Laura Bogard

It only took Laura Bogard six months to fall in love with Asheville. She showed up from the West Coast in November of 2002 with little more than a duffle bag and a culinary pedigree. By the time the redbud trees bloomed that April, she had found her home at Well-Bred Bakery & Café.

“Asheville has become such a culinary mecca,” Laura explains. “All these really amazing, talented chefs are here doing incredible things.”

Laura’s pilgrimage proved fruitful and she is now the chef and general manager of Well-Bred Bakery. She helped create many of the bakery’s signature dishes and currently oversees a talented crew of cooks and pastry chefs at the bakery’s two locations. 

Well-Bred has been an institution in the small town of Weaverville for over a dozen years. The bakery recently expanded to a Biltmore Village location, which brings with it a steady stream of visitors eager to bask in the sunshine on Well-Bred’s new patio.

“We’ve always been really envious of beautiful outdoor spaces because we don’t really have that here in our Weaverville location,” she says. “So when we saw that courtyard and the beautiful historic Biltmore setting we thought it would be just perfect for us.”

Both locations boast an array of savory side dishes, classic sandwiches, and sweet pastries designed to appeal to all palates. 

“We really balance out our super decadent pastry side — like our giant éclairs that we’re so well known for,” she says. “I feel like we really balance that out with fresh lemony kale salads and fresh roasted vegetables and healthy soups. So it’s sort of like the healthy side meets the decadent side.”