Tico's story is indeed one that is truly inspiring. He grew up in the kitchen, as everyone in his family loved to bake. His mother is known for her desserts, especially polvoron and food for the gods, while his aunt Hazel is behind the renowned Beehive Restaurant. Likewise, his sister had a coffee shop in Gorordo that sold gourmet foods and he helped out with baking desserts. The shop eventually closed since Cebu was not yet ready for gourmet foods at that time, and due to his increasing addiction to drugs (which he candidly shares).
In 1995, to channel his energy elsewhere, Tico started baking at home and had a good set of clientele. However, he had a relapse with his drug addiction so he went back into treatment at a rehabilitation center in Paranaque. He returned to Cebu the following year, and a turning point for him was when his father died in 1997. In 1998, he went into rehabilitation in Cebu by enrolling for a one year course through Pablo Araneta's Family Focus program. He ended up working for Araneta, until he (Araneta) died of cancer. Sooner or later, along with businessman Ruben Tan, he took over the center to rename it Recovery House. The center's programs are aimed at guiding the addict, and their family, about the illness of drug dependency and how it can ruin not just the addict's life but his/her family as well.
He started Tico's Kitchen last Christmas to supplement his family's income by first offering his mother's legendary specialties of polvoron (compact & melts in your mouth, yummy!) and food for the gods (highly recommended!). Eventually, he added lemon vodka cake and banana caramel loaf. His products were quite well received, thus he went full blast into baking (his one page sheet of product offerings eventually became two pages). Tico reveals that his recipes are a combination of his own concoctions, his mother's and his sister's – truly passed down from the generations. He also has his own innovations. One is the dulce de leche bars he offers, which is a variation from the famous sweet jam from Bacolod which he fashioned into bars and cakes. Another is his original chocolate chip cheesecake and chocolate chip peanut butter. He discloses that the cheesecakes and chocolate mallow mousse offered in Don Merto's are his creations. He also reads up on various cookbooks to get resourceful ideas for new products.
Currently, Tico creates his mouth-watering goodies from home in Villa Terrace Subdivision in Mandaue City. He considers baking his passion, a relaxing and fun thing to engage in. Thus, he just has one assistant to help him as he works all day, even at night, to accommodate bulk orders. He has pegged his cut-off date for Christmas orders this year on December 21, in order to give him time to prepare for the holiday rush.
His existing clientele are family, friends, and local companies mainly from word of mouth. This Christmas, he has especially prepared for his clients delectable cheesecakes, traditional fruitcakes, and his piquant lemon vodka cake. His discloses that his prices are a bit on the pricey side since he doesn't use substitutes. A firm believer in not compromising quality, he sources his ingredients (such as Belgian chocolates, Philadelphia cream cheese, artificial sweeteners, and real butter) from Twin Oaks in Manila, or in Cebu from Caro & Marie and the newly opened Kerri's Bakestop. He also purchases the festive yet elegant packaging of his baked goods from Kerri's.
Tico truly considers himself a baking enthusiast, and claims he wants to see people enjoy and what better way than through tasting his baked products. His dream is to have a bakeshop one day, with one corner where clients can have merienda, and another section strictly for pick up orders. Indeed, it would not be difficult to imagine Tico to finally come up with this, with the impressive turnaround he has shown.
Happy Holidays!