There is that moment when you try to understand the way a creative thinks when you realize that his thoughts run at a different frequency. Such was what donned on me as I sat across 21-year old chef, Patrick Co, of The Fat Cow and as of a month ago, his new brainchild Dairy.
Dairy is our answer to the anti-establishment sweets shop. There is nothing cutesy about it – from the industrial feel of the interiors to the names of the cakes that are devoid of the usual dreamy titles up in flowers. The chef-owner himself admits he isn’t particularly fond of pastry as it is steeped in exacting measurement-taking but knows how to bake. But somehow it works and it is easy to respond to his brand of no-nonsense yet masterful spinning of sugar. Since it is always food first with him, Patrick describes his new place as a cake shop that happens to have coffee and not the other way around.
Perhaps the titular moments that turned my attention to the fact that Patrick could bake well were his mille crepe cakes from his days at one of the city’s top hotels and the parmesan cheesecake with the fanciful red sugar topping that he used to serve at The Fat Cow. A month into Dairy and he has already made a lot of changes to their menu, scrapping his dessert verrines (to my chagrin) and regularly changing the cake lineup. He likes to do things almost off the cuff, admitting that he started seriously contemplating what to serve a week before Dairy opened. I could not help but smile when I first caught of a glimpse of his cakes. Davao is basically the land of the fancy fondant and frosting and he basically took this out of Dairy’s equation by serving them “naked.” It would be insulting to tell him that he is giving in to the fad of cakes sans frosting by serving them this way. He simply doesn’t know how.
Our talk ran across many planes about food and it turned to the fact that a slice of cake at Dairy costs around P190-200. The drinks are all venti-sized, for those versed in coffee culture, and is filled to the brim with the superior-tasting milk from Bukidnon Milk Company. Patrick won’t dwell on creating too many complicated options and hopes that the towering layers of dense cakes and generous portion of the drinks will recalibrate the minds of Davaoenos to think them utterly worthy instead of pricey. Turning to taste, I ask how he decides to build the flavor repertoire at Dairy because it isn’t the usual chocolate-carrot-banana formula of many establishments. “I just imagine what will taste good,” he answers matter-of-factly. And taste quite good, they do, all brimming with that bold and balanced scale in taste that he plays with often. Easy standouts are the Ube Parmesan Cake, Chocolate Cheesecake, any of the macarons and the Iced Red Velvet Latte.
This is a young chef who demands that the cooks under him perform with the guidance of just taste memory and not any standardised recipes. Unlike other eateries that separate the leadership of its hot kitchen and pastry, Patrick is currently helming both and it speaks volumes about the level of inspiration that drives him day in and day out. Seeing him cross back and forth between establishments is a common sight, often barking orders to his staff to plate a slice of cake (often it its testing stage) for one of his regular patrons at The Fat Cow or telling his staff at Dairy that he needs their space to accommodate more diners. He is currently lord of his thriving food universe, gaining in confidence and rewriting norms and expectations. He began strong with The Fat Cow and is currently filling the pages of Dairy, one cake smash at a time.
Dairy is located at Door 7 Don Pepito Building, V. Mapa Street corner Mabini Extension, Davao City. For inquiries, call (082) 2245906.
