“Baking helped me heal,’ the letter sender wrote.

It is an understatement to say that the past years have been challenging both physically and mentally. The stress has been so great that negativity has inevitably entered our minds. That’s why having an avenue to create, clear our heads, and find joy is a must during this pandemic era. For many, cooking, particularly baking, has been the therapy they never knew they needed.

That couldn’t be more true in the case of an anonymous chef RV Manabat follower. In his recent post, the celebrity chef shared a fan mail he got where the writer detailed how his cooking contents saved her.

After the letter sender’s life was put to a halt by the pandemic, knowing her husband’s infidelity, and going through deep sadness, she was on the edge of taking her own life. But through her baby and Chef RV’s cooking lessons, she found a reason to continue the fight.

“Baking helped me heal,” she wrote. “Tuwing nakakaisip akong saktan ang sarili ko, nagbebake po ako. Nagbebake ako ng nagbebake. Kasi tuwing nagbebake po ako, tutok lang ako sa ginagawa ko, sa measurements, sa process. Nakakalimutan ko yung masasamang isipin (Whenever I’m thinking of hurting myself, I bake. I bake and bake. Because everytime I do it, I just focus on what I am doing, on the measurements, on the process. I forget the negative thoughts)”

In her letter, she also expressed how her baking skills improved and helped her build a business during the pandemic. As for her marital problem, she patched things up with her husband saying, “I still chose to forgive. I’m happier now.”

“Salamat po sa inspirasyon, chef (Thank you for the inspiration, chef),” she continued. “Sa panahong gusto ko nang mawala sa mundo, yung mga turo niyo po ang pinanghawakan ko. Nananalangin ako sa Diyos na tulungan niya akong makalabas dun sa hukay na kinalagyan ko. Ang anak ko, ang mga panalangin ko, at ang baking ang siyang sumalba sa akin (During the times when I just want to remove myself from the world, I hold on to you teachings. I prayed to God to help me get myself out of that grave. My baby, my prayers, and baking are the ones that saved me).”

Read her full letter here: