VisitingNewEngland/Ever So Humble Pie Company Business Partnership - Local Small Business Stories
Off the Pie Charts: Ever So Humble Pie Company in East Walpole,
Mass.
Career-changer Andrea Taber
finds her dream job by creating homemade farm fresh, no trans fats pies
-- made from scratch and ready-to-bake, at the Ever So Humble Pie
Company
by Eric J. Hurwitz. Article updated on June 10, 2017.
Cherry pie, Ever So Humble Pie Company, Walpole,
Massachusetts. Photo credit,
Andrew
Joyce.
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Andrea Taber (pictured left) tastes
the sweet smell of
success on a daily basis.
Tired of bureaucracy and waning one-on-one patient care, Taber, many
years ago, left behind 25 years of nursing to create a business made
from scratch: pie making.
The brave move was no "pie-in-the-sky" idea, as Taber opened the Ever
So Humble Pie Company in East Walpole, Mass., in 2002. With a vision of
making preservative-free pies sourced from local New England farms
employing responsible farming methods, Taber's business has gained
popularity as a wholesome alternative to mass-produced, assembly-line
pies laced with monosodium glutamate, trans fats, hydrogenated oils
(trans fats) and other offending, unhealthy chemicals.
"If you take pride in what you're doing, then you use the best
ingredients," said Taber. "We use unbleached, unbromated flour, natural
corn starch and farm produce including locally grown apples. The Big
Apple Farm in Wrentham (Mass.) supplies our apples. We use 640 pounds
of their apples a week. During Thanksgiving, we used 2,800 pounds of
the apples."
The beautiful first-floor 3,500 retail facility, tucked away in East
Walpole's historic Hogan Building, is a sight to behold which
includes a quaint dining area with fireplace overlooking the
Neponset River, a living room section with a comfy sofa and chairs,
multiple freezers with all the goods, high industrial building ceilings
with draping banners honoring our military and philanthropic
organizations, and the expansive open kitchen where bakers create their
magic.
Likening her hand-crimped pies to the "pies your grandmother used to
make," Taber said that a key to creating quality pies is employing
"slower production." that focus on "making pies the right way." The
result is a noticeably fresher-tasting pie than grocery store
offerings. Taber also takes the road less taken when creating pies. She
favors cinnamon and lemon over nutmeg in her blueberry pie. Flavors
like raspberry nectarine, "Squmpkin" (sugar pumpkins and winter squash)
and orange pineapple create different, delicious pie options. The
Jumble Berry, the company's "Blue Ribbon Winner," pie is sort of like a
local farmer's market "greatest hits" package with tart Cape Cod
cranberries, wild blueberries, strawberries and oranges.
"Mass produced products use more seasonings than fruits, so customers
know they are tasting the 'real thing' with our pies," said Taber.
Customers have the option of buying fruit pies that are either thawed
and fully baked or to bring home and bake themselves. The frozen,
ready-to-bake pies are also available at local farms (see below for
locations). Additionally, Ever So Humble offers five-inch "Cutie Pies"
-- ideal as individual dessert -- and fruit crisps, hermits, tea
breads, scones and cookies. All are homemade and absolutely amazing, .
Taber also offers incredible-tasting savory pies (zucchini frittata,
sausage, pepper and onion frittata, chicken pot pie, Shepherd's pie,
Canadian meat pie) scones, whoopie pies, nutty tarts, fruit crisps,
hermits and raspberry hearts (a heart-shaped pastry made from pie crust
and filled with tart ruby raspberries). .
Taber's passion for pies can be detected the minute a customer leaves
the car and enters the "Hogie" Building (named after the
building's owner, Terry Hogan), an old factory where "you
would expect to get bearings or sheet metal, not pies," said Taber.
Outside and inside, the sweet, pie aroma permeates the area so strongly
that it makes one wonder if all the grandmothers in Western
civilization moved to East Walpole.
Several employees create these baking masterpieces, including Taber's
son Daniel who passed on a construction-oriented career to, like his
mother, work a job he truly enjoys as a production manager.
The business has gained local and national media attention, including
The Food Network that featured Taber's business on the show "Recipe for
Success," focusing on people making successful career changes. Yankee
Magazine once chose the Ever So Humble Pie Company as one of the five
best pie companies in New England.
"It has been nice, the coverage we've been getting," said Taber. "We
really take pride in what we do, so it's nice to get noticed."
Taber's love for baking dates back to her Worcester, Mass.,
childhood where her mother and two grandmothers' great baking skills
served as blueprints for her business.
"Both my grandmothers were scratch bakers and my mother taught me how
to make 'everything' from scratch," said Taber. "My grandmother from my
mother's side had 11 children and she also made everything from
scratch. She made many things for the Polish church. I am the third
generation and am blessed to have those genes."
The strong love for baking never left Taber, even during her busiest
times as a nurse. As a graduate of Memorial School of Nursing and
Worcester State College, Taber worked eight years as a neonatal ICU
nurse at the Floating Hospital in Boston, as well as working in home
care and teaching nursing. Her growing dissatisfaction with the nursing
profession resulted in considering a career change, as she found great
joy developing a pie line for, and working weekends, at Ward's Berry
Farm in Sharon, Mass.. At that time, Taber also obtained a residential
kitchen permit for her home in Sharon, Mass., and later shared space at
a friend's bakery in Medway, Mass.
She started thinking more about a baking career and less about
continuing in nursing.
"Nursing changed a lot," said Taber. "It wasn't hands-on patient care.
I liked the one-on-one patient care. It became more about paperwork and
numbers."
Starting from scratch and baking from scratch eventually became a
success story for Taber. A growing customer base, and a cooperative
program with the local farms where they supplies the materials to Taber
and then sell the final products has resulted in a beloved daily
routine that goes well beyond just making money. Taber works an average
of 20 more hours a week than when she worked in nursing and doesn't
have the consistent paycheck of her former profession. She wouldn't
have it any other way.
"It isn't about compensation," said Taber. "There are many other
immeasurable awards that come with what I'm doing."
The facts on the Ever So Humble Pie
Company:
Location: 153 Washington St., East Walpole, MA 02081
Telephone: (508) 660-9731
Web Site: http://www.eversohumble.com.
Brand new site with great info on products, where to buy the pies and
farmers market location!
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/eversohumblepiecompany
Editor's note:
VisitingNewEngland business partnerships started on Jan. 30, 2017, and
differ than feature articles previously posted on VisitingNewEngland.
Businesses pay a small, one-time fee to have pages like this appear,
and first must be accepted by VisitingNewEngland.com editor and
publisher, Eric Hurwitz, as a business he approves as part of "real New
England travel" to keep the integrity of the site. Businesses that sign
up for business partnerships receive priority by receiving more social
media exposure and link placement on VisitingNewEngland.com. Contact me
if interested in forming a business partnership.
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