It’s a mobile cafe with 10 percent of the proceeds going to alternative learning tools

No matter what situation we are in, there is always a choice to “sink or swim.” Father-of-two John Eric Enopia chose the latter. He hasn’t turned back since. With more-than-the-usual free time in his hands, he decided to spend it by cooking for his family.

For their first food post, they attempted to bake the family’s all-time favorite cassava cake. “Some of our close friends asked if they could try it. We baked three tubs and they liked it. That’s when we decided to sell it online, pairing it with cold brew coffee,” John tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle.

This inspired John to put up The Cooking Dad Bake & Brew (TCD Bake & Brew) last May, and this became a family passion project. “Each member of the family is assigned a different task. Me as the baker, brewer, and salesman. My wife Sheng is in charge of purchasing and accounting—her expertise, and my two kids Shayne and Uno are in charge of the donations,” explains John who has been in the coffee industry for over 10 years. Ten percent of the proceeds is given to a non-profit organization, Save the Children, specifically for the project ARAL (Access to Resources for Alternative Learning) to help unfortunate children continue their education despite the hurdles we are facing this year. “We believe that every child deserves to have a bright future,” says John.

From three tubs of cassava cake and two bottles of cold brew coffee, they have now added more to their menu, including mini and biggie cassava cakes, cold brew (made with coffee beans from Atok, Benguet) in muscovado and caramel latte flavors, gourmet tuyo in olive oil, Benguet coffee beans and ground coffee beans, and even TCD Bake & Brew shirts. Three months into this online food business, John thought of changing his routine a bit by making their products available. John adds, “With MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine) in effect, the mobile cafe will help us sell more. More sales, more donations.”

Being based in Cavite, he has traveled as far as Las Piñas and Parañaque to sell their food products on the weekends for three hours maximum. He also goes around on his own due to health and safety reasons. TCD Bake & Brew has given this family hope and a purpose. “Wala ng atrasan ito (There’s no turning back). As I have said before, ‘Yung akalain mo na wala ng pag-asa, meron yan,’wag ka lang maiinip maghintay (When you thought there is no more hope but there is, just don’t get tired of waiting for it).’” And the best thing parents can do at this time? “The most important part of raising a child is not what you can provide but how you can teach them to give and do good deeds for others.”