CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — At Love At First Bite Patisserie, the air is thick with the comforting scent of sugar, butter, and something far deeper—remembrance.
Inside the warm kitchen, Chef Fatima Garcia moves with quiet focus, her hands shaping what she calls her most meaningful creation yet: Lolo Kiko Cookies, a lovingly handcrafted tribute to the late Pope Francis.
“I appreciate all his teachings,” Garcia said, eyes soft with memory as she pressed the dough into shape.
She speaks of Lolo Kiko, a term Filipinos use to affectionately refer to the Pope who is not just as a spiritual leader, but as a figure of hope who stood beside her country during a time of grief.
“When he came to the Philippines, we were struggling. He was there for us, not with fanfare, but with presence. Just him being there gave us strength,” Garcia recalled.
But it wasn’t just his visit that touched Garcia. It was his message of love, of compassion, of radical acceptance. His outspoken embrace of LGBTQ Catholics struck a chord with her, one she now bakes into each cookie with purpose.
The cookies themselves are as thoughtful as their story: sugar cookies finished with wafer prints on fondant, each delicately decorated with symbols of Pope Francis’s humility and grace. They’re simple, but not plain; sweet, but deeply soulful.
In Garcia’s kitchen, every batch tells a story. Lolo Kiko Cookies are more than dessert because they’re edible tributes, blending faith, flavor, and heartfelt memory.
