This Former Kasambahay Is Now Head Baker at One of Manila’s Esteemed Dessert Places

(SPOT.ph) It’s been around 30 years since Janet Escuro joined the household of known pastry chef and culinary school owner Heny Sison as a nanny. From her humble beginnings, Yaya Janet worked her way to the top and today is the supervisor baker of Heny Sison Desserterie, one of the most respected dessert spots in the city. There, she bakes, checks on quality control, and reports directly to Sison on the bakeshop's day-to-day operations.

Also read:  
This Famous Chef Hopes to Put Traditional Filipino Desserts Back in the Spotlight 
10 Restaurants in Manila for Regional Filipino Eats 
The SPOT.ph Guide to Filipino Food

This is the story of Yaya Janet, supervisor baker of Heny Sison Desserterie:

It was Sison’s first nanny, Yaya Indang, that recommended Janet to work for the pastry chef's family in 1994. Sison was looking for an assistant for Indang who was helping her take care of her daughters. Janet, on the other hand, was looking to enter college but lacked the ample funds. “No’ng sabi ng magulang ko na walang sapat na pera para mag kolehiyo, pinagdasal ko na sana makapunta ako ng Maynila,” the Naguilian, Isabela native tells SPOT.ph. “Makalipas ang dalawang taon dumating ‘yung kakilala ko galing Maynila. Tamang-tama naghahanap siya ng yaya at pinuntahan ko siya at nagprisinta ako.”

Janet had no background in cooking. "Zero knowledge po [ako noon sa pagluluto] kasi kaka-graduate ko lang," she says. She learned how to cook, like the rest of the Sison household staff, under the guidance of Sison's mother and the chef herself. She picked up the needed skills quickly and easily. "Madali naman [ako natuto] kasi step-by-step magturo noon si Ma'am Heny." Initially, Janet learned by watching Sison in the kitchen, soaking up techniques she would observe the chef perform. "'Yung sinasabi niya parang naabsorb ko," Escuro tells us. Eventually she would ask the chef for recipes. She'd take requests from the Sison family whose favorites include cookies, baked macaroni, and Japanese and Filipino dishes.

“In her role as a [kasambahay], Janet took on the responsibility of ensuring my daughters were prepared for their daily activities in school, to accompanying me in my cooking endeavors and back home,” Sison shares in an exchange with SPOT.ph. Janet was first trained on the art of pamamalengke or "marketing," so as to familiarize her with a range of ingredients. She would do the marketing right after bringing her alagas to school. And then she was off to school herself, Sison's cooking school that is, together with the other kasambahay.

Over time, Janet developed a genuine love for cooking and baking, and learned the value of having an independent mind. “Kapag gusto mong matuto dapat talaga marunong kang mag-multitask, tsaka dapat ‘pag inutusan ka or may ine-explain sa’yo, 'wag oo nang oo," she advises. "Kailangan intindihin ng mabuti lahat ng sinasabi sayo. Dapat marunong kang magtanong. 'Yun yung mahalaga."

Later, as the Sison daughters got older, Janet was promoted to kitchen assistant, supporting guest chefs in the cooking school. 

Her work in the school needed to be put on hold, however, when in 2011, Janet's father, who had been sick since she was younger, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Janet found herself looking for job opportunities abroad in order to finance his treatment. “Kinailangan ko po ng mas malaking halaga,” she recalls. For two years, she held cooking and baking jobs in Dubai. But upon learning Sison was opening a bakeshop in 2013, she returned to the Philippines and asked if it were still possible to work with her former boss. “Tinanggap naman po nila ako,” says Janet.

When Sison's business expanded in 2013 with the opening of Victorino’s, the popular Ilocano restaurant along Scout Rallos, the pastry chef would also establish the aforementioned Heny Sison Desserterie. Playing crucial roles in the new venture's smooth launch were "four of my most loyal and skilled staff, including Janet," Sison offers.

The job at the desserterie challenged Janet at first. It required her to go beyond her kitchen-assistant background to assume an important part in the bakeshop's food production. "[Pero] eventually natutunan din lahat [ng kailangan]," she says. The challenge sparked within her an excitement. Working in production proved a thrilling change and she's since become a versatile kitchen player who's able to work in both the hot and cold kitchen, and do everything from cooking pizzas to assembling sandwiches to frosting cakes.

Sison, who was saddened when Janet left for work abroad, was happy her former kasambahay returned. The pastry chef says Janet has become an integral part of her team, and a “testament to the enduring strength of the relationships we've built over the years.” Last November, she penned a short tribute to her "Manang Janet" on Facebook, describing her as someone who's been "an indispensable part of my life for 29 years." Sison wrote: "From nurturing my two daughters since they were 6 and 4, ensuring their daily needs were met, and accompanying them to school throughout their prep to high school years, to evolving into a vital role at my cooking school and later our restaurant and bakeshop, she has been a constant presence." Sison said Janet "continues to shine" as a skilled baker. "Her joy in learning, whether mastering new cooking techniques or venturing into gelato and sorbet making, is palpable...Manang Janet is undeniably one of the blessings in our family."

For her part, Janet says: “Malaki ang pasasalamat ko dahil nakilala ko sila [Chef Heny] at pinagkatiwalaan po nila ako. Kaya po sinusuklian ko po sila ng kabutihan.” Today, Janet and her family live in a house in Santa Maria, Bulacan, one she was able to purchase from her own savings. She has two sons, 5 and 19. 

Hey, Spotters! Check us out on Viber to join our Community and subscribe to our Chatbot.