MANILA - Ahead their first Christmas together as husband and wife, Matteo Guidicelli could not help but gush about his wife Sarah Geronimo’s improving culinary skills.
One cake, the latest of the pop superstar’s baking creations, deserves mention.
“She does really, really good cakes. Her strawberry cake is super good,” said Guidicelli at the sidelines of his recent Christmas Swatch event launch.
It is so good that even renowned chef and restaurant chain owner Margarita “Gaita” Fores has praised it.
"Yes, I have tried it. It reflects something really home-baked, not overly sweet, and baked with a lot of love from Sarah," Fores told ABS-CBN News Wednesday.
Guidicelli is grateful for the support of Fores, a close friend who also traces her family and culinary ties to Italy.
In 2018, they did a two-part special for ABS-CBN’s food documentary series “The Crawl” highlighting the cooking tradition of Italy.
Guidicelli is also grateful that their kitchen has enriched their relationship the past nine months.
“I do the Italian dishes and she does the Filipino food and baking, so it’s been perfect for us,” said the actor, who also honed his cooking in the family restaurant Da Gianni Cucina Italiana.
He also disclosed that they will soon market Geronimo’s strawberry cake and her other products, although orders have to be made in advance.
Not bad for Geronimo who botched her bread baking early on in their marriage. By her own account, Geronimo said she learned to bake the right way through discipline, patience and instinctive mixing of the right ingredients.
Among Geronimo’s cakes that Guidicelli call “magical” are her Japanese souffle cheesecake, lemon blueberry buttermilk and passion fruit coconut cheesecake.
On social media, he also uses the #shesthebest hashtag to describe his wife’s skills. Geronimo also bakes her favorite oatmeal and chocolate cookies as well as brownies and muffins.
The singer first took cooking lessons under veteran chef Gene Gonzales in 2016.
Geronimo’s transformation as a baker is one of the unexpected thrills of married life amid the pandemic, said Guidicelli, who also believes that the lockdown life has made their bond stronger. He himself has found a new “cool” role as a gardener, focusing on growing pechay, tomatoes, mint and other herbs.
Guidicelli now looks back with gratitude that they tied the knot in a controversial yet fortuitous surprise wedding February this year.
“We were together for six years before the wedding. And it happened shortly before the pandemic. Time is what you make of it really,” he said.
Within two years, he and Geronimo also want to welcome their first baby.
But amid the swirl of speculations about Geronimo’s pregnancy, Guidicelli quipped, “Not yet! Hopefully soon, very soon!”