About L

I am actually not Tita Letty, my business is named after my mom, who immigrated here in the 60s when they opened up immigration to Filipino nurses. Tita Letty is what all my family called her as I was growing up, and it always sounded so loving and welcoming.

I am L, a Flint Native (go Flint Northern Vikings!) now living in Ann Arbor. I’m also non-binary, which might seem (on the surface) like it doesn’t have anything to do with baking. For me, it does. Cooking and baking is such an interwoven part of my identity, a way that I can tell and share stories, a way for me to heal, participate in my community, feed my family, and not feel alone. When I started realizing that there was this label to how I’ve always felt all my life, non-binary, I found a lot of comfort and happiness in cooking while I was discovering this place for me that finally felt “right”. I’m someone who thinks way before and way past the experience of taking a bite of food. I think about why this dish, and why this ingredient, why at this time, why this substitution? What’s the story behind the food that’s about to become part of my body?

I think at a young age I was taught that Filipino food wasn’t something you brought to lunch. Even last year, I had an acquaintance say that Filipino food was “disgusting” because of balut. I sometimes felt disappointed in myself for not sticking up for the cuisine of my heritage. Today, instead, I feel proud because I’m sharing what I love about it.

I’m of course deeply influenced by my mother, who raised me on her own. She encouraged me to write and be creative. I’m influenced by the city I was raised in, Flint, and by my friends there. Pickles and Kool-Aid is a thing! I’m influenced by 90s rap and R&B and listen to it while I research and bake.

I’m very thankful for SafeHouse and the Southeast Michigan Center for Women. It is because of their supportive resources that I was able to gain the courage and self-esteem to start this up again. If you’ve experienced trauma it can really knock you down, make you feel small and insignificant, and powerless. For a long time. I think that’s part of why I’m writing this out. Because if you love doing something and it brings you happiness or satisfaction it’s okay to nurture it, and there might be something that scares you or makes you feel like you don’t deserve it or you don’t have what it takes, but it’s okay to believe in yourself and pull through doing what you love.