Have you ever wondered who’s the creator/designer of those eye-catching, yummy-looking cakes that dominate showbiz occasions (birthdays, weddings, whatever) that get played up on television?
She’s none other than the self-effacing Pinky Fernando who is as sweet as her products which, ironically, she hardly ever tasted at all.
“Kasi I’m diabetic,” admitted Pinky who, one of these days, might come up with sugar-free cakes for diabetics like her. “Actually, pinag-aaralan ko na.”
Pinky was, so to speak, to cakes (and baking) born. Her grandfather, Pablo Fernando, put up Fernando’s Bakery in 1951 in Baliuag, Bulacan. From selling only pandesal, the bakery soon branched out to baking other products, with the cakes becoming its best-seller.
“It was my Lolo Pablo who taught me how to bake,” Pinky told Funfare. “Napansin niyang mahilig akong mag-bake kaya tinuruan niya ako. I was then in first year high school at St. Mary’s College in Bulacan.”
The first cake that Pinky ever designed was for a cousin.
“It had two layers,” recalled Pinky. “Uso ‘yon at that time, ‘yung may stairs on both sides.”
So far, Pinky has designed thousands of cakes (she has lost count) since she did that first one in 2007.
“But I remember that among the first showbiz cakes that I’ve made was a Giant Mock-Up Cake used in Marian Rivera’s movie My Best Friend’s Girlfriend.”
She has also done cakes for Ogie Alcasid’s 40th birthday, given to him by his wife Regine Velasquez and one for the wedding of Cacai Velasquez and Raul Mitra.
“Then,” said Pinky, “I met the Valencianos (Gary and Angeli) through my friend Weng Paz whom I met when I guested in Mobile Kusina hosted by Christine Jacob and Donita Rose. We did a 1,000-person fondue set-up at The NBC Tent for Penthouse The Reunion, followed by eight weekends for Gary’s His Love concert.”
That opened the doors for Pinky to showbiz.
“Orders for delivery to ABS-CBN followed,” related Pinky, “starting with 250-piece birthday cupcake-tower for Jed Madela who met my sister Rose at an event. Jed liked the cake, kaya nag-order kaagad siya. Tita Angeli and Gary, and their Genesis family, really played an important role in popularizing our showbiz cakes.”
The biggest cake she has done was more than 10-feet tall, occupying one whole plywood, that cost about P100,000.
“Around 400 guests shared the cake,” said Pinky who made it for the birthday of an influential lady. “What I did was made more than 2,000 cupcakes arranged in a way that spelled the celebrator’s name.”
And the smallest?
“I can’t remember,” smiled Pinky.
Does Pinky design the cake according to its honoree?
“Yes,” said Pinky, “tinutugma ko sa pagbibigyan. Before I bake the cake, I have to find out kung ano ang personality niya, what her profession is, what’s her favorite sport, hobby, mga ganyang detalye.”
The cake is highlighted by the smiling image of the celebrator.
“Para may identity,” added Pinky.
For Startalk host Lolit Solis, Pinky designed a two-feet cake with Lolit’s headshot side by side with that of a dog. Lolit is a lover of dogs, with more than 35 (and counting) roaming around her house in Fairview, some at the garage, some at the dining area, some at the sala…all over! Ask Lolit to name each of the dogs and she can rattle off the names without missing a beat. If she knew the birthdays of the dogs, I suspect Lolit will ask Pinky to design cakes for them, too.
Pinky has four siblings, a brother and two sisters.
“May kanya-kanya kaming position ng sisters ko. I’m the baker, Rose is the designer and Libay is in-charge of the billing and collection.”
While Pinky has designed, as she counted, “more than a thousand cakes,” the irony is that when she celebrates her own birthday, “kung minsan wala akong cake.”
Asked what gift she’d love to receive on her next birthday, Pinky smiled.
“A birthday cake!”
(For inquiries about Pinky’s cakes, call 0927-6598914 or 0922-2901959.)