Maricar Reyes starts her own cake business

Maricar Reyes admitted she was very excited by how supportive her husband Richard Poon was when she decided to get into the food business as well. The talented actress said she has always had a sweet tooth which was how Chocolate Liquor Cakes was born. “Ako ang nag-decide na chocolate cakes and in fairness naman sa kanya he supported me. Mahilig talaga ako sa sweets. Ever since I was a kid I loved sweets. I loved all the bad things even though of course you have to control your eating. Pero every once in a while I do love to have a really nice chocolate cake, a chocolate drink or a cupcake or ice cream basta chocolate yun hilig ko. This started when Richard noticed that I really loved chocolate and as a chef, kasi he cooked for six years sa restaurant ng dad niya, tapos sabi niya that chocolate is enhanced if you have really good wine.  And one of our favorite desserts was this chocolate cake that we ordered from a friend na home baker so na-inspire din kami sa kanya. And we also wanted to form a business together as husband and wife so naisip namin either beef noodles or chocolate cake (laughs) Actually nagugulat siya kasi sa totoo lang if you ask him he really wanted the beef noodles business (laughs) pero pinagbigyan niya ako so bless him. Nagugulat siya na people are responding positively as they are now,” she explained.

The order-based business operates in a commissary near their home which Maricar said works conveniently for the couple. The cake comes in three sizes and is initially available for pick up in two locations. ”Dito ako natutuwa sa partnership namin ni Richard kasi mahilig ako mag-research so I like looking for cake recipes and inaral ko yung proportion ng flour and the other components. Nag-self study ako and then I had a few one-on-one lessons with a chef from Manila Pen who was a friend of a friend. And then on Richard's side naman, his palate naman is very trained for working for his dad for many years and marunong sila talaga so alam niya kung kulang yung salt. So whenever I'd make something and then when I'd bake it he'd taste it and say kung may kulang na something. Siya rin yung nakahanap nung liquor mix that we put in the cake. Siyempre sobra akong natutuwa kasi one of my big dreams event though natutuwa ako ang dami ko ng na-accomplish. Because of showbiz ang daming opportunities na dumating. One of my biggest dreams as a kid is to have a business. Na-overwhelm lang ako na wow it's really running and people are actually buying, people actually like it so sobra akong na-hu-humble,” she admitted.

Maricar admitted that one of the biggest compliments her liquor cake has received came from Queen of all Media Kris Aquino. “We first started selling it to friends. We had them try it and had them tell us what they thought. And then Kris Aquino tried it. She liked it. We gave the cake nung guesting ni Richard sa Aquino and Abunda Tonight. So kinakabahan kami kasi wala eh, we didn't hear anything. Later in the evening nag-text siya na natuwa siya. She said that it was one of the best that tasted,” she said.

Even with her new business venture, Maricar said she can never say goodbye to showbiz. “Although I love acting, in reality showbiz is not as stable because the industry is changing a lot and the turnover is very fast so we also felt that we also need this for our security when we get older. And it's nice because we also get to work together. Madami ring lumalabas na hindi mo nakikita sa ibang tao when you're doing business eh. It's a different side so it's been a learning experience also. I would like to study something more of baking. I like baking. My husband likes cooking. Okay naman siya pero mas gusto ko yung baking. It's very scientific. It's very exact. It's very researched. Natutuwa ako sa science niya,” she shared.

One of the future plans of the couple include putting up their own bakery or cafe in the future. “May ganun akong dream pero sobrang thankful din ako na yung cousins ni Richard are very successful businessmen so they are mentoring us and actually very simple lang sila mag-isip eh. I really believe in them. They built their businesses from the ground up. Butas butas yung pants nila before and now they're very successful. I really believe in their process and their process is slow, step by step,” she said.