Ensuring The Philippines will not want for anything sweet or savory – so long as it’s flour-based.
If there is anything Filipinos love to do next to singing and dancing it is arguably – cooking. And with the pandemic forcing many to stay at home with time on their hands and inviting ovens – it isn’t a stretch to see many envisioning their fortunes improve with the scent of freshly baked bread.
Enter the era of the home baker – here to ensure that The Philippines will not want for anything sweet nor savory – just so long as it’s flour-based. In this two-part special Alike interviews seven home chefs out to help their families, as well as communities, survive the metaphorical covid winter with the fire of their rekindled passion, the spark of their creative recipes, and the warmth of their mouth-watering baked treats.
Lexine Mendoza’s Delicious Morsels – Bonne Bouche Ph
Lexine Mendoza got her start baking in high school. During those simple times, Lexine confesses that she and a friend made banana muffins to sell at school, not knowing if they were going to make money or not. “We just simply enjoyed seeing others enjoying what we made.”
Being stuck at home furing the enhanced community quarantine, she rediscovered her love of baking, experimenting on techniques, enhancing her frosting skills…til it was too much. “My family said I baked too much!” She says, “to the point they told me to stop since there were so many different bakes at home that they couldn’t finish.”
And yet the lingering smell fresh dough of the back asking for more. “I was encouraged by my sister-in-law to share my baked goodies and (she) walked me through social media.” As an addendum, she was also advised to “not treat it as a business, it should be something I simply love doing.”
And Bonne Bouche PH was born. “Bawn Boosh” – French for “a gourmet tidbit” or “a delicious morsel” – Lexine’s specialty is the 96-hour cookie – dark chocolate with a deep-browned butter base which her Instagram declares is gooey on the inside with just the right amount of crunch on the outside.
“That warm crispy outside with a chewy centre just takes me to my happy place.” Lexine shares. She also says her method of freezing the dough with the chocolate before baking helps enrich the flavors – a meticulous and tedious process. But if comments on her posts are anything to go by – very much worth the (96-hour) wait…or longer, since Bonne Bouche bakes only every Wednesdays and Saturdays – to ensure quality.
“Our packaging is also 100% compostable and biodegradable!” Lexine, never to skip on the good stuff, quips.
For more information, check out Bonne Bouche PH’s Instagram page.
Katrina Ong’s Choice Breads – Tuesday Bake
“I have always loved food as a child — whether it be eating or making it.” Katrina Ong says. And while she pursued Culinary Arts in college, it was only the lockdown that allowed her to rekindle her love for baking at home. “Personally, I love to eat comfort food made — made with lots of heart.”
In her time at home she discovered the world of bread. Specifically, sourdough – bread made from naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast, rather than baker’s yeast – giving the resulting loaf its hallmark sour flavor.
“My bestseller would be the Sourdough Focaccia,” Katrina shares of her “umami bomb” topped with garlic confit, caramelized onions, parmesan, herbs, and sea salt. “One customer calls it ‘focaccia crack!’” Other (potentially addictive) offerings include: Bombolonis filled with homemade cashew praline custard (a pinoy flavor concept), and Brioche Cinnamon Rolls – a tasteful twist that elevates the average cinnamon roll. These “pillowy soft” treats topped with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting – delighting customers with a melange of flavors one isn’t soon likely to forget.
“My target market are people who simply love good food,” says Katrina, “I believe Julia Child perfectly sums it up with her quote, ‘People who love to eat are always the best people.’ Those are my kind of people.”
To add something both sweet and heart-warming to Tuesday Bake, Katrina mentions that she uses both local and imported ingredients for quality. “But as much as possible, we strive to use local products. There is no better time to support our local industry.”
Another reason to indulge on gourmet food? Knowing it’s good for the local economy.
For more information, check out Tuesday Bake’s Instagram page.
Comfort Food – The Pajama Baker by Juno Rosales
As a kid, Juno would wake on some mornings to bake. But she didn’t do it to eat. Instead, she used it to fulfill her urge to create. “It wasn’t something I did regularly. (Even then) I would rather help cook meals than make dessert.” She recalls.
Perhaps out of boredom, or a subconscious longing for simpler days but like many, the community quarantine has Juno baking in earnest – and posting her work online. Some offered to purchase her creations.
“They tasted my Frozen Dalgona Cake and were instantly smitten,” she shares of her early work,” “they could not describe how it tasted. Instead, they would tell me the cakes just get them in a good mood.” Realizing that the lockdown brought so much uncertainty and uneasiness, Juno was resolute about sharing this calorie-laden comfort.
Donning her Pajama Baker pajamas, this mother of four quickly amassed a clientele within her own home subdivision, spreading through word-of-mouth as “the best frozen cakes in Manila” – a moniker earned in part through her other creations – Frozen Speculoos Cake, and a decaf version of her Dalgona original.
“We call ourselves ‘Pajama Eaters’” says Juno, “food quality is a luxury. We know the importance of indulging in good food.”
Juno believes that food is a simple pleasure – something to look forward to on weekends, or after a long day of work-from-home, or while caring for children (she loves to bake butterscotch brownies with her kids, by the way – but those aren’t currently for sale).
Juno believes food is fulfilling when it gives people that feel-good feeling – something lacking in today’s uncertain times.
“Pajama Eaters are people with huge hearts,” says Juno touchingly, ”They love. Many are so proud of sending my frozen cakes as care-packages to their friends and family.”
Juno has plans to professionalize The Pajama Baker, which involves rousing other Pajama Bakers out of slumber and into the kitchen. She envisions a community innovators who will help continue sharing feel-good food to the rest of the country – a lovely dream, and one well worth waking up to…even in any attire.
For more information, check out The Pajama Baker’s Instagram page.
—alike.com.ph
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