At brEAThe Kitchen, our business revolves around providing tasty and delicious hand-made pies and quiches that are plant-based and suitable for a vegan lifestyle, to those who love eating their veggies wrapped in dough.
While quiche and pies are similar in the way they are created, served, and devoured, both have a very different origin story.
Where do pies come from? Most assume that they are American and originated with pilgrims and Thanksgiving - and they would all be wrong! In different shapes and sizes, pies have been enjoyed since the beginning of recorded time.
Egyptians stuffed meats and grains into reeds before the Greeks invented the pie crust - which was not eaten - it was just a holder of all the inside goodies and thrown to the animals for eating. In medieval England, they were called 'pyes' and were not sweet. They were a savoury dish stuffed with spiced meats, currents, and dates.
Contrary to the media's romanticized image of Thanksgiving, there was no pumpkin pie at the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. Pilgrims were sharing meat-based pies that they enjoyed in England and the 'traditional' pumpkin pie was first referenced in a cookbook in 1675, and it was spiced and boiled squash (not pumpkin). Not popular in the USA until the early 1800s!
As colonialists moved across the USA, pies were baked that incorporated local-sourced ingredients like fruits and berries, and sweet pies became common. A cookbook from 1796 listed only three types of sweet pies, and a cookbook written in the late 1800s featured 8 sweet pie varieties. By 1947, the Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking listed 65 different varieties of sweet pies. That goes to show how much people love pie!
Pies today include everything from apples to avocados, pasta to potatoes, and everything in between. At brEAThe Kitchen, we understand how much the humble pie can be comforting and satisfying offer the traditional apple pie and twelve savoury pies to cover the world's flavours so that no matter where you grew up, there is a pie for you!
Contrary to popular belief that the French's Quiche Lorraine was the first of its kind, the quiche originates in Lothringen, a medieval kingdom under German rule. The name 'quiche' is also from the German origin word 'Kuchen,' which means cake. The original recipe for the quiche consisted of an open pie with a filling comprised of egg and cream custard. Originally made from bread dough, it has evolved into a short-crust or puff pastry crust.
Quiche gained popularity in England after WWII with British troops back to their homes sharing the newly found delicious dish. In the mid-1950s, quiche gained popularity in the USA, and has stayed a popular dish all the way to today!
Those familiar with the brEAThe Kitchen origin story know Daphna launched her business with a recipe for mushroom and onion quiche, albeit, a non-traditional plant-based quiche that is changing our perceptions of quiche. No longer elitest or one-note, our two quiches (Potato, Leek, Spinach, Bacon Bits Quiche) and the original Mushroom & Onion Quiche, deliver the same full belly and happy mouth feelings that our younger selves would have loved!
Browse brEAThe Kitchen's Pies and Quiches selection and try new flavours with your next order!
Daphna's version of the chicken pie is the closest thing to having that familiar taste minus the animal cruelty.
BrEAThe Kitchen is located and operates on the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations
