What was supposed to be a pastime has now become a business for popular Dabawenyo designer Erwin Lee Tan.
For the love of baking, Erwin opened bakery shop Adela’s by Erwin Lee Tan.
Tan’s profession is mainly in designing clothes but his passion for pastry prompted him to diversify and in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, he opened his little bakery known as “Adela’s”. Named after his mom, Adela’s is located inside K Davao (formerly Kasuotan).
In this time of the pandemic, it takes enormous hard work and dedication to get a bakeshop off the ground and Tan just did it because it is something he loves and it is where he finds the energy.
Because of his determination and dedication, Tan made Adela’s Davao City’s newest address for Japanese cheesecake, super soft and fluffy pilipit, overload fruitcake, Durian brazo de mercedes, very soft ensaymada overloaded with cheese, siopao, durian muffin, cheese roll, overload Durian super moist cake, Durian baked cheesecake, creamy Durian tart, Durian super moist butter loaf, Durian super moist muffins, and Durian butter cookies.
So what made him decide to transform a passion into a rewarding career?
“Five years ago nag- aral ako sa Japan ng baking dahil balak kong magtayo dito ng authentic Japanese bakeshop. Last year, nag start ang lockdown at nag-start din ang akong anxiety. One of my friends told me to be productive and one day nag-bake lang ako ng ensaymada and I gave one to a friend. I let him sampled my ensaymada. Wala akong balak magbenta, pero may gustong bumili ng dozens kasi nasarapan at araw araw ng bumibili sa akin. Laki ng tulong niya sa akin para ma promote ang bread ko. Kasi yung mga nabigyan niya bumibili na sa akin. Noon ang oven ko pangbahay lang ngayon malaki na ang oven ko. One customer bought a dozen at pinatikim ang kanyang mga nieghbors sa Ladislawa na eventually naging clients ko din, so bumili ako ng malaking oven,” Tan said in an interview.
His love for Japanese bread prompted Tan to share this with the Dabawenyos through Adela’s by offering Japanese brioche Hokkaido milky dinner rolls, Japanese Hokkaido milky keto Wheat loaf, Japanese Hokkaido milky loaf, Japanese cinnamon roll, Japanese Kani Mayo sandwich, and Japanese coffee roti.
“Masarap kasi ang bread ng Japanese. May ibang ingredients na binibili ko sa Japan yung ibang ingredients ko dito na binili,” he said.
They say that turning a hobby into a successful business can be easier than expected if you have the correct business plan and investors and Tan just did that.
“Akala ko nuon laro-laro lang ang aking baking ngayon ginawa ko na siyang full-time due to the demand,” he said.
Tan is among those designers in Davao City whose hearts are broken as Covid-19 pandemic puts a strain on wedding fever. It is common knowledge that the wedding industry was also one of the industries badly affected by the pandemic.
What was the usual traditional wedding, with its overflowing buffets and hundreds of guests has transformed into a small and socially distanced affair.
“Ang business ngayon ay matira ang matibay. Meron pa ding wedding at debut pero hindi na ganon ka extravagant. Ang venue maliit na lang. Minimalist na wedding gown na lang kumpara dati na tag 10 kilos ang gown kasi train pa lang ilang meters na. Lumiit na rin ang bilang ng entourage kasi dati 12, may maid of honor, senior maid of honor, flowers girls. Ngayon isang maid of honor and isang brides maid na lang and 20 guests na lang ang allowed. Ang ninang at ninong noon tag 10 pairs, ngayon isa-isa na lang. Talagang malaki ang naging effect ng pandemic sa fashion industry,” he said.
Tan, however, sees a beacon of hope that everything will slowly return to normal as the majority of Dabawenyos have had the anti-Covid jab.
