The Inspired Pie Series will take place at Pie Bar from May 2022 - August 2022. Each month a different pie shop + its signature pie flavor will be featured at Pie Bar. Grab a free Inspired Pie Series Passport at Pie Bar and get a stamp for trying the featured flavor. In September 2022, if you have a completed Passport, you will get a special treat from Pie Bar. You can read more about it here.
In 2016, I received an email asking if Pie Bar would be interested in participating in a new baking competition show on the Cooking Channel: Sugar Showdown. I hesitated at first, making up excuses like “I don’t have enough experience,” or “I can’t leave the shop for three whole days!” After a few days of doubting myself, Cody chimed in. “You should do it,” so I did.
Pie Bar’s only other baker at the time, Olivia, and I flew to Toronto, Canada, where we were set to film our episode. We had been prepped in the weeks leading up to the competition with only vague details; however, we were given a list of potential themes that we would have to bake on.
Olivia and I got to work. We knew that as newbies, we would be expected to lose. We also knew that the only way that we had a shot at winning was to practice. So we did..for hours at a time. We would arrive at Pie Bar early or stay late. We would draw the potential pie theme out of a hat, set a timer, and push ourselves to complete the pies in time. We practiced for several weeks, and over time, we got better. We were finishing our pies before the buzzer went off. We were ready.
June rolled around, and it was time for us to put our practice into action. We arrived in Canada and were immediately separated. The producers took Olivia to the hotel while the other Head Bakers and I were shuttled to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. We were escorted into a low-lite room and given an hour to make our pie crusts for the show. As I ran around gathering ingredients and preparing to make my pie dough, I noticed the petite blonde woman at the table beside me. Our ingredients were entirely different, minus the flour part. I watched in amazement as she added eggs to her pie dough and used a mixer to bring it all together. I was so mesmerized by her that I had to scramble to get my pie dough completed before time expired.
As we were ushered out of the warehouse and back into a 15-passenger van, I made sure to sit beside her. As the van drove through stop-and-go traffic, I got to learn all about Tehmi and her pie shop in Heber, Utah called June Pie. We were kindred spirits. We both grew up in large families. We both opened a pie shop having little to no professional food experience, and we both laughed at the same jokes. I did not want to compete against her because I knew she would diminish my chances of winning.
The following day, we were all escorted back to the warehouse; however, this time we were taken to a room we had not seen the previous day: A set filled with three individual kitchen stations surrounded by brightly colored walls and a raised Dias where the judges were to be seated. “This is where you will compete,” they said. “Here are the ingredients,” they continued. “Here are your competition groups,” they stated as they passed our sheets detailing whom each of us would be competing against and at what time we would go into what felt like a baking battle.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that Tehmi, June Pie was not assigned to the group that included Lauren, Pie Bar. We would not become competitors and could continue our friendship. Tehmi competed before me. As her session ended and mine was getting ready to begin, I ran into her in the bathroom. She had a sparkle in her eye and gave me a wink. “Good luck,” she said as she exited the bathroom.
Both Tehmi and I won our group's competition. I didn’t get to see her again during my stay in Canada, but we kept up through Facebook. I have had the pleasure of watching from afar as her business and her children grew over the past 6 years.
When I had the idea for The Inspired Pie Series, I knew Tehmi and June Pie had to be included. I emailed her and within a matter of hours heard back. I told her I wanted to bake and share her Orange Dreamsicle Pie, and she was elated. It turns out, that we all have our own memories associated with the marrying of orange and vanilla, and when she told me hers I knew I had chosen the correct flavor to feature for the month of June.
When Tehmi was a little girl she and her sister would walk to the local burger joint to get their Dad an Orange Dream Milkshake. As they would walk home, they would take secret sips of the milkshake before passing it off to their Dad. Tehmi created this flavor as an homage to those memories and we could not be more thrilled to share about June Pies and their Orange Dreamsicle Pie.
I am in awe of Tehmi and her passion for baking pie while simultaneously raising four children. She has shown me that you do not have to choose. She has shown me that you can run a successful business doing something you love and create a family filled with love and joy.
Thank you, Tehmi, and the team that makes up June Pie. For many years I have had the pleasure of watching yall bake pies and hold space for things like family and friendship. I am so grateful that you have allowed us to make June Pie’s Orange Dreamsicle Pie and share it with the people that love Pie Bar.
My hope is that when someone takes their first bite of the Orange Dreamsicle Pie, they are transported back to the memories created while holding an Orange Dreamsicle, probably during the summer, probably when they too were surrounded by friends.
Spending time in Heber, Utah soon?
Make sure to visit Tehmi and the entire June Pie's Team.
Location + Hours can be found here.