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The most sought-after maker of Clara’s Goat’s Milk Barquillos

A lot of people are stuck in the daily grind of employment because that had been instilled to most of the middle class. Study hard and get a good job, we were told. But after her early forced retirement from the defunct company Nivico following the People Power Revolution, Cecilia Plotena didn’t want to end up jobless and without a source of income. 

Married and with three kids, Cecilia turned to making fresh breads because of her interest in baking. After all, her mother Clara influenced her so much. With P3000 in 1987 as start-up capital and used drums heated with firewood as her improvised oven, Cecilia made different kinds of breads from two sacks of flour daily. 

But it seems that Cecilia and fresh breads were a mismatch as a business. Though she made good breads, she said that the profit margin was not that big and the returns as well as the collectibles were unbearable. She thought of a way to maximize her profit with the work that her family puts in. So after two years, she diverted her efforts in making specialty products.


Cecilia also said that she is fortunate to have found a baker who was good at making different baked products so they were able to produce barquillos, banadas, and the like. Instead of peddling, they also started supplying their goods on consignment in groceries and supermarkets. That resulted in an overwhelming increase in profits because pasalubong products do not require a lot of flour to make, have a longer shelf life so they can be sold in big stores, and they can be pricier because they have more premium.

Eventually, Cecilia joined the Association of Negros Producers. She is thankful to the association because not only was she able to display her products at the showroom and get more exposure and sales, she is motivated to innovate because of the Bulawan Awards. She said that although she didn’t win an award, she is still fortunate because one of the products that she entered, which was the Goat’s Milk Barquillos, is now her signature best-selling product. It is sought-after product that is being sold in premier establishments like Virgie’s Pasalubong, Pendy’s. andRowenas’s in Tagaytay.


Producer/Member - Cecilia Plotena (5th from left)
One of the reasons behind Clara’s Food Products is Cecilia’s willingness to innovate. She was also the first one to come up with the flavoured barquillos. But while it was a hit and was also emulated, she stopped production because she didn’t feel comfortable about adding food colors to her products. She wanted to make them as natural as possible.

At present, Clara’s Food Products is enjoying stable business. She does not really have plans for expansion, as she is already happy with her achievements and she is not getting younger. Her son Chris Noel is now helping her out with logistics.  Cecilia is now happy and content as her goals have already been achieved.








31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"
September 14-16, 2016, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati










FELICIA'S PASTRY SHOP












31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"
September 14-16, 2016, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati











Here is one very good example of how a hobby became a booming business.  Virgie Chua started baking for friends and family and soon her culinary talent became more evident when those who have tasted her goods would ask if she could sell them some.  And she did to the delight of her eager customers that just grew and grew in number.   In 1974, she finally put up a store to fill the request of customers to have immediate access to her delicious pastries and cakes the most popular of which are the pastillas de manga or mango tarts, and sans rival, respectively.

The store of Virgie’s Homemade Products has prospered through the decades starting from being a small space in the Chuas’ rented house.   The wooden rented house had long been bought by the hardworking renters themselves and converted into a homey glass-wrapped store that is now a favorite of visitors to Sugar Country Negros Occidental.  The mango tarts and wedding cakes had long been joined by caramel tarts, cheese tarts and macapuno tarts and other products that make up the 37 items the kitchen churns out every day.  

A visit to the kitchen will show an orderly, airy, hygienic workplace where quality control is practiced - each piece of food item that leaves the oven undergoes meticulous inspection.  The nimble fingers of the workers mix, knead, weigh, cook, bake, wrap and pack thousands of goodies each day just so we may have our tarts   and eat them, too.    Virgie’s bakers make about 2,600 caramel tarts by hand per day, but they make more of the mango tarts, their number one selling item.  So, just imagine that volume of goodies that assure those with a sweet tooth that happy days are here to stay.  
Virgie’s Homemade Products’ success comes not only from tickling the palates of its adoring fans.  A systematic, even, scientific, approach to handling its business is the key ingredient in going strong after over four decades.  As an Association of Negros Producers member, Virgie attended seminars where she learned the rudiments of pricing, costing, and marketing her products with the help of the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Trade and Industry.  Joining trade fairs also honed her nose to what can bring the most satisfaction to her prospective buyers.  This not only keeps her on her toes where quality is concerned but also encourages her to come up with new products.  
Virgie’s Treasures and Camias Twirls are proud winners of the prestigious Bulawan Award.  Both are geared for the select market niche and make appropriate gifts for even jaded palates.  There seems to be something for everyone.  From the familiar piaya, barquillos, barquiron, polvoron, galletas and napoleones to the crisp, layered and dainty argellanas that can heighten one’s coffee experience, to the diabetic-friendly Cheese Twist that’s sugar-free and made from a delightful combination of parmesan and cayenne pepper.  

Innovation is important in business and Virgie’s Homemade Products gives us more than we ask for.  

VIRGIE'S HOMEMADE PRODUCTS

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31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"
September 14-16, 2016, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati












For almost a century today, El Ideal of Silay City, Negros Occidental has been serving iconic baked products and snack items to locals and tourists. Their place has been declared a national heritage site while their food might as well be considered heritage eats in this part of the country.

