Mario Santos has a passion for fashion.

He studied fashion at Slim’s Fashion and Arts School. The self-described dressmaker used to make clothes for a local designer before the pandemic. “But since [fashion is] not part of the ‘essentials’ during the lockdown, I had to find other ways to make ends meet,” he told Lifestyle.

It was during the pandemic that he dove into another passion—baking. Santos started making cakes and launched Huntahan, a small home-based pastry shop in Caloocan City.

Huntahan, which means “kwentuhan” or chitchat, is Santos’ tribute to his lola, who hails from Borongan, Eastern Samar. Her stories and the many lessons she shared with him became a big part of his character.

“She taught us about going back to one’s roots and going back to the basics, appreciating simple and basic ingredients like lemon, and turning it to something special like lemon meringue,” he said.

Lemon Meringue Tart is just one of the many things Santos whips up in the kitchen. Huntahan offers artisanal cakes and tarts—from Devil’s Food Cake, Naked Spiced Carrot Cake and Banoffee Custard Pie to Mousse Au Chocolat, Lime Mojito Cheesecake and Strawberry Charlotte.

Santos gives his desserts the same level of attention he does his dresses. He hopes his creations will inspire families to come together and have good conversations, just like he did with his grandma.

“Let Huntahan be part of your kwentuhan, enjoying the goodness of food, along with the stories,” he said.

Follow @huntahan.mnl on Instagram.