Craft to Crumb mini-mag | September Q3 2023 | Peggy Jean's Pies

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Maggie Glisan | Beth Day Contributors info@crafttocrumb.com

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Photo courtesy of Peggy Jean’s Pies | Photography by SilverBox Photographers

PIE’S GRAVITATIONAL PULL

I talk a lot about baking being a calling. Well, this edition of the mini-mag is no different. Nestled in Columbia, MO — the center point between Kansas City and St. Louis and home to the University of Missouri — lives Peggy Jean’s Pies, a family-owned bakery with two locations.

It was fun to visit the town where I spent two years getting my master’s degree. Unlucky for me, those were the hiatus years of Peggy Jean’s, which was founded by Jeanne Plumley and rebooted by her daughter, Rebecca Miller. Seeing the icon that was — and is — Peggy Jean’s somehow filled a gap I didn’t know was missing from my time in Columbia.

JOANIE SPENCER Editor-in-Chief joanie@avantfoodmedia.com

I’m not surprised the bakery came back to life; Peggy Jean’s is the epitome of baking’s centrifugal force.

Since reopening in 2014, the bakery has drawn Rebecca’s husband, Jason, as well as their two kids, Hayden and Ellery, into the craft.

The funny thing is, not many of them will say they’re bakers; they just don’t see themselves that way. Rather, they have ideas, and they act on them. Whether it’s an outrageous pie flavor, an unfiltered blog post or a stint on a new baking competition reality show, this is a family of doers.

Baking is a funny thing. Yes, I do believe it’s a calling, but it’s not always one that a person easily recognizes. On the pages ahead, you’ll see just how this family felt that gravitational pull … and how their once untapped entrepreneurialism has turned a seasonal product into year-round fanfare.

Welcome to Peggy Jean’s Pies.

Craft to Crumb Consumer Trends

THE “PIE’S” THE LIMIT

BY BETH DAY

Pie, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! Pies are a humble food made with a myriad of savory and sweet fillings baked or fried within a flaky crust. They can be as simple or elegant as the ingredients, craft, individual or occasion dictate.

A quintessential comfort food, pies have been tried and enjoyed by most consumers. Research firm Datassential says that most food trends start on menus, and when tracking trends, the firm uses what it calls the Menu Adoption Cycle (MAC). According to Datassential, pie is in the Ubiquity stage of the MAC — widespread and known by 97% of consumers. Ninety-two percent have tried pie, and nearly 80% said they either like or love it, creating a huge opportunity for pie makers to engage and excite.

There is growth across all pie categories, mostly due to higher costs driving up prices. In the supermarket perimeter, there is also an increase in unit sales for whole pies.

“While perimeter pies are declining overall in unit sales driven by single-serve individual pies, perimeter whole pies, which account for 72% of perimeter pie sales, show strong unit sales growth, up 8.8 percent,” said Melissa Altobelli, senior VP, client insights, dairy and bakery vertical for Circana.

Center store whole pies demonstrated both stronger dollar and unit sales growth for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, according to Circana. Breaking it down, center store snack pies consistently earn more dollar sales. However, there was triple-digit dollar sales

There’s no cap to the versatility for one of America’s most popular baked goods.

© Levi Guzman | Unsplash

© Alex Lvrs | Unsplash

growth for center store whole pies, at 177.6% compared with 8.3% for snack pies. There were also tripledigit gains in unit sales for center store whole pies vs. declines for snack pie units sold. This purchasing behavior points to ever-evolving consumption patterns. Altobelli noted that since whole pies are the sizes driving growth, pie producers should focus their innovation on those products.

Highlighting the latest pie trends, Food & Drink Resources (FDR) observed that pie is everything people want right now. Pies highlight seasonal ingredients and conjure authentic tastes from different regions. They are local, and over time, become part of regional cuisine and folklore.

