TALES FROM THE BAKERY OF CINNABON
by Louie P. Oviedo

About Cinnabon

All Cinnabon cinnamon rolls are baked fresh right under your noses. Through its glass, you will see their baker knead the dough, pat in the butter then mix it with sugar and their trademark cinnamon named as Makara. Afterwards they bake it then frost it with cream cheese then served while it's hot. All of these are done right before your very eyes to assure you that all their cinnamon rolls are fresh and contains no artificial ingredients.

"All the ingredients for our rolls come from the States. The flour, the sugar, lahat! Even our beverages come from the US," stated Jona Bonus, Marketing and Promo Coordinator of Canelle Food Corporation, "Only the eggs are bought here in the Philippines."

Only the eggs?

"Before we could use the eggs produced here in the Philippines, we had to send samples back to the US so that AFC could do all kinds of tests to ensure that it meets with Cinnabon's standards. We tried looking for our sugar supplier in the Philippines, unfortunately, we still haven't found the one that meets our standards. Same goes with our coffee," she added.

AFC Enterprises was the parent company of Cinnabon and was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1985. It recently opened its doors for franchise in the Southeast Asian region. Their first franchise is located here in the Philippines, operated and managed by Canelle Food Corporation.

"We use only the finest ingredients to ensure that kung ano ang lasa ng Cinnabon roll sa States same din dito sa Philippines. Most balikbayans, since they know Cinnabon already, have doubts kung pareho nga ang lasa ng cinnamon rolls dito with the ones na nasa States. After trying our cinnamon rolls dito sa Philippines, they tell us na pareho lang daw. That's because we follow the same ingredients, the same exact measurement and the same quality as the one in States," Jona said.

Their store has been designed like a bakery wherein you can watch their baker as he mix, roll, and rise the dough, as well as the final assembly down to the baking of the fresh cinnamon rolls. And because they are baked fresh all day, every day, customers or guests are guaranteed that every Cinnabon cinnamon roll is served and eaten in not more than 30 minutes right out the oven.

After 30 minutes, the rolls are cooled down then applied with additional cream cheese frosting to keep them moist. They are available for take out in their exclusive Express Pack box.

Right now, they only have two cinnamon roll flavors: the original Cinnabon cinnamon roll topped with the cream cheese frosting and the Pecanbon which has been topped with caramel frosting and pecan nuts. Only Cinnabon comes with a smaller version called the Minibon. The reason?

"We tried reducing the Pecanbon's size, unfortunately, hindi maganda iyon quality---sumasabog iyon pecans niya and once we baked it, it didn't turn out how we liked it so we aborted the idea," Jona explained. "Maybe later we can sell mini Pecanbons on a limited time only but right now we are still studying how to make it right."

And how about additional cinnamon roll flavors?

"Canelle Food Corporation is concentrating on letting people know about Cinnabon in the Philippines. We want people to know that our cinnamon rolls taste the same as the ones in US. Also, AFC has to do a lot of product testing before they can allow us to introduce new flavors for our cinnamon rolls," Jona replied.

The Taste Test

I had a Minibon because I thought their cinnamons looked too sweet from where I was standing. I was wrong. It did not taste as sweet as I expected it to be. What I can taste more is their cinnamon with every bite. After finishing it off, I was craving for another piece but decided against it. I saw how it was prepared and how much butter they added for each batch. Nevertheless, it took me a lot of willpower to resist the temptation of ordering for another one, fat or no fat.

Their Cappuccino Icescape was even sweeter than their Minibon. This is a dessert all in itself. After having it with my Minibon, I thought it would have been best had I paired my cinnamon roll with their brewed coffee.

The Place

Canelle Food Corporation has three branches as of today. One in Robinson's Place Manila (which was opened last October 26, 1999); then another one in Robinson's Galleria (which was opened last November 13, 1999); and Alabang Town Center (which was opened last November 14, 1999).

I have been to two of their branches, the one in Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas and Robinson's Place located in Ermita, Manila.

In Robinson's Place-Ermita, they have their tables and chairs alongside the path leading towards the exit or entrance going to Pedro Gil Street. Enclosed by railings, the place is a perfect venue to meet friends and go people watching. The ceiling is high so the noise does not echo when you are sitting there eating and drinking coffee by their bakery.

In Robinson's Galleria, on the other hand, the bakery and the café have been enclosed in a low-ceiling room, which does not have good acoustics. Sounds kept reverberating from nearby restaurants and from within Cinnabon---producing noise which kept bouncing on the walls. Nevertheless, people were not deterred by the noise from eating there.