Ann's Fab Kitchen: Wonders inside a kitchen | Department of Trade and Industry Philippines

in photo: Ms. Ana, owner of ANN’S FAB KITCHEN.

It was in the year 2016 when Ana, a wife and a mom, thought of sharing her well-loved recipes with her friends by posting them on social media. Ana found that baking and creating beautiful wedding cakes for her clients was her calling and she started making wedding cakes one after another. Soon after, words had spread about her craft and different clients, especially couples, sought after her creations with positive feedback.

Ana’s creation specializes in crafting sugar flowers, wedding cakes, customized cakes, French macarons, and macaron tower including fruit cakes. Also, cooking native kakanins and dishes added to this wide array of sweets. Her creation also focused on providing treats or desserts for people who are health conscious. Most of her products are made with less sugar and no preservatives or additives. As time went by, Ann with her dedicated passion for her creations was pushed to attend various workshops and cake demonstrations including but not limited to buttercream flower piping, gum paste flower making, and basic food safety and food handling seminars. Ana also participated in different learning sessions conducted by the Department of Trade Industry (DTI) Laguna Provincial Office. With all the accomplishments and progress, she decided to formally register her business in January 2018, starting with the business name registration at DTI with the name ANN’S FAB KITCHEN.

Fast forward to year 2019, Ana’s hardships and dedication positively impacted her business creating a positive reputation that led her to craft and create wedding cakes for wedding receptions at luxury hotels, to name few, Raffles Hotels, Sofitel, and different locations located in Makati, Ayala Greenfields, Intramuros, and Tagaytay. Ana was also one of the cakemakers who had always been referred to families or groups with a very high reputation.

In 2020, the pandemic broke and Ana thrived on how she could survive it, but through her perseverance and strong desire, Ana thought of a way to reach her clients and made them feel like they could still celebrate occasions with proper guidance based on the protocols and ordinances provided by the local government. For Ana to be able to cope with financial crisis, she decided to make round fruitcakes and made it possible for her clients to order most safely and efficiently (top mode of transactions made online). The fruitcake idea significantly helped Ana bounce back to business. In December 2020, Ana created and crafted the wedding cake of the son of the mayor of Bay, Laguna. Ana has already baked an estimated more than 2,000 cakes in 6 years. Also in 2020, together with other event professionals based in the province of Laguna, they started an association called LEAP (Laguna Events Association of Professionals). Ana was also an exhibitor at the Online Wedding Expo sponsored by

Themes and Motifs. She adjusted to the new normal embracing it with new ideas and plans because she believed that Filipino business owners are resilient and full of “diskartes”. Ana knew that it was a very tough 3 years of experience, but nothing could bring down her entrepreneurial spirit.

In February 2021, Ana was invited again as an exhibitor at the Weddings at Whitewoods that took place in Tagaytay, Cavite. The achievements Ana gained made her more dedicated in doing her passion and she planned to have a coffee shop or café someday. She also wanted to have a mobile kitchen where she could teach baking and pastry to people with the same passion as hers. Lastly, she wanted to finish her recipe book entitled “Kwentong Ann’s Fab Kitchen” that will feature all the recipes she learned while growing up in Liliw and Nagcarlan (also municipalities in Laguna). As per Ana, every recipe has a story. For her story, it was how Ana and her family love to prepare and eat as a family.

Despite being popular as a cakemaker, Ana never stopped learning. In 2022, Ana was invited by Vencer Vladimir Hurtada, the Negosyo Center Business Counselor of Bay, Laguna, at that time, to join a labelling and packaging training/seminar that was held in DTI-Laguna Provincial Office. After joining the packaging seminar, Ana continued to join and attend training and seminars provided by DTI-Laguna. In the same year, Ana was enrolled and became 1 of the 11 Laguna mentee-graduates of the Kapatid Mentor ME – Money Market Online Program. As a mentee, she shared how the modules of the Kapatid Mentor ME have helped her manage her business and how these modules paved way for her to realize which aspect her business still needs improvement.

In 2023, Ana appeared together with Ms. Ning Madriaga of Trima Couture at the Olitan talk show featuring women entrepreneurs of Los Baños during the 2023 Los Baños career expo.

Ana’s advice for every aspiring MSMEs is to “be passionately involved with your craft because when you love what you’re doing, everything comes out beautifully”. She also added to never forget the people who helped you when you were just starting it small, they should be the same people who should be with you when you become big! Lastly, she shared, “Love your family, they’re your biggest FANS and will always fight for you”.

ANN’S FAB KITCHEN is located at Orchard Row Residences in Barangay Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna. ♦

Date of Release: 17 November 2023

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