Cookies & Crease: How to judge a cake by its cover

Cookies & Crease: How to judge a cake by its cover

By Yshmael Cabana

There is truth to some extent with the way we make decisions about the foods we eat. Do you factor in what you see when you don’t rely on your sense of taste?

Tightly boxed packages topped with paper-folded art is the way Cookies & Crease is wrapped up by Rowell Perez, a teacher by profession who started his artisanal bakery in the heart of Toronto’s fast growing community of Filipinos in Bathurst and Wilson.
Rowell started the venture because of his personal desire for Filipino baked goods that are very hard to find in this part of the cosmopolis. “If we can’t buy it here, why not bake it ourselves, right? Then we discovered that a lot of our kababayans are also craving them.”

His younger brother Francis, who loves to experiment in cooking, does the baking; while Rowell, is doing the marketing with his paper folding art.

Food in visual culture

How did you decide with the idea of fusing baked goods with origami art?

“When we decided to start a business, we wanted to be unique. We thought, there has to be something that people will remember–a brand. Food as gifts for special occasions is gaining popularity and we wanted to follow suit. So, we thought of decorating the boxes, jars, and bags with pieces of origami. We want a personal touch to our products. Since most of the orders are to be given as gifts, we always ask customers about the decorations they want on their cakes and on the other products and we do it for them if we can.”

How did you come up with Cookies & Crease?

“We wanted to go for something that is witty and has recall and at the same time represents the idea of the business. So, we consulted several friends and family to help us choose from several options. “Cookies & Crease” won by majority. It is a pun for “Cookies and Cream”. “Cookies” because we sell popular Filipino cookies, desserts, pastries, and other baked goods, and “Crease” because the packaging always comes with origami art.”

How do you sell your products?

“I think it really helps when customers see pictures and samples of our products so we spend time photographing our products for marketing purposes.”

Business is “a lot like baking”

How was the initial response to your business?

“In the past whenever we would be invited for family gatherings or parties by friends, we would bring food that we personally cooked as gifts and we would always get compliments. Many encouraged us to put up our own business. Finally, early this year, we gave it a try. Our first customers were our cousins. They requested us to bake cheesecake to be brought to a party. After that, word spread quickly and before we know it, we were already busy accepting orders from people we don’t even know.”

How did you determine your startup costs and other expenses?

“Determining the startup costs and other expenses was really challenging. It’s a lot like baking–you have the recipe and it seems like you know what to do but along the process something does not work out, so you realize you only perfect it through trial-and-error. That’s what happened to us, cost-wise. Later on, we discovered how to maximize our budget by buying ingredients by bulks, even stalking on grocery stores for big sales. We replaced some expensive products with cheaper ones but with same quality. Finally, we were able to determine the pricing but without sacrificing the quality.”

How do you define the demographic of your customers?

“We surveyed among friends about the food that they miss from the Philippines and we studied how to cook them. We learned to bake sylvanas, yema, and pastillas, apart from crinkles and cheesecake. The demography of the customers is really hard to say, as of now. In terms of locations, we usually get orders from people who live relatively far from us, such as Scarborough. We once had a customer from Etobicoke who was really craving for crinkles which we had to deliver to her. The age group also varies; most customers come from social groups we are involved in (e.g. playmates in volleyball, churchmates, friends of family members, etc.). You can say that our market is any Filipino who misses desserts back home.”

Accounting for taste

How do you fare in this endeavour?

“I would say most of the positive feedbacks are about the quality. They are good, trust me!

How can people contact Cookies & Crease?

“Our Facebook page is Cookies & Crease and our Instagram handle is @cookiesandcrease. You can also call/text us at 647-767-2387. We are home-based and our products are usually made-to-order. We are looking to partner with an established business, for example, with Filipino grocery stores where we can supply our products. Hopefully soon.”

Cookies & Crease is an example of the trajectory and the changing nature of Filipino shops in Toronto. While judgment of merits is normally deferred when it comes to subjective matters of taste, Rowell hopes to offer more than their current engagement with subtext #oriyummy. “My vision is that in five years, I will put up a café somewhere around Filipino Town (Bathurst and Wilson area) where youth can hang-out, play traditional Filipino games such as sungka on their tables or learn origami, while enjoying authentic Filipino desserts.”