There are pieces about restaurants and bakeries, and then there are pieces about what a bakery can mean to a country. Carley Rojas Ávila’s feature in Forbes, published on September 29, 2025, is firmly the second kind.
The article traces how Nía grew out of a decision that felt almost impractical at the time: build a world-class bakery in Cartagena, a Caribbean city where lamination is brutally hard, and let it be a stage for Colombian ingredients that most Colombians have never tasted.
“Currently, our seasonal pastry is a tart featuring cacao custard, which is a by-product of cacao.”
— Pierre Layolle, cofounder
Forbes highlights the collaboration that shaped the identity of the place: Talia Richard-Carvajal, who arrived from Copenhagen’s Hart Bageri, working alongside Pierre Layolle to bring uncommon fruit from regions historically affected by conflict onto the pastry counter. Mambe, a powder derived from coca leaf, is one of the ingredients Rojas Ávila describes as deeply earthy. Many Colombians only know it by name.
This is what the article calls a culinary bounty. For us, it is the daily work: sourcing fruits few markets carry, translating them into pastries that respect the ingredient, and putting them in front of the customer with intention.
Come by the Historic Center. We will show you what we mean.
www.forbes.com/sites/carleyrojasavila/2025/09/29/the-hands-behind-a-renowned-bakery-awaken-pride-in-colombias-culinary-bounty/
