Stewart Ong has not always worked in the food and beverage space, in fact, this is his first ever venture into the industry if you can believe it. He made his entry with a bang, starting off with something like Magnolia Bakery. Stewart spent a decade working with Johnson & Johnson and with distribution services after deciding to turn his passion for eating into his new career path. He did so by partnering with Chef Candy Lu who is a professionally trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu, with years of experience running her own eponymously named restaurant in Cagayan De Oro. Candy is the queen of the kitchen, while Stewart handles management and operations.

“I have been a major fan for many years. I tried Magnolia Bakery in NYC for the first time in 2011 and I was hooked. I came back everyday during my trip. I have a sweet tooth, clearly. I fell in love with it. Three years ago I sent them an email to try and bring them in to the country and the rest is history.” – Stewart Ong

The famed Magnolia Bakery (which became very well-known after appearing on television series Sex and The City) opened its doors here in the Philippines under the name, M Bakery. The local team trained in New York to immerse themselves in the company culture and to ensure that the Philippines receives a authentic Magnolia Bakery experience. They were able to learn the ins and outs of the Magnolia Bakery Kitchen and embrace the how-to of customer interaction and front of house operations.

Stewart shares that “Chef Candy and several team members trained in New York for 6 weeks. They also send a team from the US here to train our staff locally too.”

When a franchise enters the Philippine market, more often than not, the menu items are tweaked to be adapted to the Philippine palate. Thankfully, M Bakery has retained the exact same recipes as seen and tasted in the original NYC Menu.

“I think the Filipino palette will be fine with us not changing the recipes as we have a big range of sweetness levels, there is something for everyone! Staying authentic is important to us” says Stewart.  

What they have done is created brand new desserts featuring local flavours, like a Calamansi ice box and cheesecake and other desserts infused with Ube and Coconut. 

“The localised desserts took us 6 months of development. We worked hard to make something unique that you cannot find elsewhere in the country. We developed the recipes, perfected the desserts, then sent them over to headquarters in the states where it was approved for sale here in the Philippines. Paying tribute to our local flavours is something we wanted to incorporate into our menu here.” – Stewart Ong

You will be happy to know that all their tasty treats are baked everyday. M Bakery does not have a commissary and are proud of the fact that nothing is stored - everything is fresh.

Although this is their first foray into the F&B world together it sure won’t be their last!