Shoofly pie, typically made with molasses, has been the signature dessert of the Pennsylvania Dutch since the 1880s. Key lime pie is a staple on menus throughout Florida. The citrusy fare has been the official state pie since 2006. Natchitoches meat pie, a savory pie similar to an empanada, was declared the official pie of Louisiana in 2003.

Most people have a memory of pie, like grandma’s famous apple or pumpkin pie served every holiday season. Classic flavors elicit such intense feelings of nostalgia that other bakery categories are borrowing ideas for product innovation. For example, Crumbl Cookies, based in Logan, UT, has created a number of pie-inspired

cookie inventions, such as pumpkin, pecan and French silk.

“Pies do continue to perform well during key holiday periods, as they often bring us back to happy times from our past,” Altobelli said. “Reminding consumers of the nostalgia evoked by eating pie creates the opportunity to drive sales via social media messaging.”

Pies can lend themselves to limited-time offerings inspired by seasons, holidays and special events. Polly’s Pies, a family-owned company in Anaheim, CA, pulled inspiration for its Strawberry Lemonade Pie from lemon filling blended with cream cheese and topped with strawberries.

The famous Kentucky Derby pie, produced by Kern’s Kitchen in Louisville, KY, is served alongside horse racing history every May. Made with pecans, chocolate chips and bourbon, this pie has been served for the past 35 years at Churchill Downs, selling about 10,000 slices on Derby day alone.

And now, it seems pie just might be the new wedding cake. David Tutera, star of WEtv’s My Fair Wedding, is showcasing pie at wedding celebrations. Mini pies are appearing on wedding buffets and being served at bridal showers or rehearsal dinners. Pie poppers are being displayed in bouquets and included in guests’ goodie bags.

Of course, pie is nothing if not versatile, whether it’s a culinary

“Creating pies that broaden appeal to millennials is a huge opportunity area.”

Melissa Altobelli | senior VP, client insights, dairy and bakery vertical | Circana

Craft to Crumb

Consumer Trends

masterpiece served at the finest restaurants or a rustic dessert made at home. Sweet or savory pie fillings are only limited by imagination and available ingredients. Pies can accommodate the growing list of consumer dietary needs and be made free from gluten, dairy, eggs or sugar. Striking the right balance creates products that appeal to health-conscience consumers while delivering on indulgence.

Altobelli observed that pies are still viewed primarily as an indulgence, but there could be additional opportunity in low sugar or other healthand-wellness attributes. Top pies from a unit perspective include Patti’s Good Life in Wynnewood, PA, which offers pies with no sugar added, and Joyebells Desserts in Richmond, VA, which are local and indulgent.

From deep dish, crumble and lattice tops to mini pies and tarts, pie crust alone offers endless opportunities for innovation. Products like quiche, ever-popular hand pies, and savory and traditional dessert pies can be tailored to fit any size, eating occasion and daypart. Peggy Jean’s Pies — featured in this issue — is a mother-daughter-run bakery based in Columbia, MO. Peggy Jean’s offers a variety of savory and sweet pie

flavors available in 9-inch whole pies to feed the family, 6-inch mini pies and tiny 3-inch tarts that serve as an indulgent treat.

Leveraging the versatility of pies and evolving eating occasions can bolster sales. Hand pies filled with eggs, sausage and cheese make a perfect on-the-go breakfast, and offering a variety of quiche and other savory pie combinations in multiple sizes meets consumer needs for convenient, ready-made meals for families.

“Pies in general over-index with baby boomers and retirees and under-index with millennials,”

Altobelli added. “Creating pies that broaden appeal to millennials is a huge opportunity area.”

With the product playing into portable convenience, pie makers should consider growing take-out and delivery trends, both from brick-and-mortar and online. Marketing ready-made meal and dessert solutions in-store and building an online presence can excite customers and drive sales. Southern Baked Pie Company in Gainesville, GA, ships its gourmet pies nationwide. Its Southern Supper Box option allows customers to choose three dinner pies delivered frozen, and no thawing is required to bake.

