Journal Staff
KOROR, Palau — From serving food made by others to serving up fresh-made pastries in her own shop, Geramae DeLeon Matsutaro says her story proves that prayer and perseverance create the key to success.
“I didn’t even know how to operate the oven,” she said of her first efforts at baking bread. A few years, two children and several hundred loaves and cookie trays later, she is now the head baker and pastry chef at Mae’s Kitchen Café, a new coffee and pastry shop in Meyuns that she co-owns with her husband, Erbai Matsutaro.
Geramae arrived in Palau in 2016 after being hired as a waitress at the Palau Royal Resort, where she would eventually meet her husband.
“Erbai would always attend meetings or conferences there,” she said. After a while, he started courting her, and the two were married. In November 2018, she gave birth to their son. They were ecstatic. But she soon faced a dilemma familiar to many women: stay home to raise her baby or work and have someone else care for him.
“It was hard leaving him in daycare,” she said.
But Geramae was used to earning her own money and supporting her family in the Philippines.
“I had to work because I was thinking, ‘How am I going to support my family back home?’” she said.
When her son was about 3 months old, Geramae decided he wouldn’t go to daycare.
“I had to quit my job because I wanted to take care of my son,” she said, adding that it was a struggle. “I prayed. It was a hard decision. I trusted God—I prayed that He would give me a job where I could be at home with my son.”
This was in 2019. While she enjoyed being home, she couldn’t sit still. She decided to try baking bread like those she enjoyed in the Philippines. That first effort failed.
“The bread didn’t rise,” she said. “I think I didn’t prove it long enough.” She tried again. And again. By then, she was down to her last $100. She bought ingredients and tried one more time.
“It was so good,” she said. “I ate it all—that first loaf.”
Her husband was out of the country for work at the time, but when he returned, she baked a loaf for him and “he really enjoyed it,” she said. Next, she tried making a cake and realized it was much easier than baking bread.
“Bread is hard for me. If you don’t mix it properly, if you don’t let it prove enough, it’s just horrible,” she said.
“I did more baking, and then through trial and error, I started making more desserts.”
The cakes and pastries weren’t just easier—they were so good that Erbai told her she should consider selling them.
While she credits YouTube videos for helping her learn to make some of the pastries that are now favorites in her shop and at various stores in Palau, she also offers some sage advice.
“I followed YouTube, but those videos don’t give you everything,” she said. “There’s a secret ingredient they don’t tell you to make it taste good. But you have to figure it out for yourself.”
Her first offerings of cookies and pastries went into sweet bento boxes sold at Save More in Airai.
“The owners liked the (mini) cakes,” she said, adding they were worried about the first batch selling because it seemed like too many. “There were two trays—eight slices each tray, so 16 total pieces.”
They sold out, and the owners wanted more. Geramae said she and Erbai chalked it up to curiosity about a novelty item. But the second and third batches also did well.
Somewhere along the way, she realized this hobby could become a business—allowing her to do something she enjoyed, earn money, and stay home with her son. She stuck with it, and soon her pastries were being sold at other places frequented by locals and visiting families for their variety of bento boxes and local snacks: Franco’s in downtown Koror and Mid-Town Gas Station at Top Side.
Then last year, a business owner called Geramae, asking if she could prepare some of her sweets to be sold in Yap.
Not only was she ecstatic, but Geramae said she and her husband also started thinking about opening their own brick-and-mortar store. Up to this point, they had to drive to deliver her baked goods, but the success they had seen made them think people enjoyed her pastries enough to come to them.
“And I know that many people like coffee with their pastries,” she said. So she and Erbai began the process of creating their own physical location. Taking out a business loan was easier than she initially thought. The banks liked that she had already been in business for a few years and that her sales were consistent and growing. With a combination of savings and a loan, she was able to open her dessert and coffee shop on May 1, 2025.
Because she’s still the primary baker for the shop, this meant cutting back on the sweet bento boxes at other locations. In June, Geramae resumed selling some items at the stores where she started.
“I want to be hands-on,” she said of baking. She has hired a few people to help with the store, making coffee and tea and serving patrons.
Looking back, she isn’t exactly sure how she got to the point where she’s the proud owner and baker at her own shop.
“I didn’t know anything about baking. It was just God’s plan for me,” she said. What started as a hobby allowed her to be with her son, and now a daughter as well.
It is hard being the primary baker while also managing the store and taking care of the shop’s inventory, but it’s also very rewarding, she said.
“Yes, I get tired but, you know, if it’s something you love to do then …” Geramae said, shrugging her shoulders.
Most importantly, together with Erbai, she’s been able to create a schedule that works for their family.
Today, her pastry shop sees a steady stream of customers who enjoy cheesecakes, ube cakes, cookies and pies with a variety of hot and cold drinks—from a cup of Americano to chamomile tea and strawberry milkshakes.
“I always remember what I prayed for,” she said. “Now I don’t need to be torn between going to work and taking care of my family.”
She said her answered prayer is reflected in the shop’s logo, which can be found on their shirts: “Desserts from heaven.”
“It’s really dessert from heaven because the answers came from God,” she said.
In the near future, she hopes to add pasta and other savory dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. To do that, she’ll have to find some help for the kitchen with the savory items. She currently has three employees.
She said she’ll also be looking for another baker, though she admits she might be a little picky. “It’s easy to teach, but it takes time to really get it right,” she said.
Similarly, when asked what advice she would give to others considering a new venture, Geramae responded quickly: “Just start.”
“Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s hard. Even if you’re scared. If it matters to you, start. Then keep going,” she said. “You don’t have to be perfect. Whenever you fail, the more you fail, you become stronger and you learn more.”
Like her first few loaves, she said, don’t give up. “It’s a lesson learned; it’s all part of the process.” mbj
