Today we’d like to introduce you to Izaiah Esguerra-Coloma.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My fascination with culinary work started early in life with my obsession of Rachel Ray’s “30-Minute Meals” show on the Food Network. Surprisingly, this love for food and the preparation of it persisted even after I graduated high school, so I took a chance and leaned into it.
From 2018-2020, I pursued a culinary arts degree at a local college. Not long after, my professor came to me asking if I wanted to apply for a work-abroad opportunity. Initially, I had my reservations. Prior to this experience, I had never travelled outside the country so I was equally terrified and thrilled about what I could learn from it all. I was given the choice to select one country from a size-able list of destinations but I landed on France because it felt like a no-brainer.
To make a long story short, it was one of the lowest points of my life and it was far from the romanticized version I had concocted in my head. Although it wasn’t the “Eat, Pray, Love” moment I was anticipating, it made me appreciate what was already at home back in California.
From 2021 to 2023, I bounced around from gig to gig, kitchen to bakery to hotel, but felt like I was on auto-pilot. My moves felt like someone else’s and the work I was doing made me question if I was in the wrong field.
It wasn’t until I started dating my boyfriend that I began to feel re-inspired and hopeful that continuing my baking career was still possible via a different approach.
In March of 2024, we had visited the Poom collective in New York City, where this little storefront showcased multiple local bakeries. We both thought the concept was amazing and I said something along the lines of “Wouldn’t it be cool if I sold my goods like this? Out of my own kitchen to share with the community?” but I was only saying this passively, of course. However, he chose to entertain the idea and encouraged me to find something similar back home in San Diego. So try I did.
“Where do I even begin to look?” I thought to myself, as I was looking for places that I could pop-up at. Strangely enough, the answer presented itself in an art show that was accepting “artists of all mediums”. Now I knew they were looking for painters, sculptors, and ceramicists, but I decided to try to make a case that culinary arts is indeed an art form. To my surprise, they agreed and there I was selling my goodies in a gallery full of art pieces in the Brown Arts building for the New Path Narcan Project.
As I’ve gotten to know more micro-bakery owners, I have learned that everyone’s impetus is drastically different and unorthodox at times. This was especially true for the early days of my business but I gradually tipped it into a direction that felt right. Initially, I sold my pastries at large markets that centered around second-hand sellers and handmade crafters. With time and new connections made along the way, however, I found myself in more niche spaces that prioritized specific businesses. All this was done intentionally, of course, and I sought after environments with other POCs, Fil-Am folks, and LQBTQIA+ individuals.
Fast forward to today with almost two years under my belt, I continue to build on existing relationships with other fellow bakers/small-businesses while also seeking other spaces that are willing to take me in.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road was never entirely smooth and continues to be bumpy at times.
Self-doubt and self-inflicted sabotage have been some of the heaviest weights I have wrestled with. As much as I love the level of creative freedom that this businesses has afforded me, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t compared myself to others and their success. Feelings of inadequacy have riddled my mind at times but re-grounding myself looks a lot like honoring my vision and giving myself metaphorical flowers in the form of affirmations. Affirming that I’ve gotten this far and my story is one that has resonated with others and deserves to be shared with more.
Something a lot of other people who are close to me might not know is that my parents had their own food business at one point in time and it wasn’t exactly pretty. Witnessing their blunders and tribulations made me scared to pursue my own business venture for fear that my attempt would replicate their experience. With the emotional support from my partner, my business continues to stand despite the fears that periodically paralyze me and send me down a spiral.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
While it’s true my business is past a year old, it still feels super young and I feel as if it still has a lot of soul-searching and maturing to do but I do think I have a solid idea of what direction I’m walking in.
As someone who is Filipino that grew up in America, I haven’t always been close to my ancestral heritage. If I’m being brutally honest, I actually distanced myself from my culture for a long time. As a child, I prided myself for hating coconut, ube, and other sweets in the Philippines.
Something shifted in me when I turned 23, and suddenly I felt like I was going through the motions producing baked goods in a kitchen that I didn’t have much connection to. Taking the leap of faith to pour into my own vision, it brought me clarity and forced me to think about what it was exactly that I wanted to achieve from the pastries I was creating.
Fatefully, I was gifted a cookbook, Mayumu, written by Abi Balingit and suddenly what I knew to be possible was ripped apart. The Kare Kare cookie broke my brain and strangely spoke to me on a deep level. For so long, I viewed Filipino food in such a narrow lens. A culture that offered a finite number of edible permutations. But Balingit radicalized me and from that moment on, I wanted to see how far I could push the envelope.
So to answer the question, this is what I have made the focal point of my work; merging Filipino flavors with American pastry techniques. What I have come to be known for is the marriage of both my identities in the form of my baked goods. There is always something new that I offer at every event I attend or pop-up I vend at and I believe this constant experimentation is what sets me apart.
As I sit and marinate in these questions, I can’t help but feel proud of how invested I’ve become in deepening my connection with my Filipino roots. I would hear it here and there that food is a powerful vehicle that can reconnect a lost individual back to where they come from but I never really understood it. Now, it couldn’t be any clearer. Food carries so much meaning to everyone and despite having a different definition from person to person, it possesses a unifying quality. Creating the recipes I share with others has snowballed into me learning Tagalog, joining a Filipino Folk dance group, and making more Filipinx friends; all of which my younger self would have never dreamed possible.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
While my business continues to grow and become more refined, I like to revisit what it is that I want to achieve with this platform. Currently, I am prioritizing private events, curated markets, and other projects that allow more intimate connections with fellow creatives.
As a few friends have pointed out, I am in my “yes” chapter of life, which basically means I am in a pocket of my life where the potential for new opportunities is abundant and I am open to seeing where it all can take me. A few examples include but are not limited to a gastronomic live art display I did for a company’s launch party, a collaborative dinner menu I did for a private film screening, and an assortment of tastings for a bridal expo.
Like I stated before, my start in this creative industry was unconventional but I intend to continue keeping my mind open to avenues that might seem unrelated initially because those same projects just might result in something beautiful!
Supporting me in my journey can look like a lot of ways but one of my favorites is when someone puts a good word in for me when talking to other creatives. I’ve learned that the grapevine is pretty powerful and a little conversation via good ole networking can get you far.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pukshiet