Pie can be everything to all people. Innovation is at the core of successful consumer engagement. Its versatility creates space for bakers to play with products and flavors that spark nostalgia, suit every eating occasion, meet dietary requirements, celebrate life events and ring in the holidays. Simply put, the “pie’s” the limit.

Photo c ourtesy of Southern B aked Pie Company

Craft to Crumb Featured Bakery | Peggy Jean’s Pies

THE SECRET INGREDIENT

At Peggy Jean’s Pies, the road to #WorldPieDomination is paved with dough.

BY JOANIE SPENCER

There’s a saying around Peggy Jean’s Pies in Columbia, MO: “The secret ingredient is the matriarchy.”

This is a bakery run by three generations of women on a foundation that runs even deeper.

Long before there were two locations in this college town that’s home to the University of Missouri — before founder Jeanne Plumley and her daughter, CEO Rebecca Miller, gained reality-show notoriety on Fox’s Crime Scene Kitchen — even before the bakery ever had a sign on the door — a matriarch was making a pie in a farmhouse kitchen near the Missouri Bootheel.

“This was my mom’s pie crust recipe,” Jeanne said. “If she could see us now, she’d just be tickled.”

Growing up in a farming family, Jeanne watched her mom make pies every day. And eventually, it’s what she did, too, sometimes just baking the crust, breaking it up and calling it “crackers.”

It was the early ’90s when Jeanne decided she’d had enough with working unfulfilling desk jobs. So, she and her best friend Peggy hatched a plan: Sell the pies Jeanne had been baking all her life.

Peggy Jean’s Pies

First, they had to gauge if it was a viable market because in those days, pies were only found in restaurants and grocery stores. So, they opened the white pages and started making cold calls.

“We just called random people and asked if they liked pie, where they bought their pie, and would they buy it if there was a pie shop in town,” Jeanne said. “Whenever a man answered, we couldn’t get him off the phone because all he wanted to talk about was his mom’s pie and how good it was — and how he couldn’t buy anything that good anywhere.”

With $800 in the bank and a supply haul from Walmart, the gal pals — Jeanne, a single mom, and Peggy, old enough to be Jeanne’s mom — embarked on a new adventure. They started Peggy Jean’s Pies in a windowless, 100-sq.-ft. commercial kitchen in a strip mall behind a gun shop. There was nowhere to hang a sign, but the rent was cheap, and the lease was monthto-month, making it a great little place to get started. However, it didn’t take long for the bakery to become a successful business in downtown Columbia.

In the early 2000s, just as the bakery had become a staple in town, Peggy became ill, and Jeanne made the tough choice to close the doors before Peggy passed away the following year.

After that, Peggy Jean’s lived only in the stories Jeanne shared with

WATCH NOW: Rebecca

ing strategies for the two locations.

Rebecca and that Rebecca shared with her daughter, Ellery.

Life, as they say, went on. Rebecca practiced law, and her husband, Jason, also worked in corporate America, while Jeanne enjoyed retirement at the lake.

“We were like ‘normal’ people for 10 years,” Rebecca said. “We didn’t even make pies anymore.”

But baking and entrepreneurialism are in the Plumley DNA, and it was only a matter of time.

“We were always coming up with ideas,” Jeanne recalled. “We had more ideas than Heinz has pickles.”

And those ideas somehow came back to pie. In 2013, Jeanne and Rebecca reopened Peggy Jean’s Pies, and Rebecca walked away from her corporate career, following her mom toward a calling she never knew she could hear.

At first, they only made a few pies a day and sold them out of an old

’50s refrigerator. But like the original Peggy Jean’s, it didn’t take long for business to take off. Today, the bakery has a staff of 24 and makes 500 pies a day — on average roughly 250 per location — for inventory and custom orders. And they make exponentially more during fourth quarter “pie season” and other holidays like Easter and the Fourth of July.

The name’s the same, as are the pies — still made with the recipes passed down through the matriarchy — but the dynamic has a style and energy all its own. Peggy Jean’s is now a family affair.

