Park Inn by Radisson Davao taps local baker for artisan bread
DAVAO CITY — Vanessa Pacheco’s romance with artisan breads started in 2000, when she discovered a passion for baking while living in Canada.
She returned home to Davao in 2017 after completing her Artisan Bread Baking, and Baking Arts Certificates from George Brown College the year before.
By 2018, she started her home-based business, Craft Breads and Pastries, taking in orders from a small network of clients who appreciate the not-your-usual type of goods she bakes.
“Although, we have focaccia, brioche, scones, panettone (here in Davao), the ones that we get here look like these breads but they don’t taste authentic. That is why I wanted to introduce these kinds of breads to the Dabawenyos,” Ms. Pacheco said in an interview.
And there is a market now for these specialty — and more expensive — breads, she said, as the taste of locals evolve along with the city’s growing culinary scene.
Park Inn by Radisson Davao has taken notice of her work and tapped her as partner, starting with the hotel’s breakfast buffet’s bread offerings.
The hotel, strategically located at the back of SMX Convention Center, plans to expand its menu with gourmet sandwiches and toasts as well as classics in collaboration with Craft Breads and Pastries.
Ms. Pacheco said she is aiming to supply other dinning places eventually.
“They can make preparations out of these breads to make it more appealing to the Dabawenyos. Pag natikman nila (Once customers taste it), there is a chance they’ll buy the loaves. Hopefully they can entice Dabawenyos to buy the loaves from me,” she said.
The Craft Breads and Pastries line includes cheese rolls, sourdough, focaccia, brioche, and panettone.
The artisan baker’s favorite is sourdough.
“Sourdough is complicated. It’s crackly on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. The flavor is punchy and the texture is silky-chewy… My sourdough breads, from start to finish, takes three days. From feeding the starter to creating the levain (the yeast), to creating and shaping the dough, to fermenting the dough again and then baking… that is why it is special,” she said during a tasting event at the Radisson’s RBG Bar & Grill.
“I hope sourdough will take off. I was very surprised that focaccia over the holidays was our bestseller,” she said.
Orders to Craft Breads and Pastries be placed online through www.craftbreadsandpastries.com or through 0995-985-4744. — Maya M. Padillo
