WHILE desserts served in restaurants seem more dazzling, there’s nothing as priceless as those whose recipes have been passed down through generations. These time-honored, heirloom recipes have taken pride of place on every Sunday supper, Christmas dinner and on other special occasions.
In February 2000, Froggy, the eldest among the Yap-Escario siblings, opened Froggy’s Snack Bar in Bantayan out of her love for food, knack for baking and desire to preserve and share family recipes, which are all handwritten in a notebook that used to be the family matriarch Mama Ida’s.
The pastry shop, which started with just a single stand mixer and a house oven, was well-received by Bantayanons and tourists alike. Hence the need for a bigger space, additional staff and heavy-duty kitchen tools. The family also had to rename the store to Kermit’s Café, relating to the Muppet character Kermit the Frog.
Kermit’s offers a selection of rice meals, pasta dishes, burgers, burritos, breads, cakes, pies and coffee and non-coffee beverages and coolers as it tries to make its menu as diverse as the crowd that visits. Its most buzzworthy draw though, is its Brazo de Mercedes. The pillowy soft meringue is rolled into a log, with a decadent custard center, and a super fine texture that just melts in your mouth.
“We observed that a number of our local customers and vacationers order our products and bring them to Cebu. Some even buy as many as 15 boxes. So, to save them the hassle of transporting these fragile cakes all the way to the city, we came up with the idea of extending Kermit’s kitchen to Cebu City,” said Camille Lopez, one of the owners.
With this comes a new item on Kermit’s menu, the Frozen Brazo de Mercedes. The four-layer confection consists of Kermit’s signature meringue and custard filling, plus a special cream and graham crust. It comes in an ube variant, too. “I want to believe that taste sets us apart from the rest. We are stringent when it comes to the quality of our products. We go the extra mile to achieve the perfect taste,” Lopez said.
To order, message Kermit Cebu on Facebook.