Jason came on board in 2021 as COO and CFO to manage the business side, but their two kids, Ellery, now 18, and son Hayden, 21, have been in it since the beginning.

“When we first started, Ellery and Hayden were too young to stay home alone, so I would bring them into the shop,” Rebecca recalled. “As they got older, they started getting into the business, Ellery

Craft to Crumb

Miller, CEO, shares staff-

with Instagram and Hayden with the dough.”

The kids still have their hands in dough whenever they’re not attending class in their respective high school and university. They see this as more than just an after-school gig; Hayden will make dough in the morning before class, and when Ellery’s not making pies, she’ll often text from school, just to check on sales or afternoon foot traffic.

Meanwhile, Jason has spent countless hours streamlining the business by building custom inventory management software and human resources tools.

Prior to that, the bakery managed orders through hand-written tickets that were posted in the production area. The new system stabilized the ordering process, which helped efficiency by avoiding the throngs of “special” orders that would occur on any given day.

“I liked being able to create something that would make the ordering process smoother,” Jason said. “And it gave us better foresight into what’s coming up based on historical sales trends.”

Additionally, it helps with training new employees, especially during the busy season. Because the user can only ring up what’s in inventory, there’s little room for error.

Developing software that could manage data and logistics allowed Rebecca to put her time and energy into growing the

WATCH NOW

Jeanne Plumley, Peggy Jean’s founder, shares tips for the perfect pie crust.

business instead of getting bogged down in the minutiae.

“Things are streamlined to the point that we’re not necessarily required to be here all day, every day,” Jason said. “That makes the management side of it a lot less stressful.”

From a production standpoint, Peggy Jean’s relies on a primarily manual process. The bakery — which is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays — has it down to a fine point.

While Hayden, Rebecca or even Jason might mix dough before sunrise, the morning shift officially begins around 7:30 a.m. with rolling dough for lattice, baking crusts and filling pies, and when Hayden’s feeling ambitious, he might get nut pie production going early, as well.

Crumb-topped fruit pies like Dutch Apple require a specific, almost strategic process to ensure the crust bakes without burning while the topping becomes golden brown without getting too crunchy. And lattice-topped pies are done with the greatest of care with patterns that are specific to each pie type.

Jeanne teaches everyone who works with the dough how to properly roll and cut the lattice and pinch the crust, which can become a pie maker’s personal signature.

The dough is critical because around town, Peggy Jean’s pies are known for their crust.

Craft to Crumb

Peggy Jean’s Pies

But, ironically, it’s how the crust is understated that makes these pies so special.

“My thing about pie crust is that it should be thin,” Jeanne said. “Pie crust is not the star of the show. It’s there as a supporting role, to support the filling. That’s why it has to be thin. A thin edge browns prettier when it’s cut, too. That’s how we do it here.”

Each pie is available in two sizes: the 6-inch Baby (about two slices worth) and the regular 9-inch, which serves six to eight slices. Some varieties are also made in 3-inch tart size for the “tart cart” at the POS and available online for custom orders and special events like corporate parties or weddings.

Production at both locations — the flagship on Nifong Boulevard just south of the university campus, and the newest “West” location on Stadium Boulevard — mirror each other, each with a bench designated for nut pies, one for fruit pies, another for cream pies and a fourth for dough, all manned by about five people per shift. Each bench has its own production sheet, and the team often rotates to work on different stations throughout their shift. That said, Rebecca plays to strengths.

“We’ll start someone on one table and let them get really proficient at that,” she said. “Then, if they want to move, we’ll start moving them around. People usually have a natural affinity for one spot, so

I’ll do my best to keep them in there, unless I see that for efficiency, they’ll do better at another table.”

Before the afternoon shift arrives, there’s typically a two-hour lull, which marks the transition from morning work to afternoon.

During that time, Rebecca can be found at the Nifong location with her laptop at the front counter, multi-tasking inventory, scheduling ingredient orders and chatting with customers, or overseeing it all from her office that sits just off the production floor. Meanwhile, Jason spends most days at the West location, where the office — known affectionately as the “goblin hole” — is tucked away in the back.

