Portrait of Briana Holt
i. Biography
Briana Holt joined Tandem Coffee and Bakery in Portland, Maine, United States during the opening of the shop, bringing a baker’s steady hand to a place that would become known for warm, deeply considered treats and the kind of everyday comfort that still feels special. The work is built on balance: sweetness against salt, tenderness against texture, and familiar forms made memorable by a subtle, exacting twist.
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The Path
Since 2014, Briana Holt has been the Baker of Tandem Coffee and Bakery. The role has given her room to build a style that stays rooted in classic baking while leaving space for small surprises in flavor and form. The throughline is daily practice: doughs, batters, fillings, and the repetition that turns technique into rhythm.
The Work Today
Maple-Browned Butter Pie, a brown butter and cinnamon filled yeasted bun with orange glaze and spicy ginger molasses, and a buttermilk biscuit with butter and jam show the range clearly. One leans into browned butter, citrus, and spice inside a soft yeasted structure; the other stays in flake, tenderness, and directness. Briana Holt’s baking works best when richness is checked by structure and sweetness is kept in line by salt, acid, or texture.
“I love savory baked goods so much.” That preference gives the work shape. Savory notes run through the sweeter items too, creating a counterweight that keeps the pastry from flattening into simple richness. The result is baking that reads as balanced first, indulgent second.
Signature
Briana's signature dishes include Pineapple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cakes, Savory Kale and Two-Cheese Scones, Maple-Browned Butter Pie, and buttermilk biscuit with butter and jam. Taken together, they point to a baker who can move between nostalgia and edge: pineapple upside-down cake reframed through cornmeal; kale and two cheeses in scone form; the aromatic pull of Maple-Browned Butter Pie; and a biscuit whose appeal comes from clarity rather than complication.
In Their Words “The more that I eat and the more that I see food around in the world, the more things there are that are ping-ponging around in my brain.” “I really love juniper because I always gravitate to piney floral things, and juniper berries are gorgeous.” Those lines point to an unusually alert palate. Briana Holt works from what she notices: flavors with pine, florals, and garden notes, then translates those references into baked goods that can be cut, served, and understood at a glance.
FAQ
Asked of Briana
What recognition has Briana Holt received?
Semifinalist for Outstanding Baker (2020).
The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Briana Holt in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
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