Even when she was still nine years old, baking brownies with some help from a kids’ cook book, Emerald L. Uy, already knew what she wanted to become in the future—a chef and entrepreneur. Today, she is the chef and owner of the yuyu, Café and Dessert Shop, along the National Highway in Tagum City.
This cheerful 23-year old lady had realized her dream of becoming a chef by making the right decisions for herself since she was a high school student at the St. Mary’s College in Tagum City.
That’s why right after high school graduation, she left for New York, USA to study culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America for a year and a half. “Hilig na gyud ko og luto bisan tong bata pa ko (I was already fond of cooking when I was still a kid),” she said.
Her parents, Rey Uy, who is the mayor of Tagum City, and Alma Lim Uy, have been very supportive of her ambition, and so do her siblings, Ciara Isabelle Uy, and De Carlo “Oyo” Uy, a councilor in their hometown.
After returning from the US in November of 2006, Emerald helped campaign for her father and brother in the local elections in 2007. “During the campaign period, I used to cook for all the volunteers and staff, so I had a lot of food tasters. And that helped me improve my recipes,” she said.
After the elections, Emerald taught culinary arts at St. Mary’s College for a semester while holding on to her dream of someday becoming involved in the food industry when the right time came. Pursuing her love for baking, she left for Singapore to specialize in pastries.
She studied at the Sunrice Global Chef Academy in that tiny island city state for a year and a half and earned a diploma in pastry baking in March 2010. Emerald had decided to learn pastry baking there because of its close affinity to the Philippine’s climate, as well as the availability of ingredients, and the Singaporean’s palate.
yuyu
Before coming home from Singapore, Emerald, with her elder sister Ciara, had decided to open up a coffee and pastry shop in Tagum City. “While I was in Singapore, I already started planning our menu,” Emerald said.
After all the meticulous preparations—Emerald is not the type to rush things—the sisters launched their quaint café on July 8, 2010, and named it yuyu, the family name spelled backwards.
With its come-on tagline—“Yum yum for your tum tum”—they made yuyu come out youthful and inviting.
Since then, Emerald has never stopped creating new recipes, bringing new tastes for the people of Tagum. “Because our market wants to have everything in one place, my sister and I decided to serve meals, pasta, pizza, salad, sandwiches, and desserts,” she said.
In the beginning, they only thought of serving coffee for those who would look for it, but then they realized that many of their patrons kept coming back to yuyu for its coffee.
Emerald said they control their prices, as much as possible making them affordable for most customers. “Our coffee, pastries, and even sandwiches do not cost more than one hundred pesos,” she added.
Customizing her recipes is what Emerald likes most about being the owner of the café. “Whatever we offer, we make sure ganahan gyud mi (we ourselves enjoy it). And, we always come up with new things,” she said.
Emerald designed her cakes for individual servings, instead of baking whole cakes. Not only does it give a unique identity to her shop, she said, “it gives a little more excitement, especially to those who buy my cakes for gifts, which can be made in assorted forms.”
But even then, she also accepts orders for whole cakes. In fact, last Christmas and New Year’s Eve were her busiest holidays ever. Some of their clients came from Davao City, while others bought pasalubong for their friends as far away as Cebu and Manila.
Serving the best for their customers’ delight, they change menus every now and then with the help of some suggestions from friends and patrons.
Being in the business the past six months, Emerald cheerfully admits that it is doing really fine at its good location. Growing up in a business-minded family, her entrepreneurial skill was developed because her parents made it a point to involve her and her siblings in operating their businesses.
“We know how difficult it is to earn money because we grew up in a business atmosphere. We learned to value the fruits of our hard work,” she said.
“Some people may think I’m still young and only having fun,” she said. “But, this is what I love to do, and I will be doing it for the rest of my life.”
Emerald said her independence has been an advantage in making her decide for herself. “You have to know yourself first before you realize what you really want, and what you have to do with your life. And, once you get what you want, stick with it and never stop learning,” she said.
She finds it fulfilling every time she receives compliments from customers who admire the fact that what she sells are products of her creativity and hard work. Meanwhile, this imaginative chef focuses on concocting more delicious recipes for yuyu and making sure to sustain her successful business while doing what she loves best—baking. [Lorie Ann A. Cascaro]