In the afternoons at both shops, workers ring up preorder customers and sell pies from grab-and-go shelves and frozen and refrigerated cases throughout the afternoon. They also prep for the following morning’s production by weighing dough chunks and stamping crust into tins. Then, they run inventory and clean up before closing shop at 6 p.m. It’s a well-oiled machine that rarely requires anyone to work overtime, except perhaps during that fourth quarter chaos.

pickles.”

Photo by Avant Food Media

“We had more ideas than Heinz has

Jeanne Plumley | founder | Peggy Jean’s Pies

Selling only one type of product — especially a classic that traditionally defaults to a handful of varieties — might pigeonhole a bakery. But not Peggy Jean’s.

Innovation abounds here, especially when it comes to developing pie flavors. Inspiration can come from anywhere, whether it’s an employee getting a wild idea or a loyal customer asking the bakery to recreate a favorite from their childhood.

Peggy Jean’s found a way to streamline product development into an interactive customer experience: The Epic Pie Tasting.

Each month, the team brainstorms as many new pie ideas as they can. It could be a variation on a standard item, a seasonal offering or something completely outside the box. The six best ideas become that month’s Epic Pie Tasting lineup.

Customers purchase tickets, which are capped at 80 spaces, or 40 per store. When the tasting opens, they come to the bakery to pick up a kit containing six unnamed tartsized varieties to try at home. They receive an answer key via email and rank their favorite flavors.

“Sometimes, they’ll give us brutal feedback,” Jeanne said. “But that can be really good for us.”

Epic Pie Tasting concepts range anywhere from chocolate chips added to the base of the signature Brown Butter Chess pie to some -

thing funky like rosewater flavor or a watermelon cream pie.

“People love it because it could be garbage, or it could be something completely amazing,” Rebecca said.

About a year ago, Peggy Jean’s flipped the Epic Pie Tasting winner into the Pie of the Month, a limited-time offer that comes with its own promotion. The September pie is Turtle, which was created by Jessie Wiggins, a former hairstylist who has been baking with Peggy Jean’s since 2021.

If the Pie of the Month sells exceptionally well, it might stay in rotation for the following month, but after that, it’s available as a custom order only.

A host of factors contribute to how the Pie of the Month is determined, including Epic Pie Tasting feedback and whether it can be scaled from tart size to Baby and 9-inch sizes. Some -

times, an outrageous pie flavor like pineapple key lime might be an Epic Pie Tasting hit, but it can’t be scaled.

“That one was disappointing because people really loved it, and it worked in a tart,” Rebecca said. “It just would not set up in a standard pie size.”

This constant idea machine keeps the women of Peggy Jean’s Pies on their toes. Perfectly balanced, Jason’s business acumen is the yin to the bakers’ yang.

“I’m creative, and so are Rebecca and Ellery,” Jeanne said. “We’re always looking for new ideas. When you do the same thing every day, you start thinking about what other ideas will excite you.”

For now, the creative outlet is the Epic Pie Contest and what’s next for the third location, set to open a couple hundred miles away in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, MO, next year.

WATCH NOW: Rebecca Miller and her mom, Jeanne, explain the Epic Pie Tasting concept.

Craft to Crumb

Peggy Jean’s Pies

With the help of an MBA class at MU to do the location and logistical planning, Rebecca launched West relying on intuition and instinct. For St. Louis, Jason’s data and the bakery’s partnership with a local commercial architect will help fill in gaps that might be felt from two hours away.

“I have no doubt we’ll be successful, but I struggle with the logistics,” Rebecca said. “Jason’s wondering, ‘What if nobody comes in?’ but I’m never worried about that. So, we fit each other really well.”

The excitement of expanding that far from home gets those creative juices flowing, especially when thinking about what the next big move could be. More shops in St. Louis? Perhaps expanding to other college towns? Maybe one day Peggy Jean’s will franchise, though that’s not in Ellery’s sightline.

