New Center’s New Filipino Bakery Debuts With Ube Infused Cookies and Brownies

The city of Detroit has welcomed the only Filipino bakery in town with the soft launch over the weekend of JP Makes and Bakes, the years-long project founded by pastry chef Jonathan Peregrino. In its first few weeks in operation visitors can expect Peregrino’s popular cookies and brownies infused with ube, a variety of pandesal — Filipino bread rolls — available with fillings like coconut or cream cheese topped with everything bagel seasoning. In addition, the bakeshop will frequently offer a selection of savory entrees, such as longaniza biscuits and gravy, adobo rice bowls, and other dishes informed by Peregrino’s Filipino American upbringing. To drink, customers can find espresso drinks and coffee sourced from Craig’s Coffee in Midtown, as well as specialty beverages like coconut ube matchas and a refreshing drink using calamansi — a citrus fruit typical of the Philippines. Peregrino tells Eater that in its first few weeks open, the bakery will offer limited hours Thursday through Saturday, but he hopes to expand hours as he gains his bearings. “I’m excited to be able to bring this type of stuff to both the neighborhood, but also the region,” Peregrino tells Eater. Peregino began his pastry-making journey following a 15-year career in corporate sales and marketing, and attended pastry school in the Philippines as a means of recapturing some of the flavors of his upbringing. In 2020, he competed in Season 7 of the Holiday Baking Championship on the Food Network. He went on to cut his teeth in the industry, working as a pastry chef at Oak and Reel in the city’s Milwaukee Junction area, followed by a stint at Le Suprême downtown, and has also hosted a number of pop-ups throughout southeast Michigan to show off both his skills in pastry and to dive into cooking savory dishes. In 2023, JP Makes and Bakes was named a semifinalist for the Hatch Detroit Contest. JP Makes and Bakes’ initial operating hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays or until the bakery sells out for the day and is located at 6529 Woodward Avenue, Suite B in Detroit.