Tinapayan Festival, a local bakeshop offering soft and sweet baked products, has been around for the past 40 years, and it recognizes the importance of every Filipino household being able to enjoy great pandesal.

"When you own a bakery in the country, it is certain that you will always offer pandesal," said Lucito "Chito" Chavez, founder of the bakeshop. "Growing up in the province, our usual breakfast consisted of piping hot pandesal fresh from the pugon, dipped in hot chocolate or coffee."

"Pandesal has been a part of our lives and our culture as Filipinos. At Tinapayan, we are very proud of the versions of pandesal that we offer, coming from various recipes we've innovated and improved over the years," he added.

The "Tinapay King of the Philippines," as Chavez has been dubbed, recalled that "in the 1960s, pandesal was pugon-baked by the panaderos. In the 1970s, the demand for pandesal grew and dominated the market, where almost 40 percent of flour for bread went to the production of pandesal. Cuenca, Batangas was very famous in the bakery industry in the 70s for its very tasty pandesal."

For a time, Chavez was the executive vice president and spokesperson of the Philippine Federation of Bakers Association Inc., where he was very vocal about supporting local agriculture and farmers. This commitment led him to maximize the use of agricultural products and crops by integrating them into Tinapayan's menu of baked breads, pastries, and cakes.

As early as 1985, Tinapayan Festival began working to incorporate local products and agricultural crops to make delicious yet healthy varieties of its bread rolls. The bakeshop is now offering seven different healthy versions: Potato Bread (1985), Kamote Pandesal and Squash Pandesal (2007), Malunggay Pandesal (2010), Carrot Pandesal (2014), Ube Cheese Pandesal and Sweet Potato Pandesal (2017), and Super Healthy Pandesal (2022).

"With our various pandesal and Manila rolls, we are giving our customers a chance to discover new flavors and eat delicious yet healthy baked products," Chavez said.

Visit Tinapayan Festival at 1650 Dapitan St. corner Don Quijote, Sampaloc, Manila, or call +02 8732 2188 or +639617152714 to place advance orders. Email sales@tinapayan@gmail.com, follow on Facebook or Instagram. Tinapayan Festival is also available via GrabFood and FoodPanda.