Vera Bakery in Bucerias, Nayarit, is a delight for the pastry lover. Owner and baker Christian Calvento is my market neighbor at the new La Cruz Sunday Market and I wish he were my next-door-neighbor at my home in La Cruz. But if he were, I’d weigh 200 pounds by now. His pastries, cakes, and other tasty treats are so tempting, I’m gaining weight just looking at these photos.
Christian, an Argentinian by birth, came to Bucerias by way of pastry jobs with the Marriott Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires, Disney cruise lines, and then the Four Seasons in Puenta Mita, where he worked as a assistant pastry chef for four years, learning everything he could from the head pastry chef. Bucerias was his next stop, when he and his partner, Jorge, opened Vera Bakery, named after his mother, from whom he first learned to cook as a youngster.
The menu changes from day to day, but regular items include cinnamon rolls, chocolate chunk muffins, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, brownies, quiches and breads. Elodia speaks perfect English and will wait on you with a smile.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much are these next four worth? All four, plus the one at the top, were taken by Christian. Uh, Christian, do you want to start taking the photos for my blog?
One of the sweeter legacies of the European occupation of Mexico is pastries. Spanish nuns and French bakers gave Mexico delightful desserts for those who tener un paladar delicado (have a sweet tooth). Culinary influence went in both directions, as chocolate from the New World traveled back to Europe, adding a new dimension to Old World cakes and pastries.
If you pop in for a pastry, be sure to try the coffee, roasted by award-winning Bacio, a Mexican coffee company. Christian feels that this special blend of beans from the states of Chiapas, Vera Cruz and Guerrero, is the best he can offer.
Christian does special orders for birthdays, weddings, and parties. For the holidays, he will be baking Bûche de Noël, the yule log cake, a Christmas favorite in France and of our many French-Canadian visitors. Savory yule logs with fillings such as roquefort cheese with ham are also planned, as are baguettes and small, appetizer-sized empanadas.
Vera Bakery is located in Bucerias, Nayarit, Lazaro Cardenas # 101, in the same block as Mark’s. Phone: (329) 298-1962. Open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday 8 am- 8 pm, Sunday 8:30 am – 3 pm. WiFi available.
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Wow, beautiful! Can’t wait to try some of these treats!
I hope you do. And stay for a great cup of coffee.
Did I mention Christian, the Argentinian, is a doll!
:) He is a sweet person with plenty of sweet treats.
Oh my goodness! In my opinion, those are top notch pastries.
Much better than I can find here in the mountains.
I’m dying for beautiful pastries and desserts!
BTW, I’m snowed in.
Yes, they are so incredible. Our part of Mexico — Puerto Vallarta and its environs — is relatively cosmopolitan with products to match the clientele.
Enjoy your white Christmas. It has been so long since I have experienced snow, I can hardly remember it.
Wow! Looks delicious….. I’ve only been to Bucerias once a long time ago, we rented a Jeep and drove there from Puerto Vallarta to spend the day at the beach. I remember it being very nice!
Bucerias has very nice beaches and restaurants, a great place to spend a vacation.