Online food brand Cafe Constancia serves a taste of Korea on a stick
Does your K-drama binge-watching continue to influence your food cravings? Well, you are not alone. This time, after dividing into the food finds in series such as doshirak from “Squid Game” and Korean fried chicken a la “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo,” we are finding ourselves salivating over Korean corn dog as seen on the “Start-Up” series. If you’ve been wanting to get a taste of the tasty treat on a stick, we found a brand that sells them.
Cafe Constancia shares a similar storyline with many budding food businesses during this pandemic time. Established in October 2020, It started out as a hobby, turned into a side hustle, and became a full-blown brand by Clariza Marie Nafora. “I only sell around our building where our pad was located to gain an extra income while we're on a lockdown,” she tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle. “Then some of our neighbors recommended it to their friends and successfully managed to make our corn dogs a staple that many loyal customers around the metro continue to love.”
This wasn’t the first time Clariza worked in the food industry. Prior to the pandemic, she worked as a barista for almost three years. But when the pandemic put a halt on indoor dining, it became harder for her to work, and instead focused on creating a small brand of her own.
Cafe Constancia’s core item was rooted in its founder’s love for hotdog sandwiches, but turning the sandwich as a product has its own challenges, from how messy it would be to package to the bread getting hard if not consumed immediately. That’s when she decided to pursue Korean corn dog as her prime dish.
“I wanted to serve an on-the-go snack that's easy to carry and easy to munch, but at the same time, it still makes you full,” Clariza muses. “ Plus, when I started doing it, I didn't really see anyone selling it so I took the chance right away to start something new in people's eyes.”
“After months of sourcing, I manage to bump into a local supplier of flours, potatoes, other ingredients, and packaging I also need,” she adds. “I made my corn dogs from scratch, from mixing the dough and slicing potatoes to our sauces, which are my own recipe. I made it myself because I wanted it to be more personal instead of purchasing premade ones.”
According to her, what sets her products apart is their unique flavors such as truffle, jalapeno, and cheddar-mozzarella. Apart from the corn dogs, one also shouldn’t miss trying her yogurt-milk fruit drink that comes in banana, melon, and strawberry flavors.
“Our customers’ feedback and recommendations are such a big help to boost this small business I'm having,” she says. “So we really took care of each one of them; maybe they are my repeat customers or new ones.”
Check out more of Clariza’s Korean corn dogs @cafeconstanciaph on Instagram.