It all started with a pie...

I often get asked how the business started, well to be honest I can't really remember the exact timeframe when the idea began, but I know for sure it was in the kitchen with my mom. I am one of six kids, and the oldest daughter, so naturally I got to spend time in the kitchen helping my mom keep everyone fed. On our farm we have a couple of apple trees and every fall we pick the apples. It was always great fun seeing how many we could pick, if you could reach the perfect one and occasionally rescuing a brother from climbing too high. 

The apples were destined for eating, apple sauce, apple crisp and some pies for the freezer. One year we decided to get crazy and make 15-20 pies for the freezer. So, the pastry making began and then the peeling and slicing. I remember mom just mixing up the apples with a bit of sugar and a bit of flour. Being the math lover I am, I wanted actual measurements and she just laughed. We finished and were satisfied with our freezer stash of pies. That winter we baked an apple pie a week and each time we baked one I fondly remembered all of the steps that went into making that pie. It wasn't just an apple pie; it was more than that. It was 15 small memories strung together. Now don't get me wrong a couple of those memories included was dumping flour on the floor, siblings arguing about who gets which apple etc. Ha ha! It was all love though. It was sitting around our dinner table that I realized the power of food memories. 

Flash forward to a Saturday at the Farmers' market. A customer came up first thing in the morning and said "Hello, I got one of your apple pies last week..." Immediately I was worried something was wrong by the look on her face. She said, with a tear in her eye, "It was the best apple pie, it reminded me of my Gramma's apple pies. My sister and I sat on my kitchen floor, ate a slice of pie, laughed and cried about missing our Gramma. Thank you so much". I was so touched that she felt compelled to tell me this story.

It was then that I realized I was on the right path. Food is important. Food brings us together. Sharing food, whether you made it or not, is an act of love. It nourishes our bodies & souls. It has the power to bring us back in time to picking apples with our brothers. Or into the kitchen with our Gramma. When we are busy in the kitchen, on weeks like Thanksgiving, I always remind my staff how amazing it is that people all over will be serving our pies to their families. We made over 250 pies this Thanksgiving. That means approximately 1500 slices of pies. How amazing is that? Our small business was a part of 1500 people's lives for one weekend! I hope you felt the love & energy we put into making your pies. 

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for including us in your family celebrations, everyday lives and busy weeknights.