OUR STORY...
as told by TEAM PIE
Unity Pies began life in Summer 2020. As a result of the pandemic we were in lockdown, our cafés were forced to close, and to stay connected and continue our training, we moved everything online. We kept in touch with each other through Unity Works’ online programme, and our most popular session each week was - of course - the “Lunchtime Cookalong!”
We were following recipes together, and each week we would share suggestions for what culinary delight we could magic up the following week.
Together, we came up with the idea to use this creativity in a productive way. We thought that the cookalong group could start a whole new venture! We decided on creating a product that we could sell to people while our cafés were closed, and our customers were stuck at home. We wanted a classic that everyone loved; but also something that was versatile and that we could (literally) put our own stamp on! We wanted to use lockdown as an opportunity to show people what chefs with a learning disability can do!
In Comes UNITY PIES!
We began trialling and testing different pastry recipes, researching and creating potential fillings, and experimenting with the style and look of the pie!
We wanted to do this methodically, so we created score cards and kept track of our comments. We also did taste tests and got feedback from our families and neighbours. We finally decided on 3 recipes to launch with - and used the expertise of the Unity Works staff team to help bring the pies to life.
