When life hits people hard, many sink while others manage to swim and stay afloat. A mommy who just gave birth before the Covid-19 pandemic found herself raising a baby amidst new normal protocols. Their non-essentials pets business closed. But then a new door opened—the making of heavenly desserts. Meet the Bacolod mommy behind Blessy’s Food Creations—another resilient Pinay Mom.
Mommy Blessy’s Relationship with Food
Bacolod mom Blessy Belandres-Go remembers that “cooking was not my first love.”
However, she loves to eat and sample different kinds of food so she also tried her hand in the kitchen. When she went abroad to work as a nurse for five years, independence has honed her cooking skills. “Living abroad, I had no choice but to fend for myself. I had to cook, clean, and do the laundry!”
As a nurse, she also says that “you have to practice what you preach: “Eat healthy!” Since she could not just indulge on often fried food from fastfood chains, she learned to cook for herself. “I reinvented the Filipino cuisine I loved in order to satisfy my cravings and homesickness,” she says.
In addition, traveling to other countries and trying different cuisine further sparked her interest in cooking. “I used to play it safe when choosing what food to eat. However, visiting other countries expanded my choices and trained my taste buds. With all these experiences, I developed a deeper sense of love and respect not only for food but for other cultures as well,” she adds.
An Enterprising Spirit
Mommy Blessy came back to the Philippines to marry her college boyfriend, Carl Adrian Go.
They were college classmates and lovers. While still studying, the two usually ventured into selling food and other stuff in order to have extra money to spend on dates and traveling.
Blessy remembers, “We sold the native kakanin called bitsu-bitsu in school during our nursing review days. We would sell between 150 to 200 pieces every day.” They were able to enjoy the fruit of their labor during their post-graduation trip to Boracay.
Last Christmas of 2019, Mommy Blessy was already seven months pregnant. Being used to work and earning her own money, she was bored with merely staying at home.
“I wanted to earn extra since I was just staying at home. So I consulted with my sister-in-law, who is a pastry chef in the US, and my husband regarding my intent. We could only do so much with the limited resources we had. So we decided to start taking orders with the Classic Black Sambo and Lasagna for Media Noche and as well as for New Year’s Eve.”
Needless to say, the response was overwhelming for both occasions. But that was just a one-time thing: a “raket” like they used to do back in college.
Blessy’s Heavenly Desserts
When February 2020 came, Mommy Blessy gave birth to a lovely and healthy baby girl whom they named Cassandra Adrienne. “My time was solely focused on her since we didn’t have a babysitter. I was lucky that both of our families were helping out.”
Blessy’s husband Carl owned a pet shop in Bacolod City, which was their main source of income. But when the quarantine for Covid-19 happened in the middle of March, they had to close their business because their products were classified under non-essentials.
As a result, Blessy and Carl decided to venture into their “raket” once again. They continued what they started last Christmas and New Year. Amazed by the response of the Bacolodnons during the quarantine period, they decided to make it official.
Hence, Blessy’s Food Creations was born.
Bacolod City is quite a small place where everyone knows everybody, so the market is limited. In order to sustain her orders, Mommy Blessy thought of making something different and unique.
- Related: Filipino Family New Year Traditions
And since Black Sambo was their specialty, she became eager to expand their collection by recreating it with different flavors. It was a hit so now, they have several flavors to choose from:
- Ube cheese sambo
- Choco mint sambo
- Cookies and cream sambo
- Blueberry cheesecake sambo
- Mango graham sambo
- All-white sambo
From there, they also ventured into Puto Flan, Puto Pao, lasagna platters, and recently Chicken Skin Crackling and chicken oil. They also have the now-famous black bottom cupcakes, which are moist chocolate cupcake with rich cream cheese filling.
All of these products are the result of constant innovation and keeping up with the latest trend.
Minimal Capitalization
In terms of capital, the couple did not need to shell out a large amount. Since all of their products were pre-ordered, the buyers were sure and there was no spoilage. Moreover, all their cooking equipment are also on hand. “We just made use of what we already have so we did not have to invest much.”
Mommy Blessy capitalized on the pandemic in order to prepare snacks and desserts for big groups. “Our market is mostly working people, especially mothers who plan for their menu to have during family celebrations.”
And this is true. During our Siobe Shane’s 7th birthday last August, I ordered puto flan and Shane’s favorite cookies and cream sambo. I have also tried two other flavors, the ube and mango, and all are very good. Quality is consistent.
Since Mommy Blessy doesn’t have a physical store yet, they utilized her husband’s old pet shop for pick up of orders and meet ups. This is located in the Chamber Fire Brigade building in Ipil Street, Bacolod City, where her husband is also a volunteer firefighter.
The Struggles of Starting the Business
Having Blessy’s Food Creations was a great blessing to this Bacolod mom in a number of ways.
First, it helped her cope with her post-partum changes. “Due to being busy, it boosted my endorphins and produced more happy hormones. I didn’t have the time to waste on being upset because of our current situation.”
Second, the business kept them afloat financially. “We were able to make ends meet despite closing our other business.”
Finally, the business gave Mommy Blessy a great sense of accomplishment. She was used to working and earning money all of her single life since she graduated from school. “The transition was quite an adjustment: from being a working girl to being a stay at home mother of an infant.”
When the business started, Blessy had to manage the production, marketing, and schedule of deliveries as well taking care of the baby. Sometimes, she could only start cooking once the baby is already asleep and she would finish early in the morning.
But when she receives good feedback, she says, “It is all worth it.”
Mommy Blessy considers herself fortunate to have a very supportive husband and sister-in-law who guides her all the time. Both their families have been giving them encouragement and motivation to do better. “I hope one day I will be able to expand our menu and find inspiration to make the business better and bigger.”
How Blessy Sees Her Business Future
Mommy Blessy has found a food business that she likes doing and is well accepted by the public. She has plans to expand this in the future.
“I really love the idea of having a physical store to be called the “House of Sambo”. But because of the current economic situation due to the pandemic, she is going to continue selling online while taking care of her daughter.
Check out many of their food offerings on their FB Page: Blessys Food Creations. Her mobile number is: (0919) 004 5790.
Salute Kay Mommy Blessy kahit may inaalagaan ng infant and a stay at home mom at pandemic, eh madiskarte pa din po sa buhay and ang sasarap po ng mga tinitinda Niya.
Wow..looks yummy po ng mga desserts..nice.. Wish ko makapunta ng Bacolod sana soon.
Kudos kay Mommy Blessy, galing! 👏 Wala talagang makakatalo sa pagiging maparaan at madiskarte ng Pilipino kahit sa ganitong mga panahon.
Sabi Nga nila Whats your hobby Make it Money..
Such an inspiration at malaking tulong talaga ang pagiging creative at masipag ngayong times ng Pandemic..
Kapag May Sipag at tiyaga makakasabay tayo sa anumang klaseng pagsubok ng buhay