Satisfying cravings

Annie Guerrero and her daughter Badjie Guerrero-Trinidad both craved good food. Little did they know that Cravings, the restaurant-bakeshop they put up 20 years ago, would become a sweet success.

Indeed, what would one expect from a business that started in one’s humble kitchen? Badjie recalls, “As a home-based business, we began selling to our own neighbors. Word of mouth spread and before we knew it, people would be asking what was in our freezer. My mom would take their orders.”

The bustling kitchen would soon overtake their house as orders piled up. Badjie says with a laugh, “Our family had no more privacy as people would be coming in and out of the house. It really affected us during Christmas when we couldn’t even eat on our own table because of the mounds of orders we had!”

Their little business hit the roof when they received an order for 8,000 packed meals. With a lot of planning, they successfully delivered the goods.

From there, Annie and Badjie decided to open a free-standing store outside their village to make their offerings more accessible. What became the Katipunan main branch began as a take-out counter. Customers came in droves ordering the prepared meals, mocha praline cake, and blueberry cheesecake, among others.

The response was so overwhelming and students would be eating in their cars after buying food from Cravings. “We thought, why not set up tables and chairs for them? We just responded to their needs.”

Annie states, “All this gave us the confidence to pursue this enterprise further, although our family’s been in the food business ever since.” She was referring to her mother, who ran a cooking school. Annie, who finished Food and Nutrition at the University of the Philippines, gained newfound appreciation for Filipino dishes through her mother.

As she reminisces, Badjie pulls out a sheet of paper from her folder. It turns out to be Cravings’ very first menu. She chuckles as she lays it flat on the table, “We had no theme at all. It was just a simple list of what we had on offer. We would improve on this with a placemat menu.”

Because Cravings then kept on upgrading and expanding its Katipunan store, they made up for the inconvenience to customers by offering a Construction Special. As the parking space grew, so did the number of customers.

The flagship store later introduced a slew of features. Cravings was the first to install an oven in the selling area, so customers could see how the baking process was done. Even selling breads at a discount became popular at Cravings. Not bad, considering that the duo only wanted to become a favored food shop.

Favorites here start with the eat-all-you-can appetizers and salads, which come with every order of a main course. “Our salads are going to be healthier and more organic. We have our own farm for this purpose,” Annie informs us.

Lunch and dinner classics include roast beef with mushroom sauce, lengua con champignon, chicken cordon bleu, and baked fish. From the pasta and sandwich line, the Cravings Club Special, Ultimate Cheeseburger, puttanesca, and spaghetti bolognese are stuff foodie memories are made of.

Cravings had catered at the weddings of couples who once dated here. They even requested for the same tables and chairs at their reception.

“One thing we learned in this business is endurance, and being able to cope with changes and demands. Everybody says we are comfort food and I agree,” Badjie says, adding that Cravings expertly bridges the gap between their classic dishes and new offerings.

“Our customers have become sophisticated in their choices,” Annie explains. “The advent of food channels and the Internet has educated diners. It has allowed us to evolve.”

Part of Cravings’ evolution was the creation of its spin-off C2, short for Classic Cuisine of the Philippines, which serves authentic and innovative Filipino dishes. Cravings also introduced The Coffee Beanery, a coffeeshop with three branches. The latter will soon open a new branch at the Summit Ridge in Tagaytay City.

Annie’s passion for all things culinary led to the creation of the Center for Culinary Arts, Manila (CCA), the first culinary institute dedicated to professional chefs’ training. She became the first Certified Culinary Professional in the Philippines, awarded by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, US. Among her advocacies is the promotion of zero waste management and recycling.

One such product from her venture is a bag fashioned out of Cravings placemats and made by National Mental Hospital patients. The placemat bags were given away to those who bought copies of Cravings’ latest book Pinch of Love, Cupful of Passion, launched last Oct. 17. The book features recipes from Cravings chefs, CCA students, customers, and Annie herself, indeed a perfect memento of Cravings’ sweet success.

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For more information, visit www.cravingsgroup.com.