Two years ago, her husband asked her to leave her job at a drug supplier to watch over the bakery. Legal workers in the United States, Max and Bella Bigol are in the final stages of citizenship approval. Sometimes it's for fun. Like Philippine bakers back home, he colors breads, turning some challahs green. Other breads are shaped like fish, crocodiles, flowers and crabs.
Customers enjoy the novelty.
Other times, he's keeping up with current trends. Bigol is out to make money and earn a part of the American dream. N.Y. Stiel's Lachmaynu doesn't have ovens in New Jersey. It's Brooklyn stuff. Like Bigol, Stiel supplies Jewish institutions with breads, including the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva in Edison and seven area synagogues.