Pastry Chef and Owner Lora Vennettilli Gookin
About Us
Gâteau is a bakery, cafe and tea room located in Warrenton VA. All of our cakes, fillings and frostings are skillfully made from scratch using unbleached and unbromated flour, no shortening, aluminum free leaveners and organic ingredients. Our cafe menu items are also made from scratch, including our breads.
Reservations are required for High Tea, available Wednesdays to Sundays. Call 540.347.9188 with your preferred date and time, number of guests, your tea menu selection and we take a credit card number to confirm your reservation. Click to view the tea menu selections.
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We create memorable, elegant and delicious cakes to celebrate weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. Each cake is made with love and exquisite attention to detail.
Lora is a third generation Entrepreneur
Civil Engineer and award winning Pastry Chef. She began creating cakes in 2002 as a hobby while working as a Civil Engineer in Las Vegas. She enjoyed the creative aspect of decorating cakes, but even more so it was important to her that she bake with the finest ingredients for her family and friends. In 2008 she attended the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, AZ and was taught by some of the top pastry chefs in the industry. Her baking skills and knowledge expanded exponentially. She decided to take the leap and share her passion for quality desserts with the public by launching Gâteau in Arizona that same year. Gâteau has been serving Northern and Central Virginia and DC since 2011. In 2017 she expanded the business, opening a shop in Old Town Warrenton, to include a café and tea room in addition to the cake business.
Her architectural and engineering background is invaluable to her work, as is her strong understanding of the science of baking.
My Cake Philosophy
I believe that cake is so much more than a mixture of flour, butter, eggs and sugar. It is the marriage of high quality ingredients, the science of baking, thoughtful design and artistic execution. Cake is love.
Cake is a much anticipated guest at a party, second only to the guest(s) of honor. It is an extension of a celebration, it is one of the gifts. Cake completes the party. It is the WOW moment when mouths open and gasps are heard. Then I know our job is well done.
The Bakery Cafe & Tea Room in Old Town Warrenton