Croissant lovers were spoiled earlier this year when pastry chefs Michael Werrell and Keaton Vasek hosted a months-long pop-up at the Nashville Farmers’ Market. The couple moved to Nashville from New York with the intention of working with Sean Brock, but the pandemic put a pause on Brock’s restaurant openings — so Werrell and Vasek had some time to kill. Under the name Trēt Baking Co. (pronounced like “treat”) they sold their innovative pastry creations several days a week, giving butter-loving Nashvillians easy and immediate access to their impeccable creations — croissants filled with cereal-milk pastry cream, delicate macarons hugging thick and rich malted chocolate ganache and gingerbread kouign amann. These days both men work full time as the pastry directors for Brock’s restaurants, as planned. They make stunning plated desserts for The Continental. Reservations there are booked weeks in advance, the instant they’re posted online, making treating yourself to a Trēt a little harder. Thankfully, the duo also often serves weekend doughnuts at Joyland, should you need a quicker, more accessible fix.
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