Nana Bambi's

About Nana Bambi's Place

Nana Bambi's Place is a vertically integrated farm-to-table enterprise at Ragay, Camarines Sur. The hub includes Alejandro's Cafe — a full-service restaurant named in memory of Andy, Bambi's husband — and the Panaderia, a bakery and casual dining space built around a wood fired dome oven positioned at the heart of the courtyard.

The Panaderia is not a convenience store with a bread shelf. It is a production bakery, a casual outdoor dining space, a pizza station, and a supply point for Alejandro's Cafe and the circuit delivery network simultaneously. The Baker is the person who makes all of that happen from 3:00 AM every morning.

Position Overview

The Baker is responsible for the full daily production of Nana Bambi's Panaderia — from the first pan de sal out of the oven before sunrise to the last par-baked pizza base sealed for the morning circuit truck. This is a production role, a customer-facing role, and a brand-defining role simultaneously.

The Panaderia operates two oven systems. The wood fired dome oven is the feature — customer-visible, positioned in the courtyard, used for Turkish bread, artisan loaves, and all made-to-order pizza. The commercial deck ovens are the engine — positioned in the production kitchen, handling daily pan de sal, pies, and pastries at volume. The Baker operates both.

The Two Oven Systems

Wood Fired Dome Oven — The Feature

Built by a local mason from refractory brick and clay render. Positioned visibly in the courtyard, visible from the cafe above, from the outdoor seating area, and from the market counter. Zero running cost. Permanent fixture.

The wood fired dome is the first thing customers see and smell when they arrive at the hub. The baker working the dome is on display — this is intentional. Wood fired bread is in Filipino DNA. Before commercial panaderias, every community baked this way. The dome is not a novelty. It is a return to something people recognise.

• Turkish bread and pane di casa loaves — the artisan range, baked in the dome
• All made-to-order pizza — customer picks toppings, baker fires in the dome, four minutes
• Showpiece sourdough — introduced when the baker has developed the skill, not a day-one requirement
• The baker does not leave the dome station during service hours — counter and number calls handled by casual assistant

Commercial Deck Ovens — The Volume

Two deck, four tray electric. In the production kitchen, not customer-visible. These are the workhorses — consistent temperature, precise control, no theatre, maximum output.

• All pan de sal — every batch, every day, from 3:00 AM
• All meat pies — classic beef, beef & mushroom, chicken & veg, pork & chilli, goat caldereta, egg & bacon, pie floater, family pie
• Cafe pastries — banana bread, ube pandesal, leche flan, cheese danish, puto, bibingka
• Turkish bread bulk bake for circuit distribution — same product as dome, scaled for volume
• Pizza base par-bake for circuit supply — vacuum sealed for delivery to satellite containers and commercial accounts

The Pizza Operation — Three Channels, One Oven

Pizza at Nana Bambi's runs three distinct revenue channels simultaneously from the same wood fired dome. Understanding all three is essential to the role.

Channel 1 — Panaderia Outdoor Casual

Customer walks up to the counter. Picks toppings from the board — toppings prepped daily by the kitchen and butcher, handed over to the panaderia station each morning. Baker stretches base, loads, slides into dome. Four minutes. Customer takes a number, sits outside. Casual assistant calls the number and hands over.

No waitstaff. No table service. No delay beyond the bake time. The baker never moves from the oven.

Channel 2 — Alejandro's Cafe Upstairs

Pizza ordered through the cafe menu upstairs. Ticket comes down to the panaderia station — either verbally through the dumbwaiter or via the POS system. Baker makes and fires the same pizza. Sends it up the dumbwaiter to the rear kitchen. Kitchen team plates with cafe-level finishing — herbs from the trellis garden, quality olive oil, shaved cheese, garnish. Full service table delivery upstairs.

Same pizza. Higher price point. Different presentation. The baker does not change what they do — the kitchen does.

