"My maternal grandparents sacrificed a lot to take care of us and support us," 17-year old Melburnian Sophia Adrias Inocencio shares.
"When my lola [grandmother] passed, it affected me so much. Baking helped divert my attention from feeling sad."
Sophia's grandparents helped raise her while her mother was away. Source: Sophia Inocencio
Highlights
- Sophia's grandparents took care of her while her mother left to work in Australia.
- She shared the love for cooking and baking with her grandmother; so when she passed, food was her way to continue to connect with her.
- One of Sophia's newest offerings is buko [coconut] pie, which she named Lolodad's, after her grandfather.
My lola [grandmother]
Sophia shares that when her mother decided to try her luck in Australia, she was forced to leave her two children behind in the Philippines.
"It was always mum's dream to come to Australia. When she left, my grandmother took care of us. She was the one who taught me how to cook and bake."
Three years ago, Sophia and her sister were able to join their mother in Australia.
"Last December though, we were able to go back to the Philippines for a vacation to visit our grandmother; but our plans changed when we found out she had leukaemia," she shares, adding, "I decided not to re-enroll in school so I could take care of her".
Sophia's grandmother was the one who taught her how to cook and bake. Source: Sophia Inocencio
Sadly, Sophia was only able to take care of her grandmother for a short while. She passed last April, two weeks after Sophia had to return to Australia because of the pandemic.
"We were planning to bring her to Melbourne after her chemo...it didn't happen that way.
"I was really grateful though for the help and support given to us by my mum's friends; so when I started using baking as a diversion, I decided to make ube [purple yam] jam for them," she shares, adding, "they loved it and even put in orders for more".
From the ube jam she started selling, she put up a home-based business she named Mèmè's [her grandmother's name] Merienda [Filipino for 'afternoon snack']. She runs it with her uncles, Sean and Stephen, who have both worked in the food industry.
Sophia first made ube jam as a gift to those who helped and supported them throughout her grandmother's illness. Source: Sophia Inocencio
Her mum encouraged her to come up with more Filipino food products for the business - one of which was egg pie.
"I just kept on experimenting until I perfected my recipes," she shares, adding, "I realised the tricky thing about the pie crust was making sure that the butter was always cold so that the dough wouldn't melt".
My lolo [grandfather]
Another offering she came up with that utilised her pie crust is coconut pie, which she named Lolodad's [combination of Filipino word for grandfather and 'dad'] buko [coconut] pie.
"Our grandfather loves coconut so I named it after him," Sophia says.
"Our grandfather loves coconut so I named the pie after him." Source: Sophia Inocencio
"He used to work in Saudi Arabia to support us, but whenever he would be home, he would buy a coconut for my grandmother everyday for her to eat and drink."
When her grandfather found out about her business, he decided to buy her a new oven to use.
"He's so proud. I want to make him even prouder with my dream of eventually opening my own Filipino café once the pandemic ends," she says.
Sophia wants to make her grandparents proud through her venture. Source: Sophia Inocencio
"And I want my grandmother to know that I'll take care of everyone like she took care of me."
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