“I don’t know that I would want to franchise this,” Ellery said. “I’ve worked so hard on Peggy Jean’s my whole life, and I want to keep it in the family.”

Whatever path the business takes from here, this family is in it together. In fact, every night, dinnertime looks more like a Peggy Jean’s board meeting.

“When you look at family businesses and their pain points, a lot of it comes from in-fighting,” Rebecca said. “But we are always focused on leaning into each other’s strengths and pushing back on each other when we need to, but there’s never a power struggle.”

When Jeanne gets the creative bug and thinks they should do something like add chicken salad to the menu, it’s met with an immediate, unanimous and unequivocal “No,” in unison. That’s not how you get to

#WorldPieDomination, a hashtag that corresponds with Rebecca’s blog, which she dedicated to pie before the Peggy Jean’s reboot opened its doors.

“People will ask us everything,” Rebecca said. “‘Do you make bread? Bread pudding? Cinnamon rolls? Cheesecake?’ And we’re like, ‘The name’s on the door. Pie is the only show here.’ There really is no filter in this family.”

The women of Peggy Jean’s may joke that the secret ingredient is the matriarchy, but the real key is family.

As for the secret-recipe crust that can turn practically anything into pie? They’re not giving that one away anytime soon. But if you need to troubleshoot your own crust, just give Peggy Jean’s a call. They’re always happy to help, and they’ve always got a few ideas up their sleeves.

Photo by Avant Food Media

Craft to Crumb Baker Profile | Rebecca Miller

THE TRAIT OF A BAKER

As CEO of Peggy Jean’s Pies, Rebecca Miller wears more hats than labels.

BY JOANIE SPENCER

Sure, Rebecca Miller can do any task at Peggy Jean’s Pies. And she can do it better — and faster — than anyone in the bakery. Even so, don’t expect her to say she’s a baker.

“It’s been almost 10 years, and I still have a hard time calling myself a baker,” she said. “I mean, I could bake every pie in here blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back. But I just don’t think of myself that way because I never thought being a baker was in my nature.”

Then again, becoming a licensed attorney probably wasn’t in her nature, either, but she did that, too. Now, she’s not only CEO of Peggy Jean’s Pies, but she’s also the bakery’s attorney of record.

The truth is, Rebecca’s nature is doing … and doing doesn’t come with labels. That’s how she wound up rebooting Peggy Jean’s with her mom, Jeanne Plumley, the bakery’s namesake.

It’s no surprise they embarked on that together. Rebecca’s entrepreneurship is rooted in the resiliency she learned from Jeanne.

“She raised me as a single mom, but I grew up never having a doubt that we could do whatever we wanted or had to do,” Rebecca said.

“It never occurred to me that there would ever be a reason why we couldn’t or shouldn’t do something. My mom put in the hustle and showed me that if you want something bad enough, you just go for it. I guess I never realized how unique that was.”

That hustle mentality was not only how Jeanne started Peggy Jean’s in the first place, but it also drove her determination to encourage Rebecca toward law school.

“No one in our family had ever gone to college, and certainly no one had ever done postgraduate school,” Rebecca said. “She pushed me hard for law school, so I never wondered if I couldn’t do it or if I wouldn’t be successful. She taught me that I always had options and that there was literally nothing I couldn’t do.”

Rebecca lived comfortably as an attorney in the corporate world when her mom closed Peggy Jean’s after Peggy, the bakery’s other namesake, passed away. The original opened when Rebecca was a freshman in college, and she didn’t have a big emotional tie to it. She only saw the beauty of what her mom had built … and the following Jeanne’s pies had amassed in the college town of Columbia, MO.

Photos courtesy of Peggy Jean’s Pies

|

Photography by SilverBox Photographers

So, when Jeanne started toying with the idea of reopening Peggy Jean’s, Rebecca was in. For her, it was just another option.

Rebecca has a propensity to anticipate the worst case in any scenario as a result of her legal training, but that skill is juxtaposed with her inherent fearlessness in risk-taking that comes from her upbringing.

