was always artistic and I wanted to make wedding cakes. My cousin was in school at Culinary Institute of America and I went to visit him and figured I might as well become well rounded. So I enrolled and the internship period came along and I went into a restaurant and I hated it. It was the worst experience. It was a large kitchen in New York but it toughened me up and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I went back to school and did a wedding cake class, and I hated it, too! But soon after, I started falling in love with chocolate and the science of pastry. It’s artwork in its own way and I have a short attention span so being creative in that way is important. I did try to quit pastry again, because I still didn’t want to be in a restaurant, but then Antonio Bachour met me and took me in. I knew I couldn’t give up that opportunity, and have never regretted a minute. Antonio is incredible. After that, God kept opening doors and more doors and now I’m here and I love it.
What inspires your menu the most?
It’s a mixture between my childhood memories and what I would love to eat when I have random cravings. For example, when I was a kid I went to a farm in Colombia when it was cold and we would roast marshmallows, so I try to recreate that with the S’Mores cookie. The Key Lime Pie and Carrot Cake are very traditional and I pay attention to those ingredients. I keep the Key Lime Pie tart, and the Carrot Cake has spices that I try to balance it well with salt. I really love the science behind flavor and how you taste things. I think it’s important to try to achieve that balance between salt and sweet even though it's a dessert. It will make you want to keep going for more. The salt makes you salivate and so does the acid. When you do those things, you get something you’re able to eat and be happy with, rather than something way too sweet that makes you feel guilty after. Lots of people (well, at least me) eat sweets when they are stressed. I just want to make people happy. I try to make my sweets as fun and happy, to make others happy.
What’s your favorite thing on the menu?
Oh, that’s a tough one! That’s so complicated to answer. They are my babies! I like them all for different reasons. OK. The Peanut Butter Fudge Cookie with Pretzel! It’s a heavy cookie because it’s a lot of chocolate, then you add the peanut butter and it’s heaven. Then there’s the crunchiness of the pretzel and it’s well rounded for a cookie. So I love that! And then as far as the pastry and cakes go - the Carrot Cake - it’s a really nice cake. It’s moist and interesting and I’m so proud of it. Then there’s the S’Mores cookie - which is a huge textural balance. You have the pocket of chocolate and the marshmallow that’s chewy mixed with the crunch of the cookie! So I think those are my three favorites… well no, there’s the Fudge Tart now and that’s amazing! The Fudge Tart is fudgy and melty, it tastes like milk chocolate that melts in your melt - you’ll have to try it!!!
What’s your guilty pleasure dessert?
I love Coldstone Creamery Ice Cream! I always order the Birthday Cake Remix. I add cookie dough and brownies and extra sauce and sprinkles. It’s creamy and comforting, so I always go for that. Sometimes if I want chocolate, I go to Whole Foods and just grab something there randomly. OR jelly beans! Sometimes I’m busy and stressed, so jelly beans are a great way to have a little sugar without having too much. You can have all the different flavors and just eat a few or a bunch.
If you haven’t been to Bakehouse yet, then you’re not living your best life. I urge you to make your way there and tell Tatiana I sent you! Their all day brunch menu is delightful, but we all know it’s called Bakehouse for a reason.
808 1st St.
Miami Beach, FL
305 434 8249