Channel 3 — Circuit Distribution

Par-baked pizza bases produced in the afternoon bake cycle. Vacuum sealed, labelled, palletised. Out on the circuit truck the following morning to satellite containers along the corridor — Lupi, Sipocot, Santa Elena, Labo, Daet. Hotels, restaurants, schools, and institutions on the circuit receive quality wood fired pizza bases with no local alternative.

Full Product Range

Daily Schedule

Training — The First Month

The Baker will be trained directly by Aido in the first month of operations. Aido brings professional kitchen experience from Darwin (Travelodge Mirambeena, Frontier Hotel rooftop) and construction trade knowledge of the oven setup. Training covers everything that is not already in the candidate's skillset.

What we train

• Aussie meat pie production — pastry, filling ratios, sealing, dock pattern, glaze, bake time and temperature for each variant
• Wood fired dome management — fire lighting, temperature reading, heat distribution, loading technique, rotation, timing by product
• Turkish bread and pane di casa — shaping, scoring, moisture management in a dome environment
• Pizza base — hand stretch technique, topping load ratios for dome bake, char and bubble management
• Par-bake production for circuit — how to pull at the right point for best reheat result
• Cafe pastry standards — presentation expectations for dumbwaiter service to the restaurant
• Portion control and yield — every product has a standard weight and a standard price. Inconsistency costs money.
• Daily production planning — how to read yesterday's sales to set today's bake volumes

What the candidate brings

• Pan de sal and traditional Bicol bread knowledge — this is not trained, it is expected. Every baker in Ragay knows pan de sal.
• Commercial kitchen discipline — early start, clean-as-you-go, safe food handling, FIFO on all ingredients
• Physical stamina — baking commercially is heavy, hot, repetitive work starting in the dark

What We Are Looking For

Essential

• Experience baking pan de sal and traditional Filipino breads commercially or at scale — not a home baker, someone who has produced for sale
• Reliable — 3:00 AM is 3:00 AM, not 3:15. Bread waits for no one.
• Clean and organised — a baker who keeps a dirty bench makes inconsistent product
• Lives locally in Ragay or nearby — commuting to a 3:00 AM start from a distance does not work
• Comfortable working alone in the early hours — the first two hours every morning are solo production before the assistant arrives
• Open to learning — the pie range, the artisan breads, and the wood fired technique are all trained. Willingness matters more than prior knowledge of these specific products.

Preferred

• Experience with any commercial oven system — deck oven, rack oven, rotary
• Some exposure to pastry or filled product production — pies, empanadas, turnovers
• Familiarity with wood fired baking — traditional clay oven, pugon, or similar
• Basic kitchen mathematics — scaling recipes, calculating yield, reading a daily production sheet

What We Do Not Require

• TESDA NCII in Bread and Pastry Production — helpful but not required. Skill and reliability matter more than certification.
• Experience with wood fired ovens specifically — this is trained
• Prior knowledge of Australian cuisine or meat pies — this is trained

What We Offer

• Permanent full-time employment — not seasonal, not contractual
• Salary above provincial minimum — reviewed annually based on performance and enterprise growth
• Daily produce and bread allocation — take home fresh bread, eggs, and produce each day
• Direct training from Aido in the first month — professional kitchen standard, real techniques, no shortcuts
• The opportunity to be the baker who built the panaderia at Nana Bambi's Place — Ragay will know this bakery. The person who opens it will be part of that story.
• As the enterprise grows and the circuit expands, the Baker role grows with it — production volumes increase, the artisan range deepens, catering production for events becomes part of the role

How to Apply

Come and find us. Ask in the barangay for Aileen or Aido Mulkerrins at the Nana Bambi's Place hub in Ragay. There is no form to fill in.

Bring something you have baked. Pan de sal, a loaf, anything you are proud of. We will talk about how you made it. That conversation tells us what we need to know.

References from anyone in the community who has eaten your bread are welcome.