Newly opened artisanal French bakery Casa Bake, located at 7165 SW 47th St., has gone viral overnight after New Times' Best Influencer 2024, Mr. Eats 305, shared a Reel on his Instagram raving about the bakery. On June 19, just a few hours after he shared his review of himself enjoying its chocolate almond croissant dusted in powdered sugar, people immediately began flocking to the bakery.
"It was crazy," owner and French pastry chef Benoît Pagliardini tells New Times. "We had people making a line outside the bakery at 7 a.m. before we even opened and we were sold out by 9 a.m. So, we had to close the bakery this week and focus on online orders. We have received so many, and we are so grateful for it."
Due to the sudden fanfare, the bakery had to temporarily close its in-store orders and has only been accepting online orders (although it will go back to its usual store hours on Saturday, June 29). Somehow, despite the in-store closure, the bakery still sells out every single day. But how is this happening? It's because of the acclaimed French pastry chefs behind the bakery, including French pastry chef Pagliardini, who was the former executive pastry chef of Atelier Monnier in Miami.
From a young age, Pagliardini would bake and cook with his family on the weekends in France and learned how to bake alongside his father. The French pastry chef then moved to Miami to work in a bakery until the COVID-19 pandemic struck the city, and he began teaching at-home pastry classes. After breaking into the wholesale business, he met artisan bread baker Monica Sarmiento-Stadlin, owner of Madame Lecker Artisan Bakery, who invited Chef Pagliardini to teach her how to make croissants.
Fast forward to 2024, and the two bakers got back in touch and decided to become business partners, and the rest is history.
"Since the beginning, we wanted to focus on the products," says Chef Pagliardini. "It was important for us to have fair prices and very high-quality products. The bakery was already doing wholesale, but as Casa Bake, we opened the retail for the community around here."
Once you spot the bakery's black-and-white mural art among a sea of bleak warehouse fronts, you'll know you're at the right place.
Casa Bake photo
"We have a limited production because everything is made from scratch," explains Pagliardini. "There is fermentation involved, so it's long, and it's a process that you have to respect. I really insist on 'artisanal' because we make everything from scratch and by hand. We wake up every day at 3 a.m. to bake everything so it's fresh every day, and, honestly, we are very proud of that."
Anyone who wants to witness the croissant-making process up close can book a cooking class at Casa Bake, which includes the classic croissant for $100 per person on Saturdays, and French macaron and cookies for $50 per person on Wednesdays. While July classes are already sold out, keep an eye on the website for future classes or private event bookings.
Each class includes small bites and drinks while attendees are guided through the full recipe for each pastry, "We just try to have a good time while they learn something new, and they can take all their pastries home. We also welcome kids accompanied by the parents," he adds.
For anyone who wants to try these artisanal French pastries, the chef recommends ordering ahead (or arriving very early).
Casa Bake. 7165 SW 47th St., Ste. 316, Miami; casa-bake.com. Opens for pick-up from Tuesday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. or sold out.
