Jane Dough was born because I wanted to feel alive again when life lost its meaning and I felt like a nobody – a Jane Doe.”
– Allyza Cepeda
Her career was going well. She was working as a pastry chef at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach, a Forbes five-star hotel in Florida in the United States.
Then the pandemic happened.
Allyza Cepeda is one of the many employees in the hard-hit hospitality industry who lost her job.
“I was laid off as most businesses closed,” she recalled. “Luckily,” she was able to go home to the Philippines despite several flight cancellations.
With sparse savings and losing the opportunity of a lifetime, she felt hopeless amid the quarantine. “I stopped dreaming,” she admitted.
Baking her dreams
Facing defeat was not easy for the young chef. After all, she grew up striving for her goals.
Coming from a family of medical professionals, her mom is a nurse and her dad a veterinarian, people thought she’d follow in their footsteps. But she wanted to forge a path for herself.
Seeing how a simple meal unites families, she knew she wanted to be a chef.
She enrolled in the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (SHRIM) of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, graduated cum laude in 2018, and trained at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai.
Cepeda said she struggled to break into a male-dominated industry, but her hard work paid off.
She clinched the Miami post under the J-1 Cultural Exchange Visa Program, a visitor visa for educational and cultural exchange programs.
It was an upward trajectory for her. Until it went down.
Finding the sweetness in life
Back in the Philippines, stuck at home and with no job, Cepeda felt empty.
But while scrolling through old photos, she shared, she realized how much she missed making desserts. To get out of a funk, she challenged herself to bake macarons.
The almond-based meringue cookies brought together by a flavored filling demand great skill and technique. Cepeda perfected the method, and redefined and reconstructed old beloved recipes into new creations.
“I almost failed every single time, but that didn’t stop me. I had the opportunity to go back to what I love – baking,” she enthused.
Creating sweet treats also enabled her to earn. “I needed a source of income. I did not want to burden my parents.”
After numerous attempts, her persistent dedication finally resulted in eye-catching and patron-approved desserts. From then on, she knew it was time to move forward. She launched Jane Dough.
“Jane Dough was born because I wanted to feel alive again when life lost its meaning and I felt like a nobody – a Jane Doe,” she shared.
“Now I want to create desserts to celebrate life’s moments and inspire others to never give up. The brand name is a reminder that as long as we persevere, we can be anyone we want to be, no matter how many setbacks we face.”
Cepeda’s creations include ‘90s nostalgia-inducing flavors such as Potchi Strawberry Cream, Ovaltine Chocolate, Nips, Haw-Haw Milk Candies and Choc-Nut Bars. She also offers artisanal bespoke cakes: Vanilla with Crème Mousseline, Devil’s Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese, Brown Butter Banana with Salted Caramel Buttercream, Carrot Walnut with Cream Cheese, and Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake.
“Anyone can bake a beautiful cake and learn how to create macarons. But from experience, the essence and purpose, the soul and fulfillment will always be different,” she shared.
The young pastry chef is now back on track. She plans to expand her business as she finds the time to share her knowledge through hands-on workshops with eager apprentices.