Couple’s love for baking is the ‘bread and butter’ of their business

CLOVIS, Calif.

With the crack of an egg, one chef is recreating culture through his passion for baking.

Mark Sanchez is the head chef and co-owner of Bread and Butter Bakery and started his profession a long time ago.

“I started cooking when I was young, that was as I can remember I was like 14,” Sanchez says.

After realizing he was good at it, Sanchez chose cooking as his path.

He studied baking and design in Cebu, the Philippines, which lead him into his profession.

“I really love this one. I love baking, and I feel relaxed.”

Then his life shifted. About 10 years ago Sanchez and his wife Jamna migrated to the states.

Sanchez’s love for the culinary arts and his desire for more opportunities pushed him and his wife to pick up their lives and move to the U.S.

His wife Jamna Sanchez says not everyone gets a chance to do something they love for their work. “He’s just a lucky guy that he found one thing that he likes and he’s really good at it,” Jamna says.

They decided they would carry over Sanchez’s skills and create their own business when they came to the U.S., and as soon as they arrived the plans were underway, with a few exceptions.

“As soon as he got all the plans, all the flavors together, and you know with the approval of our Filipino friends, he said, ‘let’s bring it out.’” Jamna says.

With approval, became the start of Bread and Butter.

Their vision behind it, to show pride in their Filipino culture. “He was thinking about, how to use his profession here and at the same time not just be a regular chef but also to introduce Filipino food delicacies, Filipino food culture,” Jamna says.

Their motto of, “We bring families and friends together,” does exactly that.

Customers Gloria Pitman and Pat Franco say the Sanchezes are nice people. “They are very friendly, they are very family, you know I mean? They do the baking in their home, which is very nice, so yeah,” Pitman says.

Sanchez says they work together to make their business run and keep customers like Pitman and Franco coming back. “Home business, it’s a family business. It’s teamwork,” Sanchez says.

Needless to say, Sanchez’s love for baking is the bread and butter of their business.