Behind the Scenes with my Official Favorite Food Writer

Remember my post about 12 Baskets last week and the short story about Fred's egg tarts? Well here's the continuation. This is a story about writing a story - the behind the scenes with my official favorite food writer. :) 


It all began when I decided to make my first fondant cake for RJ's birthday in Fred's kitchen in 12 Baskets. I wrote a three part entry on that cake: part 1, part 2 and part 3. Anyway, since I kept failing at separating the egg whites from the egg yolks, we finished up a whole tray of eggs when the recipe only asked for 6 eggs. Oops. Fred then decided to make a batch of egg tarts to make use of leftover eggs. 

Who knew that I would actually end up liking the impromptu egg tarts that he made that day. These egg tarts are not yet part of the bakeshop's selection of goodies. They are still in the process of being perfected in Fred's kitchen so I was one of the first people to taste it. They were warm, yellow with that fresh from the oven aroma - beautiful :)

The following day, as I was going through my usual blog reading list, I saw Lori's post on dessertcomesfirst.com, "The Search for the Elusive Egg Tart (A Plea)"

Screen shot of dessertcomesfirst.com: The Search for the Elusive Egg Tart (A Plea) 

In this post, Lori was running a fever the day she started craving for egg tarts. Even though egg tarts are so basic, she later discovered how hard it actually is to find egg tarts. Her search brought her to President Teahouse in Binondo, but unluckily missed out on the restaurant's last egg tarts. She then ended her article by asking her readers where she can get some egg tarts. 


I felt it was "destiny" (whuut? haha) that I had just tasted Fred's experimental egg tarts a day before reading Lori's plea, so I decided to add a comment and mention 12 Baskets' egg tarts. I was so thrilled later on to find out that Lori replied to my comment! 

Screenshot of the comments Section from dessertcomesfirst.com

I was so ecstatic that I told Fred right away through Facebook! I'm such a fan girl. Haha. :)

Screenshot of Fred's wall on Facebook

Fred panicked a bit but he was also excited. He was just worried that Lori might visit her when he was not in the store. Having watched Fred grow from a quiet single baker in a hidden kitchen in Makati to a happy busy bakeshop owner in San Juan, I knew he could handle it. Go Fred!


A few days after, I posted my write up about 12 Baskets Bakeshop (which is, by the way, the most read post, thanks guys) in my blog and informed Lori right away. 

Comments section in dessertcomesfirst.com

It felt so great that the writer behind dessertcomesfirst.com replied to my comments and she read my blog! Yes, I get so thrilled when bloggers write back.


Here's a short excerpt from my 12 Baskets post to help you remember: 

Lori is slowly becoming my favorite food blogger so I really wanted her to taste these great egg tarts for herself. I hope she visits the bakeshop soon! :)

Who knew she would actually visit the bakeshop soon. :D


Last Friday, I shared my blog with my boss over lunch. I told him how my friends were teasing at how fun my life is (as it appears in my blog): just baking, always eating and writing. Haha who writes about work anyway? Okay maybe some people do. He told me not to mind them and encouraged me to keep on writing. Awww. :)


After that lunch, I went over to my dad's office and waited for him to finish work. I decided to open his laptop and check my email, then I saw Lori's email! OMG, Lori emailed me! I called up Fred right away to share this euphoric moment. After sharing my fan girl screams with some of my love ones, I "calmly" replied to Lori's email. It's now official, Lori Baltazar of dessertcomesfirst.com is my favorite food writer/food blogger. :)


Finally Wednesday came. I was still down with flu from Sunday, so I overdosed (don't imitate me!) myself with Biogesic, Neozep and vitamin C to look well when Lori arrived. I arrived a few minutes before Fred and he was sweating so badly. Nerves perharps? He had no choice but to change from his button down top to a simple shirt. As scheduled, Lori arrived in 12 Baskets Bakeshop and I tried to suppress the fan girl in me. 


So how was it like to meet my official favorite food writer? 

Smarla with Lori Baltazar of dessertcomesfirst.com

I felt so blessed to meet her in person. You know me, I love writers and I always wish I could meet them in person. It was such a big honor to finally meet her. Lori is the first food writer and blogger that I've met since I started this blog. Wow, that was a pretty huge first. :D 


It was such a delight to have her in 12 Baskets Bakeshop because she was a bottle full of sunshine. She was very professional at the same time, very supportive. She started off by interviewing Fred inside the kitchen. 

With just the three of us there with her trusty tape recorder, she started asking questions to unearth how Fred's passion for baking began and how his love for breads developed. 

It was a very candid and free flowing interview, very much like your daily "kwentuhan" session. The sequence and the timing of her questions were spot on and the relaxed atmosphere helped Fred loosen up. She responded generously to his stories and they had fun sharing baker stories. (Lori also bakes her own bread. :) )


She's very encouraging as well. She told Fred not to limit himself to the common breads and pastries that home bakers tend to gravitate to (cheesecake, chocolate cake). Instead, he should push for artisan breads and tarts and educate his market. Awww, I think Fred needed that boost and I'm sure it meant a lot coming from Lori. 

Overall, Fred did very well. I don't think Lori would even know that Fred was panicking a few minutes prior to the interview. Haha.


Lori then took pictures of the store and bought bags and bags of bread. Woah, so much bread! She wanted to take better pictures of the bread so she brought home a wide variety of them: Shibata bread, Tasty loaf, Spanish bread, Ensaymada and Focaccia bread. We haven't received feedback on the breads yet, but I'm hoping it's positive. I guess we'll just have to wait for her post. :)


Lori got to taste some of Fred's breads (she likes this name for the store, haha, Fred's Breads) on the spot too. She liked the Spanish bread and commented that it did indeed have a generous filling inside. She also responded positively to the Ensaymada and brought home another piece for her daughter. 


How about those egg tarts? 

1st Bite

2nd Bite

Lori really liked the color and the consistency of the egg tart. She wanted it to be a little more eggy though, so she gave a few comments to further improve it. Not yet perfect but getting there. :) It's not everyday you get free food consultation from a recognized food writer so we really appreciated it. Being a baker herself, she gave really clear suggestions and Fred was more than excited to try them. We'll just have to send Lori a fresh batch of perfect egg tarts. :) 


Of course, I couldn't resist asking for a few photos with Lori, which she happily agreed to. Thanks Lori! Sorry if it felt weird having your photos taken while you were in the works of writing your own story. Thank you for being so wonderful :)


Lori suggested carrying Fred's breads in the picture to make it more fun, check them out:

Lori of dessertcomesfirst.com and Fred of 12 Baskets

Abby and Fred

We also wanted a picture of the three of us so Abby put on her photographer mode. Thanks Abby!:

Do we have a future in bread modeling? Haha

The three of us sporting the bread model look

We had an awesome time with Lori and I just felt so blessed with everything that happened. Who knew that a couple of comments could lead to this? Never underestimate the power of words. Thank you so much Lori and Fred for making this happen. :)


I'll let you guys know once Lori's story on 12 Baskets Bakeshop is out. I'm looking forward to it. :)


Btw, Fred made a batch of revised egg tarts yesterday, he said it came out really well. :)




~It's the little sweet notes everyday that matter. :)~