SYMPHONY OF DESSERTS
That sweet smell of vanilla and chocolate that hangs in the air in the home of Dr. Ricardo San Diego can only come from the family kitchen oven that burns incessantly, like the eternal flame. His daughter does, Margarita “Marge” San Diego – the only one in the family of four kids who might have been born with a rolling pin as her twin. Her two sisters – like their parents –
are in the medical profession. Probably destined to look after those with the proverbial sweet tooth who cannot resist the symphony of desserts Marge would one day whip up with in what was once a dear little kitchen of her childhood. The dear little kitchen is still there where Marge bakes all her cakes, but through Marge’s constant experimentation with her baking – the first word she might have spoken as a child – it has evolved into a full-time bake shop manned by her single-handedly. She does practically everything, except perhaps for cleaning up which she leaves to someone else, which is understandable. Every good chef can cook up a storm but after the tempest, someone has to take over the kitchen, or in Marge’s case – the rolling pin board. Catering to exclusive clienteles when she was starting to bake, Marge’s sinful treats have become widely known and famous in no time. The increasing demand for her so-called cardinal sins of flavors – the most widely popular, among many, being her Soulful Choco Cake, Choco Caramel Cake, and Jazzberry cheesecake – paved the way to her going full time in the profession of producing cakes and pastries, especially after earning her degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the College of the Holy Spirit, thereafter a course in Culinary Arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, where she was awarded a bronze medal in the pastry division. She just bakes them in the family kitchen in her hometown of Plaridel in the same way our moms did theirs, with each ingredient in the recipe strictly followed to the last measurement—with no additive, no substitute. She is strict about quality control, saying that a little error in the taste would surely spell disaster. Thus, in 2005 the business venture Symphony of Desserts was conceptualized. A patent and some bulging waistlines later (of happy customers who indulge in sinful pleasure of having a second serving of those irresistible sweet creations), Marge’s assembly line of cakes and pastries is going full throttle, even much faster – one can venture to say – than a rolling pin can. Her biz slogan might as well be: Life is a piece of cake. Indulge in sin now, repent later on your thread mill. Which is better than regret you didn’t give her symphony of desserts a try. A newspaper interview with Marge San Diego appeared in 2010 in the Life Section of the nationally circulated daily, Business Mirror. An excerpt from this interview conducted by Ms. Lyn Resurreccion is reproduced here.
“I have been trying to evade such sweet treats (afraid of diabetes for genetic reasons), but the mouthwatering pieces Margie laid before us from her Symphony of Desserts bakeshop were irresistible. I took thin slices of the cakes just enough to satisfy my palate—and they created a symphony of flavors in my mouth! The moist and rich Soulful Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Symphony, Chocolate Caramel, Turtle Pitch Pie, Jazzberry Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake and Sansrival Chorale were heavenly. They were comparable to the best in Metro Manila, if no better. Each one tasted as delicious as the other”
She is short of saying that the serpent would not have difficulties seducing Eve with Marge’s Symphony of Desserts. Symphony of Desserts supplies cakes and pastries to many of the province in Bulacan’s coffee shops and restaurants. The company also offers assistance in designing cakes. It likewise holds interesting and lively cake-decorating activities for dynamic kids. For any occasion you may have, Marge San Diego runs a mini dessert bar which offers a wide selection of cakes and pastries that would surely whet your guests’ palate.