“Honestly, I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t just be a ‘lawyerslash-pie-baker,’” Rebecca said. “I didn’t have business experience, and I didn’t know how to bake, but it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be good at it. Saying that out loud sounds pretty dumb now, but the thing is, I knew I had the ability to learn how to do those things.”

Perhaps Rebecca underestimated a lot with the reboot. But her life had revolved around creating opportunities, and for Rebecca, obstacles are just something that have to be overcome.

“We had no plan when we rebooted,” she said. “We had no money to invest. One morning I said,

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‘What about Kickstarter?’ I got it going the next day, and 30 days later, we hit our goal. That came from being raised by Jeanne.”

After almost a decade, Peggy Jean’s is heading toward what Rebecca calls “World Pie Domination.” With that, there are a host of things to keep her up at night: the bakery, the business, sales, the new location, if the new equipment will work or the staff is scheduled properly.

But on Thanksgiving, she rests.

“When we close the night before Thanksgiving, we’re beaten down,” she said. “So, on that holiday, we all just sit around in our comfy clothes, and we don’t even think about pie. Because the next day? Christmas is coming, and the rush starts all over again.”

Rebecca celebrates wins by living in the moment because she knows that each one is fleeting, and the next pie order is right around the corner.

“My favorite minute of the year is 11:59 p.m. on December 31,” she said. “I see the final numbers for the year, and it’s a high. Last year we saw our best numbers yet, and

that moment was so sweet. But at midnight, it all resets to zero, and it’s time to set new goals.”

Then it’s back to the hustle. Although she’s juggling it all, she has a team that’s built from family, including her husband, Jason; her daughter, Ellery; her son, Hayden; and, of course, Jeanne.

Rebecca still comes in before sunrise to get the pies going, often together with Hayden. Even if she doesn’t identify as a baker, she bakes.

“She knows if she bakes, she gets to have creative freedom,” Ellery said. “She gets to be real.”

This fall, Rebecca will return to her alma mater and share her insights with law students about the b enefits of using that degree to pursue a non-traditional career.

“Just because you have a law degree doesn’t mean you have to become Perry Mason,” she said. “It’s about gaining experience, and you can do that in so many different ways. It’s how you think about things and approach things.”

And that sounds like the trait of a baker.

“I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t just be a ‘lawyer-slashpie-baker.’”

Rebecca Miller | CEO | Peggy Jean’s

Pies

Craft to Crumb Baker Profile | Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller shares how her mom empowered her to go for what she wanted.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

From sweet to savory, Peggy Jean’s Pies makes 500 pies a day from scratch using a combination of family recipes and innovative product development. Here are a few of the bakery’s most popular pies.

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Product Showcase | Peggy Jean’s Pies

WHITE CHOCOLATE, CREAM CHEESE, STRAWBERRIES AND HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY WHIPPED CREAM

HAND-LATTICED AND MADE FROM SCRATCH WITH ALMOND EXTRACT

HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE AND VANILLA FILLING, BANANAS AND HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM

PEANUT BUTTER, CREAM CHEESE, BROWN SUGAR, WHIPPED CREAM AND CHOCOLATE GANACHE

SLOW-ROASTED SHREDDED CHICKEN, ONIONS, PEAS AND CARROTS WITH GRAVY

All photos courtesy of Peggy Jean’s Pies | Photography by SilverBox Photographers 01 WHITE CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY PIE 02 CHERRY PIE 03 BANOFFEE PIE 04 CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PIE

CHICKEN POT PIE

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WOMEN.

LISTEN NOW:

Ellery Miller reflects on the lessons she’s learned from her mother and grandmother.

“WHEN WE SAY

I THINK IT’S REALLY JUST RESILIENCE AND GENERATIONS OF STRONG

— ELLERY

MILLER

| DAUGHTER OF

REBECCA

MILLER,

CEO

| PEGGY JEAN’S PIES