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HONG
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CANADA
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EUROPE
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USA
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INDONESIA
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SINGAPORE
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THAILAND
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Philippines |
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When three cooks get
together, a recipe for
success is made
sunny skies to local resorts |
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Source: Inquirer |
Author: None |
Date: 1999-06-18 |
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THEIR friends had warned them to
reconsider their plans to put up a new
business, even in the more
recessionAresilient food sector. It was in the middle of 1998 and
the economic meltdown has covered the region, drastically
affecting the spending habits of the public.
But partners Thaddeus Gayanelo, Richie Soberano and Jane
Paredes went on with their plan to put up a coffee bar cum
pastry shop in a newly opened section of a Makati mall. Friends
had advised them to just concentrate on the cozy, but
successful coffee shop they had opened in Bagtikan, also in
Makati.
''We knew there will always be a market
for our new venture. After all, Makati
remains the country's financial district,''
says Paredes. They threw out the
advice, albeit wellAmeaning, of friends,
and set up Quatro Caffe Inc., which
now runs the Cafe Cornucopia at the
Glorietta of the Ayala Center.
Today, Cafe Cornucopia is the first
store that greets the customers who go
to the ''Food Choices'' section in
Glorietta 4.
Gayanelo says they were elated when
they got this spot because he knew that
in the specialty food business, location is a prime factor for
success.
There is inevitably always a bit of a flurry in the counter,
because the place has become very popular for its coffee, cakes
and pastries.
The business partners believe the rich aroma of freshly ground
and brewed coffee (they use allAArabica beans grown locally)
always lures the customers, but once they go to the counter,
they are inevitably enthralled by the array of pastries available.
Paredes says that the shop is known for its homemade and
traditional cakes ''with a twist'' and the soAcalled ''trendy cakes''
like the flourless chocolate cake which they have been selling
long before it became a fad in hotels and other coffee shops.
Their other hot sellers include Chocolate Decadence, the
SevenAlayer Sans Rival and jumbo muffins in different flavors
like double choco, apple, cheese carrot and blueberry.
''We design the pastries to go well with coffee. People will
always try our pastries because they're something new, but they
will also stick to what's most familiar to them like anything laced
with chocolate or the traditional carrot cake,'' Paredes says.
Gayanelo says the shop comes up with new products every
quarter and retain the best-sellers.
Last week, they introduced the TshokolateAEh! cake, based on
an old recipe using native chocolate. They were unsure how the
public would respond, but it sold well.
They also serve ''steamers'' or steamed milk seasoned with
amaretto or hazelnut. Paredes says it is a perfect nightcap and
very popular with those who are watching the last show at the
Glorietta 4 cinema.
Recently, the three created the ''Creative Healthy Indulgences''
line for the diet conscious. These include zucchini and cheddar
muffins, reducedAfat chocolate cake, angel cake with reduced
fat lemon sauce, whole wheat cinnamon roll, and noAegg
oatmeal cookies.
Cafe Cornucopia also has ''institutional clients'' or other food
outlets to which they supply ''custom made'' products. It also
supplies the corporate giveaways for a number of AyalaAbased
firms.
Like most successful food businesses, Cafe Cornucopia started
out as a hobby of their owners.
Paredes, coming from a family of superb cooks (a sister works as
a food scientist for Pepsi in New York) learned to cook from
primary school.
Gayanelo started out cooking in the family home in Bacolod.
The two met as students at the Culinary Institute of America
(CIA) in Hyde Park, New York.
Soberano, a cousin of Gayanelo, studied economics at the
Ateneo University, but chose to work in a hotel for his
internship. He had planned to study at the CIA, but put this
plan on hold when he became decided to become one of the
partners of Cafe Cornucopia.
They have a fourth partner, Denise Montinola, a flight attendant
based in Hong Kong, who scours markets in Asia, the US and
Europe for their supplies, and most important, to report on the
emerging food trends abroad.
Cafe Cornucopia actually began in 1996 when Gayanelo and
Paredes put up ''Just on the Market,'' which specialized in
organic foods and ''artisan bread'' made from organic products.
While this venture had regular clients, including a chain of
stores specializing in health products, the two thought that
there were vast potentials in expanding their product line. They
invited Soberano and Montinola to form Caffe Quatro.
Paredes says that they are ''handsAon managers'' but divide the
work equally. Gayanelo is in charge of expanding their
institutional clients while Soberano takes charge of store
operations. The three PhilippineAbased partners have set up
''shiftings'' particularly for the 10 p.m. closing of the Glorietta
branch.
The Cafe Cornucopia in Bagtikan has a different ambience. The
menu includes meals, mainly pastaAbased. Gayanelo says the
shop is like the set of the television series ''Friends.'' They have
seen relationships of their regular customers prosper, unravel
and mend anew while dining in the coffee shop. The customers
also appreciate the corner of newspapers and magazines that
Montinola brings from her trips abroad.
The partners are pragmatic enough to realize that they always
need to update their product line because the specialty food
sector is very competitive. Soberano says they are fortunate
that one of their partners travels regularly abroad where they
source some of their ingredients and cook books.
Recently, the partners announced to friends they are setting up
new branches in Southern Metro Manila. No murmurs of
disapproval were heard this time.
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