To dessert for

I have the best cheesecakes," says Bebeth Lorenzo, baker and one of the owners of Miss Desserts in Serendra. "If you don’t believe me, you have to try them."

That was how our cheesy afternoon started in this cozy café called Miss Desserts. With that kind of a challenge there was no way sub-editor Joseph Cortes, photographer Fernan Nebres, and I were going to back down. Bring on the desserts.

Miss Desserts opened in December 2006, after Bebeth was given an offer by the Ayala group that she could not refuse. "The executives of Ayala would go to Polu Kai, another resto in the area, just to eat dessert," she says with pride. "They asked where the desserts came from, and that was how they found me."

Bebeth has been in the business for 15 years now, baking from her house and selling her goodies. She admits that she has been part of the underground economy since 1992. Her best sellers are her cheesecakes, which she supplies to some of the bigger restos in Metro Manila.

When Ayala found Bebeth, they asked her to prepare for a food tasting and two hours after the tasting, she was given an offer. Bebeth says that she had to think over the offer for some time before she finally gave her nod. And Miss Desserts was born.

"Why the name?" we ask. "There was nothing else left when I registered with DTI," she says. "I had wanted ‘Just Desserts,’ but it was already taken. Miss Desserts is cute and besides, it does not limit what I can offer in the future."

At present, she is busy with all the work that goes into getting to know how a bakeshop business runs. There are her two daughters to take care of, and she also stays healthy by playing badminton three times a week.

Also, her life remains hectic since she still bakes everything herself at home. She says that Ayala has yet to supply her shop with an LPG connection — that is why everything is made at home. But Bebeth is excitedly awaiting the day when some of the goods can be made in the store, so that the aroma of baked goods can fill the store and attract more dessert lovers to the area.

"I make the chocolate soufflé here," she adds, "but this means that the soufflé is only available when I am here. Actually, people call and ask if I will be here, and they even make reservations for it."

It was in high school that Bebeth began cooking. At the time, she experimented with cookies and brownies.

Bebeth finished a home economics program at UP, a sign that working in the kitchen was something that she enjoyed. So, when she finally decided to start baking at home, the first dessert she experimented with and perfected was a cheesecake.

"I am known for my cheesecake," shares Bebeth. "I started my business in 1992."

It was also at about the same time that she started doing TV ads. She says that at the time she wanted to be able to make good use of the talent fee she got from the ads. So she used the money to fund her baking business.

And last year, when Ayala made the offer to Bebeth for Miss Desserts, the timing was perfect. "I think that after delivering to so many restaurants and cafés, it was really the next step for me. And when Ayala offered me a space in here in Serendra, who was I to refuse?" she quips. "I was really planning to look for a place, but when Ayala offered me a spot, I went for it."

Miss Desserts is a quaint café. Bebeth says that she fixed it up so that it would look like the cafés she loves in Europe. But when we asked her about the ice cream colors, she laughed and said that she had them feng shui-ed, and the colors are lucky for her.

When Bebeth was deciding what was to go on the Miss Desserts menu, she chose all the best-sellers from her home business. That meant seven kinds of cheesecakes, and they are what the store is best known for at present. But she is quick to add that everything that she offers is good — no, make that great.

Bebeth is happy with the decision to open in Serendra because of the support that Ayala puts behind them. She says that Ayala makes sure that all of the cafés and bakeshops have something different to offer, so that everyone who visits Serendra and Bonifacio High Street has something new to discover.

"It all works out really well," says Bebeth. "Dessert lovers of all ages will find something yummy to eat here at Serendra. And that is good for all the shops here."

There is still more to come.

"The Ayala Group has encouraged me to add light meals, like pasta, salad and soup and sandwiches to our menu," says Bebeth, "something that I am already looking into."

Perfect. She adds that she is ready for the challenge, but will make sure that the light meals that she offers will be of the healthy variety. That way, there will be room for the sweet indulgence — in other words, meals to go with the desserts.

"I guess I will have to do more ads," Bebeth laughs. "I want to make sure that here at Miss Desserts, I give my customers as many reasons as there are desserts on the menu to come back."

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Miss Desserts is at Unit 1C04 Serendra Piazza, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Metro Manila. For orders and inquiries, call 856-1429 amd 0922-8976970 or e-mail missdesserts@gmail.com.