WHEN it comes to choosing the best cakes and desserts for special occasions such as debut, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries, we always tend to pick the ones that are catchy, delicious and the most attractive.
However, looks doesn't usually equal to taste.
Thus, we need to carefully select the potential cake providers in order to not ruin the special occasions.
Established last February 14, 2018, Chefly Yours, owned by Chef Geni Labadan, is an online baking business that provides convenience along with quality baked goods to customers who lack the time to prepare delicious cakes and desserts for every occasion.
Chefly Yours offers good quality, delicious cakes and pastries that are baked with love, made with full of passion and created using high-quality ingredients.
"Chefly Yours assures nga among cake is lami jud, then we bake it with love and full of passion. Aside pud ana, dili namo gina tipid ang among ingredients because we want our customers to slice our cakes with delicious taste," Chef Geni said.
Though her market is now growing, Chef Geni did not compromise the quality of her products and always make sure that she satisfies her clients and get good feedback from them.
They have seven flavors of cakes, namely: chocolate moist, carrot cake, red velvet, butter cake, ube, mocha, and creamcheese cake.
The price for birthday cakes is around P550 in 6x5 dimensions.
They also offer special mammon, cupcakes, brownies and other treats although these are only available through pre-orders, as the establishment only serves desserts fresh from the oven.
Chefly Yours does not only bake delicious cakes; it also designs services like consultations, wherein it specializes in giving advice and solutions to customers' or students' baking issues. It also helps create a profitable and fun business experience with clients.
Aside from consultation, it also offers an exclusive one-on-one workshop for beginners and professionals who want to learn and enhance their baking skills.
For an enrollment fee of P3,500 -- inclusive of quality ingredients, tools and certificates, beginners and professionals may now learn basic and advanced lessons.
For online classes, enrollment fee is P1,500 only. Classes are done via Skype and Messenger. They are open from Mondays to Saturdays depending on the time availability of students.
Chef Geni said they always make themselves available for their students.
"Instead nga sila ang mag-follow sa among schedule, kami ang ga adjust sa ilang schedule," she said.
Chefly Yours specializes in customized birthday cakes, anniversary cakes, wedding cakes and basically any happy and special occasions.
For inquiries, check the "Chefly Yours" Facebook page or keep in touch with them at (088) 880 6672.
About the chef
Baking pastries and desserts was not her passion before until she learned to love and embrace the world of baking.
From a chemical engineer by profession to being a licensed teacher, Chef Geni is now a professional pastry chef.
After being exposed to two different industries, she realized that she really wanted to pursue baking.
She learned baking when she formally enrolled at the Monster Kitchen Academy (MKA), a famous entrepreneurial baking and culinary school in Cagayan de Oro City. She worked there for over eight years where she excelled and have been recognized as the Baking and Pastry Program head.
She has always been very passionate about bringing mouthwatering meals to the table in every special family gathering until she realized that she needs to enhance her craft. Baking helped her become more inquisitive and creative in developing her talent.
She is one of the pioneering students of Fundamentals in Baking and Pastry Arts in MKA.
Her experience in teaching gave her the chance to mentor various baking competitions. In fact, her team bagged the highest award during the Philippine Culinary Cup (PCC), whose scoring system is the same with that of Kumbira, with all the well-versed chefs in the competition needing to accumulate a certain number of points to bring home the bacon.
She may have tried different career paths but what she's sure of is that she is passionate in making delectable pastries and desserts.
When asked what specialties she can offer, Chef Geni says a chef needs to be very versatile and flexible, as there are customers who would really request and demand for certain kind of pastries and that pastry is more of an experience than just specific delectable.
“As a chef, dili lang dapat ka mag-focus into one specialty. Dapat flexible and versatile ka kay naay customers na mag request og certain na flavor or design, dapat prepared ka and as much as possible ma meet nimo ilang demand," she added.
Apart from baking, Chef Geni's primary goal is to teach and help other aspiring bakers to be the best they can be, as well as build their own business.
"Akong goal really as chef is I want to help and teach aspiring bakers nga maka-make pod sila og ilaha g business. I want to make them expert on their craft," she said.
On one side, Chef Geni accommodates overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and guests who wish to learn and venture into this kind of business.
Chef Geni has been an inspiration for the hundreds of OFWs working abroad, particularly those in Canada, Australia, USA and Qatar, among others.
Because of the knowledge they acquired from her, more Filipinos are earning and becoming successful in their career as bakers.
Chef Geni believes that she's seen now her sense of direction in building up her own legacy. Chef Geni is among the most respected instructors of the Monster Kitchen Academy, and the woman behind every successful pastry chefs across the world.
Meanwhile, she said that in order to succeed, it is important to instill patience in everything that you do and never give up on your goals.
"Para ma abut nato ang success, importanti kaayo nga dapat patient ta sa atong ginabuhat og dili gyud ta mu give up sa atong mga goal," she said.
When asked for her advice to young entrepreneurs who want to venture into this kind of business, she said you have to start small, then enhance your craft, and never be afraid of failure because it is inevitable. Failure is a part of business and you need to get rid of it and accept possibilities, she said.