Cover Photo: Artur Rutkowski / Unsplash
Photo: Artur Rutkowski / Unsplash
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Master bread baker Richard Manapat finds loyal fans among the diplomatic community by selling what many say is the most authentic old-world bread in Manila
If you happen to dine at one of Metro Manila’s most sought-after chef’s tables and find a bread course on the menu, there is a chance that baker Richard Manapat, fondly known as Richie, had a hand in that. . .one way or another. Low-key and diminutive, he prefers to live away from the limelight, choosing to work in the background and share his craft with whoever wishes to learn it. He has lent his expertise to many chefs and restauranteurs around the country, teaching them how to make European-style bread, usually of the sourdough variety. After years of partnerships and consultancies, Richie and his wife, the former Myka Ibazeta, finally launched their own online business called Brie & Rye Bakery (named after their children) offering what he describes as “old world bread.” The kind that he always dreamed of making.
Richie never really set out to become a baker. He studied economics in college hoping to please his father who was a banker. When his father passed, his priorities changed and decided to go to culinary school instead. Baking then was mere “a subject (he) had to pass,” requirements needed to fulfil to receive his diploma. It did come in handy when Richie and Myka opened a catering business in 2011 and had to make bread to accompany the tapas they served during the events of the Spanish cultural centre Instituto Cervantes, a loyal client. It did not take long for their many European guests to take notice of the bread, which at the time was mostly baguettes. “They would ask us where they could buy the bread,” Richie narrates. “Since people kept asking about it, so we decided to eventually sell them.”
Above Photo: Duncan Kidd / Unsplash
Photo: Duncan Kidd / Unsplash
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This demand for European bread from his clients sparked his passionate interest in them, taking a deep dive into the history and culture of whatever baked delicacy he set out to create. “I have never been to all those countries, but I like to read up on them,” Richie explains. “I look at photos, see the ingredients, and come up with something in my head that comes close to it, even if we do not have all the ingredients.” Baking started to take up more and more of their time so eventually, he and Myka had to decide to focus on bread. “Catering is seasonal,” Richie points out. “December you would have a lot and then shortly after, it will slow down. The bread orders were more constant. We figured we cannot do both, so we decided to just concentrate on bread. This was around 2014.”
Fast forward to 2020 and the world was in crisis, and one of the industries most affected by it was food and beverage. Richie admitted to falling into a deep depression during the pandemic lockdowns, isolating himself for up to a week at a time in an apartment away from his family, neither eating nor sleeping. He motions towards his head which, for as long as I can remember, has always been shaved close to his skull. This, he admitted, is because back when they were still in the catering business, a piece of hair was found in one of his bread. He knew it was not his, but he was accused of the transgression and vowed that he would never be caught in that situation again. Stewing in grief and rage, he grew his hair out during the pandemic because, as he says, “it was very symbolic for me, that since I was not baking anymore I could just grow my hair. Because— why not?”
Luckily, it was also during this time that he met a German diplomat who shared his passion for gaming and computers. During one of their hangouts, the German pined for the bread of his homeland, and Richie pointed out that he learned how to make some German bread when he worked in a bakery in Australia. His friend insisted that he make some and offer a tasting at the embassy, but at this time Richie admits that he was still feeling low and insecure. “He was still procrastinating,” Myka candidly imparts. “Eventually, I coaxed him out of it. ‘You’re so good at baking,’ I said. Just go for it.”
With Myka’s push and support, Richie rolled up his sleeves and began his research and development. He is known to only use flour that is free of chemicals and preservatives, making them very volatile to heat, humidity, and other environmental factors. Adjustments need to be made according to the flour available, and the availability of ingredients is always an issue he struggles with. Eventually, he was able to come up with a selection for the German embassy tasting— landbrot (a country-style loaf), apfelbrot (apple bread), a volkorn-type brötchen (bread rolls) with oats, laugencroissant (croissants that have been pretzeled), pretzels, and berliners (jelly doughnut). They immediately loved it, and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Even as the Manapats continued their research to expand their menu, the orders kept pouring in. They set up an Instagram account where they attached a Google form for customers to log their orders according to what is available for both Tuesday and Friday pickups. The Spanish consulate and the other Spanish-speaking embassies have also gone on board and are requesting their local bread as well. “I also learned the different flavour profiles. Like, the Spaniards want their bread blander, less ‘brick.’ The German kinds of bread have far more flavour, and there is salt also. The Romanian and Hungarian embassies have also approached us and they seem to prefer bread that is more on the sour side.”
Richie is truly in his element, and nobody could be happier for him than Myka, who watched him struggle with promoting the kind of old-world “brick” bread he enjoys making to a local market with a penchant for soft and sweet bread. “Of course, they (locals) are always welcome to order, but it’s not any more such a hard push. For Europeans, bread is a staple in their everyday meals,” Myka observes. Richie adds: “Filipinos will order once in a while as they’ll buy in bulk, but then they won’t order for two months. The Europeans consider this their staple, some order every Tuesday or Friday. They order less, but more often because of course they want it as fresh as possible.”
See also: New restaurant: Gilbert by Australian chef James Viles, opening June 2023
Above Photo: Fernando Delgado / Unsplash
Photo: Fernando Delgado / Unsplash
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Baking bread, as Richie has patiently explained to me, takes planning and preparation. Orders need to be finalised days ahead simply because it takes that long to prepare them. The Manapats have learned to live around a baker’s lifestyle that begins when the dough is prepped late at night to be ready for baking early the next day. They even manage a semblance of normal family life, driving their daughter to ballet and having a chat with friends over late lunch. Richie's buzz cut is back, a tell-tale sign that things are slowly falling back into place. It is a far cry from those dark days, and proof that when given the right treatment, just like dough, a good man eventually rises.
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
