Nothing mini about Ava Daza’s home kitchen

At an intimate birthday dinner at one of Manila’s happening restaurants two months ago, Ava Diaz Daza was nowhere to be found at her name-plated seat.

“Ava couldn’t make it at the last minute,” explained her cousin Jessica Diaz Wilson. “She feels super bad but she suddenly got so many [rush] orders for her baguettinis and she had to take care of them.”

While Ava could have passed on this responsibility and leisurely spent the night wining and dining throughout a much-anticipated five-course meal, producing 250 sandwiches with a kitchen staff of two was a tall order, and she wanted to be there to make sure everything went smoothly. This was already an indication of her dedication and hard work.

The youngest daughter of Gloria Diaz started a small food business just last June 17, currently making four-inch mini baguette sandwiches from their residence in Makati. “My friend Carsy [Araneta]’s dad [Global Beer Exchange’s Jim Araneta] posted a photo of the sandwiches one day online and called them baguettinis, I guess because they are mini baguettes,” shares Ava. “I liked the name so I kept it.”

The idea to sell small sandwiches came to her when she went to study Spanish in Madrid in 2011. “When we were living there, we had to improvise our own food, and we always had bread because we lived beside a bakery.” She was inspired by 100 Montaditos, a pintxos place that offers 100 kinds of mini sandwiches catering to students and those on a budget, that sells for €2.50, but only for €1 on Wednesdays.

From four cheese to asian ‘Lechon Kawali’

Today, Baguettini has nine flavors, selling for P90 (regular) and P110 (premium). They come with sauces for pairing. “The sauces were actually not part of my plan in the beginning. I was going to use fresh stuff like arugula, cilantro, etc. But I was scared the goods would perish right away, so my friend helped me come up with my pestos so that I could have them on my sandwiches without them going bad.”

She recommends that the Four-Cheese (cubes of gouda, mozzarella, raclette and gruyere cheese that must be toasted and served hot to get that oozing, melt-in-your-mouth decadence) be paired with her white truffle-infused honey sauce.

The Barbecued Baby Back Rib Flakes is made tangy with the hickory sauce it’s baked in, served atop onion and leek cream cheese. She recommends pairing it with the roasted tomato pesto sauce. The Adobo Flakes is air-fried and sits on top of cream cheese, and is also recommended with the roasted tomato pesto sauce. The Asian Lechon Kawali has air-fried pork belly that is oriental in taste because of the sesame sweet sauce. Served with basil cream cheese, the arugula pesto adds a smooth, slightly sweet flavor. Ava proudly announces that all her pork is air-fried, ensuring no oil is used, and also less fat.

The Chorizo Basil, served with basil cream cheese, is topped with cilantro sauce. The slightly spicy Garlic Gambas is served with basil cream cheese; the Super Sloppy Joe — lean ground beef cooked in a cumin-based tomato sauce on onion and leek cream cheese — is complete comfort food.

Her newest additions are her premium flavors. The Vietnamese Banh Mi — air-fried lean pork topped with pickled carrots, daikon, red onions and cilantro, goes best with the sesame dressing. My personal favorite is the Roasted Vegetarian, which has roasted zucchini, eggplant, red and green bell peppers, stewed tomatoes, caramelized onions and a heap of mozzarella cheese. It’s incredibly flavorful on its own, though also ideal with the basil nut pesto sauce.

Each sandwich can be kept up to a few days in the freezer, but must be thawed and then toasted for five minutes. Ava shares that the baguettinis are popular with those constantly on the go, and office people who pack them for lunch. Even if the sandwiches look small, they are very filling.

In the family

Get your own

Does cooking run in her blood considering her grandmother is Nora Daza, veteran gourmet chef, whom many have hailed as the Philippines’ first culinary ambassador? Her father, Bong Daza, helped manage the family business in Paris.  She also has Appetite magazine editor-in-chief Nina Daza Puyat for her aunt, and restaurateur Sandy Daza as her uncle.

“Cooking is in our blood,” says Ava candidly, “but I love to eat more! All we think about is where we can eat for dinner.”

Currently she is on her sixth year at Ateneo de Manila University, taking up Interdisciplinary Studies, and so she tries to move her classes earlier during the day, and comes home to work on her business with her household staff, averaging 150-200 orders a day.

“What I love most is when a customer orders again,” she shares. “I really get so excited because I know they actually love my product and they aren’t just buying it just because it’s ‘in.’ I was scared it would just be a craze that would fade right away.”

Ava is honest in admitting she doesn’t have the budget for advertising and says she is so lucky that her baguettinis have made waves on social media (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook), crediting her sister Isabelle Daza and cousin Georgina Wilson for helping spread the word. To anyone thinking of starting their own business, she says, “Work hard and don’t let anyone stop you. I thought about doing this while I was interning at the Philippine Stock Exchange last April — that I might as well earn money when everyone else is earning around me. But I was hesitant to start it.” So what gave her the final push?  “When people started trying it and saying it was super-good. And also, my sister was always pressuring me — ‘Ava, you’re already 22, what are you doing with your life?’”

Twenty-two may still be a long way from being in one’s prime, but Ava is an example of how the youth of today are being creative, productive and entrepreneurial, turning something they enjoy into a business even while still working on their college thesis. Ava had no formal culinary or business schooling, just ideas, experience, travel, the Internet, social media, passion, perseverance, and a supportive group of family and friends. When equipped with these ingredients, one can be a recipe for success.

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For orders, call or text (0906) 465-1579. Baguettinis are available for pickup at San Lorenzo Village, Makati (in front of Greenbelt 3, Landmark and Glorietta 1), or delivery within Makati for a fee of P50 or Taguig for P70 (they have a minimum of six pieces for delivery and at least two pieces per flavor).

Baguettinis can also be delivered through http://www.speedregalo.com.ph or call (02) 852-7328 to order through the website.

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You can reach me at http://www.twitter.com/cheryltiu or email inbetweendeadlines@gmail.com .