“It is the hardest certification to get, even harder than kashrus. I am the first baker that they have accepted in eight years. We get our eggs from New York State and our fruit is local. We are the ultimate local bakery.”
As a member of Greenmarket, Las Delicias, which is based out of the Bronx and does not have a formal brick and mortar storefront, sells its handcrafted delicacies at Union Square Market, Columbus Avenue/79th Street and West 97th Street, as well as several other seasonal locations. Brenner’s products are also available at upscale retailers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Teaneck, online at the Challah Connection and Farmigo, an internet farmer’s market that gives community groups access to locally grown and produced foods, as well as on her website LasDeliciasPatisserie.com. Las Delicias’s offerings continue to grow in popularity, but to date Brenner has yet to invest a single penny on advertising, with her tantalizing artisanal creations attracting customers in droves.
Las Delicias has a full line of baked goods that reflect Brenner’s rich heritage, including fruit galettes, savory tarts and lavender cookies, but she is unabashedly proud of her gluten free line which features four different kinds of cookies (triple ginger, oatmeal treasures, chocolate chip magic and chunk of heaven), babka, rugelach and brownies in enticing flavors like peanut butter swirl, triple chocolate, white chocolate macadamia and caramel fleur del sel.
In her blog, Loving A Gluten Free Life, blogger Brandi Moore describes Las Delicias’s cinnamon rugelach as “mind blowing” and Good Eggs NYC gushed about one of the bakery’s French pastries calling them “the best canelés in NYC.”
For Brenner, Las Delicias is more than just a job but an opportunity to turn eating into a pleasurable experience, even for those who adhere to a gluten free diet.
“We have a sense of doing something that goes beyond just business,” Brenner said. “We are allowing people to enjoy food that they haven’t had since they have had to go gluten free. When you cut a tree in half, you see all the rings and that tells you about the tree. To me, how a person prepares food and serves it tells you a lot about them. For me, this has been an absolute journey, drawing on my heritage and having really excellent food. This a truly wonderful experience.”
