Paolo Esmaquel admires his cupcakes in his maiden store, Cupcakes by Paolo. 71456 Picture: NICOLE SULTANA
By Charlene Gatt
IT’S the cupcake store that is breathing new life into the Sunshine Rd end of Ashley St.
Cupcakes by Paolo has been running for the past month, offering more than 23 different varieties including their signature Brown and Blue, Chocolate Lover, Strawberry Lush, Oh So Velvet and Paolo’s personal favourite, Lemon Meringue.
Paolo Esmaquel, 25, decided to go out on his own this year after debuting the cupcakes at his parents’ takeaway store at the Footscray Market more than two years ago.
Keeping it in the family, Mr Esmaquel’s parents Allan and Alice are also lending a hand in the kitchen, while his brothers and sisters help out on weekends.
“They’ve taught me everything I know, so it’s only natural that they’re doing this with me too,” he said.
Mr Esmaquel is a third generation baker, who has been baking since he was eight years old.
His grandparents once owned a bakery in the Phillipines and his parents used to run a bakery along Churchill Ave.
Mr Esmaquel bakes around 180 cupcakes a day for the store, plus a few hundred for individual orders, which include cupcake towers for weddings, birthdays and special events.
“Cupcakes are more personal – it’s for you only,” Mr Esmaquel said.
“It’s not like a slice of cake that has come from something bigger, it’s very personal.”
Ever the perfectionist, Mr Esmaquel admits to eating a few of his own cupcakes each day – as research, of course.
“When you make them, you have to have a taste to make sure it’s the way you want it to be,” he said.
Mr Esmaquel renovated an old store along a dilapidated shopping strip in Ashley St for his maiden store, saying he wanted to give back to the community he grew up in.
