“We should open a bakery.” That was Tyler O’Laskey speaking to his wife, Aubrey. That was an excellent idea.
Tyler and Aubrey O’Laskey are the founders and owners of Perenn Bakery in Reno. Their flagship location is at Rancharrah, but they also have a shop in Reno’s Midtown district and plans to open another in South Lake Tahoe. Perenn Bakery grew out of Butter & Salt, Tyler and Aubrey’s extremely successful Reno-based catering and private-chef business at which they developed and refined their bread baking skills. Clients’ raves about their breads helped them realize that baking was their calling.
Tyler and Aubrey met while students at the Culinary Institute of America north of New York City – an east (Tyler) meets west (Aubrey) romance. Aubrey grew up cooking and the CIA was a natural destination for her. Tyler’s work in restaurants redirected him to the CIA and an internship at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Aubrey’s internship was at The Girl and the Fig.
To create what Tyler and Aubrey have created in Perenn Bakery requires a unique vision and an obsessive drive to fulfill every element of that vision at the highest possible level. The sense you get walking into Perenn Bakery is a bit overwhelming in that everything about the experience is the conscious product of a drive for perfection. The space is perfectly curated and aesthetically pleasing. The pastries and breads on display behind glass are gorgeous — and gorgeously displayed. There are no wrong notes. I suspect this pleasing sense you get is the end result of Aubrey’s keen eye for every detail of look and presentation.
The O’Laskeys set out to bring craft and artisanship to Reno. Taste, texture, and quality in an unparalleled setting. They take great care with the ingredients they use, and have a single-minded focus on sourcing — like flour from independent mills and butter from France. Their meticulous technique in preparing and baking the food they produce is difficult and time-consuming. The beautiful and delicious pastries and breads they produce – croissants, kouign amanns, morning buns – all made in house by hand each day – are exceptional. And, as you would expect in a bakery where everything else is perfect, the terrific staff at Perenn Bakery is unfailingly courteous and accommodating.
This is not a place to pick up food to go. The shop is so beautiful and comfortable, you need to stay there and devour the food you’ve bought in the environment in which is was created, and in which it was meant to be consumed.
