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'Naked Foodie' sweetens local food scene with luxe cakes

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Angelo G. Garcia

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake1.jpg"/><figcaption>Christian Mark Jacobs and his cake creations. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Christian Mark Jacobs, the husband of Filipino designer Francis Libiran, is making his own sweet mark in the local food scene.</p><p>He is the man behind The Naked Patisserie, an online bakery that sells luxury cakes, bespoke wedding cakes, and pastries. Also, The Naked Foodie, a YouTube channel that explores the world of food through his experiences, travels, and personal recipes. Recently, Jacobs also launched his own line of Italian wine under The Naked Foodie brand.</p><p>Jacobs is originally from Florida, USA but has been working in Asia for more than a decade now. He has worked in South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and now, the Philippines. He recently moved here after marrying Libiran last year. </p><p>He has since started his own bakery, The Naked Patisserie, which is famous for its naked cakes (cakes without frosting, just a thin layer of crumb coat). The bakery also makes other treats like cookies, truffles, macarons, and bespoke wedding cakes. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake2.jpg"/><figcaption>The Naked Patisserie also sells gift sets like this wine, cake, and truffle combination set. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>“We do a lot of naked cakes, naked cakes are really what we specialize in. We recently released a line of four new naked cakes and a lot of our clients—more than half—choose the naked cakes. We pair a naked cake with fresh foliage and we also use sugar flowers,” Jacobs shared during an intimate dinner he hosted for a select group of media at his and Libiran&#x27;s lovely home. </p><div><strong>WEDDING CAKES</strong></div><p>For wedding cakes, Jacobs said The Naked Patisserie makes it an experience and not just a simple tasting. </p><p>“We try to emphasize experience for our guests, so when they come in, the table setting is nice, we have candles, jazz music, we have champagne for them, we have cakes, and then we sketch their wedding cake for them on the spot. It&#x27;s really all about experience what we&#x27;re trying to offer,” he said.</p><p>He actually made his own wedding cake last year. The bakery already had several clients and will also be making cakes for upcoming celebrity weddings like for Christian Bautista and Kat Ram, Kryz Uy and Slater Young, and Moira Dela Torree and Jason Marvin. </p><p>What&#x27;s different with his wedding cake is it&#x27;s actually edible. One to two tiers are edible unlike most cake suppliers that don&#x27;t include even one edible tier. </p><p>“They&#x27;re actually getting not only the look of the cake but they&#x27;re getting the taste of the cake, which I try to emphasize even more because I&#x27;m a foodie myself. If I&#x27;m looking at a gorgeous cake, that&#x27;s nice and all, but can I have a taste? Most of our cake has at least one edible tier,” he said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake3.jpg"/><figcaption>Rustic cakes for events. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>SOUTHERN CHILDHOOD</strong></div><p>During the special dinner where he served Southern comfort food—biscuit, breaded pork chop, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet and sour green beans, and baked mac and cheese—he also revealed how his love for food started and how he is sharing that to the world. </p><p>When he was growing up in Southern US, he would watch his mother and grandmother cook in the kitchen while standing on a footstool. He can&#x27;t reach the counter just yet back then. Jacobs likewise enjoys simple yet good food growing up like bacon, egg, and cheese in a biscuit that were being sold on the streets.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake4.jpg"/><figcaption>Strawberries &#x27;n Cream cake. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>“These pork chops go four generations. My great grandmother was the one who first made these pork chops. In the States, they have something called Italian bread crumbs, they don&#x27;t have them here, so I make my bread crumbs from scratch. The way I make my pork chops differently is I bake them and I bake them with olive oil so they&#x27;re healthier than what my grandma would make, which is fried on the skillet in canola oil,” he explained. </p><p>Through the online platform he is able to share some of his recipes on his channel. And also bring the food culture of various places around the world through his culinary adventures. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake5.jpg"/><figcaption>One of The Naked Foodie&#x27;s adventure in South Korea, eating raw squid. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>“Basically living in four different countries in Asia—South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and now the Philippines, I felt like I&#x27;ve had so much exposure to different types of culture and different types of food and I just want a platform where I can share that. And then also, I&#x27;m a newbie here in the Philippines, so there&#x27;s a lot for me to try and I thought it would be a fun experience to sort of document that along the way. I&#x27;ve tried balut a couple weeks ago along with betamax and isaw,” he said.</p><p>“Even dissecting things like balut. People think of balut that it&#x27;s so exotic, I would never eat that. Okay, I&#x27;m going to go there and I&#x27;m going to tell you about it and I&#x27;m going to eat it and going to experience it and I&#x27;m going to share to you guys that&#x27;s it&#x27;s not a bit deal. That&#x27;s what The Naked Foodie is all about. There&#x27;s literally nothing you could give me that I won&#x27;t eat once,” Jacobs said. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/30/cake6.jpg"/><figcaption>One of his culinary adventures in the Philippines is eating Filipino street food like isaw. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div>

<p>Christian Mark Jacobs, the husband of Filipino designer Francis Libiran, is making his own sweet mark in the local food scene.</p>

Christian Mark Jacobs, the husband of Filipino designer Francis Libiran, is making his own sweet mark in the local food scene.