Our Story
Anthony Nigro
Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Watsonville, California, Anthony fell in love with the fast paced creative environment of working in a kitchen as an apprentice at Seascape Resort when he was just a teenager. His lifelong love affair with pastry began during the 7pm-3am shift assisting the pastry chef, leading him to pursue the Baking and Pastry Arts program at the Culinary Institute of America, while working his way up from Assistant Pastry Chef to Executive Pastry Chef at Shadowbrook restaurant in Capitola. After graduating from the CIA, Anthony finally made the move to join his twin brother in LA County where his passion for pastry has grown ever since. From making delicious cakes at Jill’s Cake Creations to spearheading entire dessert menus for his local Salt Creek Grille, he honed his craft until he became the Executive Pastry Chef at UCLA. This is where he met Thomas Velasquez who would become his baking partner for the next decade.
Anthony Nigro Pastry Chef / Owner
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Thomas Velasquez
Thomas’ first experience with baking started when he was a kid in Pueblo, Colorado, helping his mom out when she would bake at home. He began his career in baking in Denver for King Soopers Market. While he loved baking for the market, what really caught his attention, igniting his "fire," was when Food Network aired "Chocolate with Jacques Torres," as well as numerous pastry competitions. As he watched these shows, Thomas said to himself "that's what I want to learn to do." Moving to LA to get married gave him the opportunity to attend Le Cordon Bleu, Pasadena then work as Pastry Chef for Portos Bakery. After a few years as a Lead Baker for the Station Casinos in Las Vegas, Thomas returned to Los Angeles as Pastry Sous Chef at UCLA, working with Anthony for the first of many times.
Thomas Velasquez Pastry Chef / Owner
Together
As much as Anthony and Thomas loved the challenge and excitement of working in such a huge kitchen as UCLA, their hearts remained with the local bakery. By taking the Executive and Assistant Pastry Chef positions at Real Food Daily, a plant-based brand that emphasized organic and local ingredients, they were able to garner their classically trained educations and years of experience and apply them to a whole new world of non-GMO, allergen conscious, healthier-yet-delicious baked goods. Their next steps together led to Rockenwagner Bakery and eventually the bakery for Farmshop, making them a seamless working team which, between the two of them, can bake anything. Still, Anthony and Thomas yearned to set up their own neighborhood bakery for LA County where they could make bread and pastries with incredible ingredients and flavor. Baked Bar LA is the culmination of this decade-long partnership with all their hard work, skill, creativity, and dreaming.