Nelly Santiago

The Art of Baking and Decorating

By Danielle Torry

Step into Paladar Cuban Eatery and you feel it immediately. This is more than a restaurant. It’s the art of food, and for co-owner Nelly Santiago, that art lives in everything sweet and beautiful. It’s a place where people slow down, share stories, and leave a little lighter than they arrived. At the center of that warmth is Nelly, a Cuban baker and storyteller through dessert, whose creations turn tradition and memory into edible joy.

Nelly has called St. Augustine home for 30 years, and her baking life happens here every day. She creates desserts rooted in Cuban tradition and personal memory, then brings them to life with thoughtful decorating and delicate finishing touches. For her, baking isn’t just a skill. It’s a language. It’s a way to express love, culture, and resilience, one layer, swirl, and detail at a time.

“I don’t think I ever chose it,” Nelly says of her path. “It followed me.” From Cuba to Puerto Rico to St. Augustine, baking has been her constant. It stayed with her through every transition and quietly became the thread that held her story together. Over time, she realized it wasn’t simply what she did. It was how she carried her heritage forward and shared it with others. The themes she returns to now are memory, identity, and belonging, inspired by flavors that remind people, and herself, of where they come from.

Her process often begins with a feeling. Sometimes it’s a craving for something familiar. Sometimes it’s a snapshot of the past, like something her mother once made. Nelly shares that her mother lives with Alzheimer’s, and while her mother’s mind may not always be present, the lessons she taught will never fade. In many ways, each dessert becomes an act of remembrance. Nelly preserves tradition, honors family, and keeps love close through the work of her hands. The decorating is part of that devotion, too. It’s careful and intentional, as if each finishing touch is a small way of saying, “I remember.”

The work is demanding. The days are long and the labor is physical. Precision matters, timing matters, and the details require patience. What keeps her going is the moment a guest takes a bite and says, “Sabe como en casa,” meaning, “This tastes like home.” That one phrase captures the purpose behind everything she makes.

Nelly believes Paladar exists because of community. Guests share stories with her daily about grandparents, childhood kitchens, and countries left behind. Those conversations shape what she creates next and remind her why the work matters. To her, “The Creative Gathering” is simple. It’s people sitting together, sharing food, and feeling seen. When we gather around art, especially edible art, we soften, we listen, and we remember how much we share.

Learn more at paladarcubaneatery.com | Instagram @paladarcubaneatery

"Loving Our Town" March 6, 2026