For Silaynons, El Ideal is synonymous to a landmark, a heritage site, a restaurant, childhood memories, delicious snacks, and meals…comfort food. They had been there in the exact same spot at 118 Rizal St., Brgy. 3, Silay City for close to a hundred years already, with the façade of the old house as the face of the modern El Ideal.


 El Ideal started with the family’s patriarch, Cesar Locsin, in the 1920s. Even while the First World War was rife, he baked breads for local consumers. The legacy of baking was passed on to his children, with his youngest daughter Alice working on paving the foundations of the El Ideal that we know today.


Alice’s daughter, Ma. Teresa “Tess” Villanueva Sanchez continued her mother’s work and through the years has added new products, redesigned the logo, revamped the place, and spruced up the pasalubong corner with their products as well as other local brands. At present she manages their business with her son Mark Henriko.

Among their original products were specialty cookies like bañadas, kinamunsil, masapodrida, lubid-lubid, biscocho de caña, and biscochoprinsipe. They have added so much more, including piaya, tarts, barquillos, and other cookies, among which is the very popular “Angel Cookies.” But Tess says it’s really hard to say which one among their many products is the bestseller because through the years, people have different memories and lovely experiences of El Ideal’s different products. Clients have different tastes and of course, favorites.

El Ideal with the ANP 
Tess was one of the founding members of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP). She is very happy to have been a part of the association because the group greatly helped a lot in the exposure of the El Ideal brand to people outside of Silay, or even Bacolod for that matter, through the Negros Trade Fairs that were held in Manila for the last 30 years.

Through its various trainings and seminars, Tess said that the ANP has taught them how to maintain the quality of their products, how to market them effectively, and to become more confident in their brand. “We are certainly proud of our products,” she says.

At present, Tess at 62 tells that she really has no plans of expanding anymore. She is quite content with their store and their booth at the Robinsons Place Bacolod (north wing), as well as the orders that keep coming in. But she is also open to any possibility, with her son Mark on the helm.


The opening of the Bacolod-Silay Airport has opened new frontiers for El Ideal. In the early part of the century, El Ideal was a favorite stop of sugar planters who would buy snacks on the way to the farm in the morning and on their way back home in the afternoon. It was a favorite jaunt of locals who wanted home-cooked snacks and refreshments. Now, their clientele has expanded to tourists who want their brand of pasalubong items as well as those who want snacks or meals on the way to the airport. Truly, El Ideal has become a by-word in the province for quality food products and they have already made an institution for themselves.

El Ideal is located at 118 Rizal St., Brgy. 3, Silay City. They are open daily, from 6:30am to 6:30pm.







31st Negros Trade Fair "One Sweet Spot"
September 14-16, 2016, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati












"One Sweet Spot"











30th Negros Trade Fair "Truly Negros"
September 16-20, 2015, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati







--------------------------------------------




OMG! This Video Makes Me Want To Go Home To Negros Island Right Now!



FINEHEIM












30th Negros Trade Fair "Truly Negros"
September 16-20, 2015, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati







--------------------------------------------




OMG! This Video Makes Me Want To Go Home To Negros Island Right Now!



FELICIA'S PASTRY CAFE



Started as a home-based cake shop, Felicia's opened its first store at 6th Street, Bacolod City. It entered the scene at the right time when domestic and foreign visitors first hailed Bacolod City as their premier sweet tooth stop. The cafe includes a sartorial selection of cakes and pastries ranging from chocolate-based cakes to fruit-based pies, with branches at Robinsons Citywalk and 15th Street. But Felicia's doesn't just settle for desserts. Their 6th Street branch boasts of a selection of fine-dining choices that can be enjoyed in their steak room.

Manila can now enjoy a bit of Negrense sweetness too. Felicia's returns for a weeklong fare at Negros Trade Fair, happening this September 16 to 20, 2015 at Glorietta Activity Center, Palm Drive, Ayala Center, Makati. Bring home a pack of goodies with you as Felicia's brings a packaged choice selection of goodies from pili tart to dark chocolate brownies.


30th Negros Trade Fair "Truly Negros"
September 16-20, 2015, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati







--------------------------------------------




OMG! This Video Makes Me Want To Go Home To Negros Island Right Now!



AGNES CUENCA









30th Negros Trade Fair "Truly Negros"
September 16-20, 2015, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati







--------------------------------------------




OMG! This Video Makes Me Want To Go Home To Negros Island Right Now!



CLARA'S FOODS

Cecilia Plotena didn't see it coming. She was looking for something to be busy on at home when she decided to set up a home-based pasalubong business. Stacking together a PhP 3,000 capital, Cecilia introduced her recipe of Bacolod classic treats - piaya, rosquillos, baniadas and meringue. The business was in named in memory of her mother, Clara Fernandez. Almost 30 years on, her selections now include a different flavor varieties of barquillos like goat's milk, choco, mango, coco, mocha, strawberry, ube and pandan, to fruit tarts.




Her products can now be found in the store shelves of Cebu, Manila, and Tagaytay, even as far as Cagayan and Iligan. A member of the Association of Negros Producers for 18 years now, Clara's Foods will grace the upcoming Negros Trade Fair on September 16 to 20, 2015 at Glorietta Activity Center, Palm Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City.



30th Negros Trade Fair "Truly Negros"
September 16-20, 2015, 
Glorietta Mall, Makati







--------------------------------------------




OMG! This Video Makes Me Want To Go Home To Negros Island Right Now!



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