Cha Saburnido is the founder of Eat Cake. JONATHAN YBERA/EXPAT MEDIA

Cha Saburnido greets us with a bright smile inside her whimsical cake studio in Dubai’s Al Warsan 1 — a space where cartoon characters, Disney princesses, and K-pop heroes come to life in fondant and buttercream. “We don’t just sell cake. We sell a work of art,” the Eat Cake founder and owner tells Expat Media confidently, and it shows. On the display counter are edible masterpieces, from vintage cakes and K-pop’s Demon Hunters to The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and even Paw Patrol, each handcrafted with such precision that they look ready to leap off the cake. But behind these magical creations is a woman who once convinced herself she belonged in scrubs, not an apron. Every swirl, sparkle, and sugar petal tells a story, not just of a celebration, but of Cha’s own incredible journey from a nursing graduate in the Philippines to one of Dubai’s most sought-after cake artists.

A nursing graduate who found healing in baking

Cha grew up in Cagayan de Oro, the “City of Golden Friendship” in the Philippines. Like many Filipinos, she was raised to believe that a nursing degree was a ticket to a better future abroad. “I studied nursing because my mom wanted it,” she recalls with a smile. “She’s a healthcare provider in the US, and she dreamed I’d follow her path. But even as I finished university, I knew nursing was not for me. It’s not just a profession — it’s a calling. And my heart was elsewhere.” Her “elsewhere” came unexpectedly when a friend invited her to a baking class. “I didn’t even know how to make pancakes!” Cha laughs. “But that one-day class changed everything. I was so focused on decorating cupcakes that I forgot to touch my phone the whole day. That’s when I knew — this is what I love.” Her mother’s first reaction? Shock. “I spent millions sending you to nursing school and you’re just going to make cakes?” her mother exclaimed. But the same woman who questioned her soon became her biggest supporter — paying for her six-month elite culinary training and even buying her first baking tools. “She said, ‘You’ll get bored of this eventually,’ and that challenged me. I had to prove her wrong,” Cha says.

The sweet beginning of Eat Cake

After a year of baking wedding and birthday cakes back home, Cha’s restless spirit took her to Dubai in 2013. “I was 24, curious, and wanted to explore the world,” she says. “I didn’t even have a plan — just a 7kg luggage and a desire for change.” Within 10 days, she landed her first job as an executive assistant. Over the next eight years, she’d work in six different companies, but something was always missing. “By day, I was in the corporate world. By night, I was baking,” Cha says. “I’d stay up until 5am decorating cakes, sleep a few hours, and drag myself to work. I was exhausted but happy.” She also met her husband in Dubai. The man who would later become her biggest supporter. The two married, full of hope and plans for the future. “We wanted to start fresh in Australia, so we decided to sell everything, even my baking tools, thinking we were moving soon,” she recalls. But life had other plans. Their petition to migrate was denied. “We had already let go of everything and were ready to start over elsewhere, but suddenly, we were back to zero in Dubai,” she says. Then came a sweet twist of fate: A single cake order in 2019. A friend asked for a Christmas cake. “I told her I didn’t have baking tools anymore, but she paid me Dh300 in advance. I bought a hand mixer, a few nozzles, and borrowed an oven,” Cha recalls. “That Dh300 started it all.” She kept going,  juggling a day job, a side hustle, and an unshakable dream. Then came the pandemic and an unexpected boom. Cha’s video of her ube pandesal with oozing cheese went viral among Filipinos in Dubai. “A pregnant friend asked to buy a tray, and after she posted it online, the orders didn’t stop. I was making 500 pieces a day in our small apartment!” By January 2024, Cha and her husband decided to take the leap using their savings to open Eat Cake UAE. “I started with just me,” she says. She was a one-woman show — baker, decorator, delivery driver, social media manager. Within months, she had staff. Today, they are five and growing.

Baking with surgical precision

But Eat Cake isn’t just about beautiful desserts. Cha’s nursing background gives her a unique edge. “We also create vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free cakes because I believe everyone deserves to celebrate, even those with allergies or dietary restrictions,” she says. And her meticulousness? Straight out of the operating room. “In nursing, every surgical tool must be in perfect order. I apply the same discipline here,” she says. “Even a tiny fiber on the cake, I can’t rest until it’s gone. My customers notice that precision, and that’s what makes our cakes special.” Each recipe is tested like an experiment. “I spent six months perfecting my vegan and gluten-free cakes,” she adds. “I tried every possible milk substitute and egg replacement. Baking is science. One wrong calculation and the whole thing fails.” The result? Cakes that don’t just look stunning but taste extraordinary. “Many clients say they didn’t even realize they were eating gluten-free cake. That’s the best compliment,” Cha smiles. Running a bespoke cake shop while raising a toddler isn’t easy — and Cha admits she sometimes forgets what rest feels like. “I go to bed at 4am, sometimes 5am,” she says. “I wake up by 8am to check orders and messages. My husband is my rock. He takes care of our daughter when I drown myself in the studio.” Still, she insists, “I’d rather lose sleep than lose passion.” When asked what she dreams for Eat Cake, she doesn’t hesitate. “I want to be known as the most trusted bespoke cake brand in Dubai and as a proud Filipino cake artist. Filipinos are incredibly talented; we just need the courage to show it.” She’s already planning the next chapter: Mini Bakes, a line of bite-sized delights available on Talabat and other delivery platforms. Looking back, Cha says she only has one regret: not starting sooner. “I wasted eight years in jobs I didn’t fully love. But maybe that’s part of the journey — so I can appreciate how far I’ve come. I built this business cake by cake.” With each order, her standard is a piece of cake: “I want our cakes to be the centerpiece of the party,” she says. “Not just something to eat, but something to remember.”

Quick fire questions

Favourite cake colour Pink. Favourite flavour Strawberry shortcake. Buttercream or fondant? Buttercream, of course. Most unusual cake request Naughty cake! Best cake you’ve ever made For a member of the Dubai royal family. If your life were cake, it would be… Tiramisu! Toughest cake critic My husband. He always tells the truth. Comfort cake when stressed Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Ingredient you can’t live without Butter. Decorating or seeing reactions? Both, but reactions win. Dream celebrity client Oprah Winfrey. Baking disaster that makes you laugh I once baked with icing sugar instead of flour! If Dubai were a cake Dark chocolate with pistachio, saffron, dates, and 24k gold. Kitchen motto Happiness made edible. Complete this sentence: Cake is… Life! Order a bespoke cake via eatcake.ae. This story also appears in the Expat Media Special Edition Magazine
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