Pastry Chef Laurie Sargent’s career has taken her across the country to prestigious restaurants from Vermont to Colorado, but after settling in Columbus, she felt it was time to create her own concept and started Purple Sage Bakery. Purple Sage focuses on producing wholesale pastries and breads for restaurants and catering companies throughout Columbus, while also accepting orders from individuals.
“It felt right,” Chef Sargent says of her decision to start her own business. “I’ve been here 13 years. For the first time I had the support and encouragement of everyone I worked with.”
Chef Sargent attended the New England Culinary Institute, and after graduating at the top of her class, took a position as an instructor. She left the institute and developed her skills as a chef in Vermont before heading to Colorado to work with a group of artisan bakers. She then became a corporate pastry chef providing desserts for a group of restaurants before moving to Columbus to be closer to family. After 13 years as the pastry chef at the New Albany Country Club, it was time to start Purple Sage.
The Columbus food culture only reinforced her decision.
“I like that local and fresh is here now and that it’s important to a lot of people.” She uses local ingredients whenever possible, believing it’s a chef’s responsibility to do so.
Purple Sage focuses on being fresh and flexible. Breads and pastries are never frozen. Her creativity and flexibility provide restaurants with special sizes and flavors tailored to their concepts. Her current list of available breads include challah, foccacia, hard and soft rolls, brioche and sticky buns. Cakes and pastries come in almost every variety imaginable, from individual, seasonal pastries, to a la carte creations for restaurants to customized wedding cakes.
You can currently dine on her delectables at places like Due Amici, Challah!, Sage and Ella, with more restaurants coming soon.
To learn more about Purple Sage, visit purplesagebakery.com.
