Keyk Ni Jec

A BAKERY and pastry-and-coffee shop owner in Leon, Iloilo, hopes to make it big in the industry — just like any other entrepreneur who takes the everyday challenge of juggling income and expenses.

But perhaps what makes Gemma Cantara–Cabalfin different is her “ardent wish”: “to be able to contribute to the growth of our local tourism.”

“I hope [our products] will be known because [they are] from Leon,” she muses.

Her bakery was named after her eldest son, 16-year-old Zeb Jose Joshua, while her pastry-and-coffee shop she named after her second son, 15-year-old Jec Jose Miguel. Her youngest child, also a boy, is 11-year-old Val Jose Gabriel. She is married to Joel Eusebio Cabalfin.

What you give is what you get, they say.

And from what the customers taste in Cabalfin’s products, it is evident that she and her colleagues put their heart into the creation of their goods, may it be the breads, coffee, cakes, and even burgers and pasta.

“The food we serve in our pastry-and-coffee shop is unique,” she says. “We use only the best ingredients because I want my fellow Leonians to taste only the best.”

Cabalfin looks to expand her business, too. “We are also developing pasalubong treats. We hope to incorporate the mangoes of Leon in them,” she says. (Francis Lloyd Sauza/Panay News Philippines)