Alladin and Mylene Galano, a couple who worked as overseas Filipino workers in Qatar, braved the challenges of the pandemic when they decided to return for good to Ilocos Norte in 2019 to follow their passion for baking.

With skills training provided by several government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), the couple who owns the Mylan’s bakeshop in Pias Sur, Currimao, Ilocos Norte, is now being patronized by local coffee shops and satisfied customers.

The bakeshop is known for its special and trendy home-baked breads like alcapone cheese rolls, Korean garlic bread, banana cake, oatmeal cookies and cheesy ensaymada, among others.

It is among the more than 120 exhibitors of the ongoing trade fair at MMSU in Batac City, which will run until the end of this month.

“We are so thankful for being part of the trade fair to promote our home-baked goodies,” Alladin told the Philippine News Agency in an interview Tuesday.

With an initial capital of around PHP100,000, the home-based bakeshop initially offered pandesal, a staple bread roll in the Philippines, and then other breads until they switched to “special and trendy breads” for coffee shops.

Some of their products are also on display in malls as they get to participate in regular trade fairs like the “Partuat ti Kailokuan Trade Fair” organized by the DTI at the Robinsons Ilocos Mall.

“The impact of joining food fairs like Partuat helped us reach potential customers who might not have encountered our bakeshop before,” Mylene said in one of her Facebook posts, while sharing her excitement about future partnerships with coffee shop owners in Ilocos Norte and in nearby Ilocos Sur province.

In between farming and taking care of their two growing children, the Galano couple enjoys their bond in the bakeshop, sharing a recipe of happiness to their new and repeat customers. (PNA)