If you’ve been following Charotte’s food scene for a while, you might recognize Keia Mastrianni’s name. Her byline has appeared in publications in the South, covering food and the politics and people behind it. Lately, she’s been gaining a following for something else: her handmade pie company, Milk Glass Pie.

“It’s just something that I made a beginning on and it has kind of taken a life of its own,” she says.

She started her company by selling pies at the various pop-up markets around town. Her first was at The Frock Shop on Central Avenue. Mastrianni uses seasonal, local ingredients for her creations, many of them traditional Southern pies like chess pie or buttermilk custard pie. The demand has grown significantly since then as diners get a taste of the pies and as Mastrianni’s journalism network helps spread the word. And though the two career paths are now competing for her time, Mastrianni credits her food writing career with some of Milk Glass Pie’s growth.

“Relationships I’ve formed as a food writer in the South have kind of become doorways for me to participate in events where I’m baking pie,” she says.

As she prepared to launch her business, she struggled with what to call it. She went to sleep one night; it was a full moon. She woke up the next morning with the name in her mind. Milk glass, she explains, is a vintage style of glassware, and Mastrianni has always had a love of vintage and heirloom products and practices. It also plays off of the fact that a glass of milk is common with a slice of pie. Local designer Rachel Martin came up with a design, and from there, the business began to grow.

“From popups,” Mastrianni says, “it went to, “Maybe I’ll put out a Thanksgiving pie list.”

This year’s Thanksgiving pie list is out, and you can order them through today. Check out the full list here; orders were extended from the original closing date of Friday. Thanksgiving options include a brown sugar buttermilk pie, red eye pie (a chocolate and coffee pie made with Not Just Coffee cold brew), and harvest squash pie, made using heirloom squashes from Jamie Swofford of The Chef’s Farmer. An email calling for Christmas orders will come out the first week of December, too. (You can sign up for the newsletter on the Milk Glass Pie site). Swofford, Mastrianni’s fiancé, helps supply many ingredients for Milk Glass Pie, including his Old North Shrub.

Milk Glass Pie is a one-woman show, meaning supply is limited. To try out new recipes, Milk Glass Pie ran a pilot CSA recently. Customers pay in advance for three- or six-week shares, and pick up their weekly pie at Free Range Brewing. One recent creation was a muscadine pie with a rye crust. The next share signup will likely start up in the spring, then be seasonal.

“Pie seems to be taking on a life of its own,” she says. —Kristen Wile

 

 

 

 

 

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