Today we’d like to introduce you to Rose and Adrian Basa.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We are a husband and wife team, high school sweethearts, and a few of the many things that we share is our strong passion for food, our Filipino culture, and family. It’s always been a dream of ours to start a cafe/bakery type business where we share our passion for food, our Filipino culture, and bringing people together.
Rose: I‘ve always loved baking goods with love for my family and friends as a hobby, for our many gatherings. I’ve grown up watching, learning and being greatly inspired by my mom, aunts, and grandmother as they’d cook and bake in the kitchen, and I think this is something that’s been instilled in me since childhood. Preparing food for loved ones definitely gives me a sense of satisfaction and warms my heart.
Adrian: I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for many years, and I love that I can use my experience with our small biz. I’m also obsessed with FOOD! (LOL) I also grew up with a huge family, and feasting on delicious food at our family gatherings definitely inspires me as well.
Rose & Adrian: Every year for about the past six years, we have had a “Christmas cookie bake-off” competition with our friends, where each participant brings their best homemade cookie and judges taste test and vote on their favorite. For the first five years, sadly I (Rose) would never win, often coming so close as runner up.
Finally, after years of heartbreak (lol), that all changed the Christmas of 2018. After tons of research and brainstorming, we decided to do something a little different and chose to bake a Filipino inspired cookie – the Buko Pandan Crinkle. With its unique creamy, coconutty tropical flavor and moist chewy texture, I (Rose) was finally dubbed cookie bake-off champion! We of course shared bragging rights because, married life LOL. (Jokes aside, we are a team and love that we can work together!) Of course the winning moments were posted on our IG, and people began sliding in our DM’s, asking if they could place an order. Through word of mouth, the number of orders grew, and we are so blessed and grateful to say that our little home based bakery biz continues to grow. We have been blessed to be able to cater special events such as weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, and have had amazing opportunities to collaborate with other local small businesses who have allowed us to have pop-up shops, in addition to working our first ever music festival! We could not be more grateful for all the opportunities we have had, and we know that this is just the beginning!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Being a home-based business is quite a challenge, especially with juggling our full-time jobs. Scheduling, time management, and having a work-life balance are a few challenges which come to mind. However at the end of the day, we believe it is all truly worth it. Our passion pulls us and drives us to pushing forward, striving improve and learn every day.
Please tell us about Treat Yo’Self Baked Goods.
We are a home-based business in Glendale, CA specializing in small batch, made from scratch baked goods, many of which are Filipino inspired, and all made with tons of love. Our most popular items are our Ube Macapuno and Buko Pandan crinkles, which are two very popular Filipino dessert flavors, in addition to our Chocolate crinkle.
We are extremely proud of the fact that we are able to share our passion for food and our Filipino culture with the community through our baked goods. We especially love when customers who may not be familiar with Filipino flavors fall in love with our baked goods and are able to learn more about our culture as well. We also love when our fellow Filipino-American customers tell us how much our cookies and flavors remind us of their childhood or of memories back home in the Philippines.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Rose: For me, it’s definitely our large family get togethers. Watching my mom, aunts, and grandmother spend quality time in the kitchen, cooking up a feast for our large Filipino family — I have two sisters, 15 cousins, tons of aunts and uncles — and that’s just on my mom’s side! I just loved watching them cook up our favorites such as pancit, lumpia, kare kare, and bake desserts such as pecan tarts, ensaymadas and more. And of course, feasting on all this goodness with my sisters and cousins was just the cherry on top.
Adrian: I also come from a huge family and I fondly remember being with all my cousins, aunts, and uncles around the holidays, just eating and enjoying each other’s company. This was before any of us had wives, husbands, and children. Just being kids together, goofing off and creating memories I’ll never forget. I also fondly remember my aunts cooking up a storm in the kitchen, always working hard to make sure we had full happy bellies.
Rose & Adrian: Our hearts are full knowing that the baked goods we pour our hard work and souls into creating are now being shared with the family gatherings of all our customers. It’s important to treat yo’self, and knowing that we are helping our customers do just that, brings us so much joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.treatyoselfbakedgoods.com
- Phone: 818-254-9588
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treatyoselfbakedgoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TYSbakedgoods/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/treat-yoself-baked-goods-glendale-4
Image Credit:
Jasper De Jesus, Brandon Aquino
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