Heidi Hammer, owner of Wild Crow Pies, began her professional career with a degree in Veterinary Medicine specializing in animal behavior. She moved to Whidbey over twenty five years ago after she came to visit her mother and decided she wanted to live on the island as well.
She also had a passion for baking, which she shared growing up with her Swedish Grandmother.
After working as a vet tech, she moved on to learn other things like bookkeeping and
food service. She worked as a bookkeeper during the day and waited tables in the
evening at Mike’s Place in Langley where she worked under a fabulous chef who taught
her how to make pie. She says, “Funny enough, it was the one baked good I’d never made.”
After making that first pie she was hooked. She had fallen in love with the delicious pastry and fabulous fruit and started making her own pies regularly. Mike quickly moved her into the kitchen to a baking position. Soon friends and family were telling her how delicious the pies were. The restaurant was selling “Heidi’s Pies,” and the reputation of Heidi’s Pies began to grow, and people were ordering the pies and picking them up at the restaurant.
When Mike’s Place closed, Heidi had nowhere to make her pies, so for a time she went
on to doing other things with her life: working back in the medical field, marrying, and
having a child. She prepared a pie for a raffle at her Dr.’s office where she worked, and
people raved and wanted to know how they could get one.
She decided to focus on her passion for baking and began building a business making pies. She got a Cottage Food Permit from the Department of Agriculture, and began making small batches of baked goods, especially pies. And, she got busier and busier. Then the Goose asked her to provide them with her pies. She was pleased to learn: “I couldn’t make them fast enough. They were a big hit. I had to expand.”
As her pie business grew, Heidi decided she needed a larger space. She was glad to find a kitchen she could use at the Langley Community Center (formerly the Langley Middle School). This year Heidi and her employees lost their Community Kitchen to an unknown seismic retrofit to the building and had to move to a new location.
“We didn’t know anything about it,” Heidi said. “One day a contractor showed up and told us we had be out, that he would give us two weeks before starting construction. We were devastated.”
Fortunately, Heidi was able to move Wild Crow Pies to Clinton. “It’s been rough, but we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve had to build a completely new commercial kitchen and buy all new equipment to stay in business.”
Heidi has seven employees. The pies are distributed all over South Whidbey. She also recently began distributing pies to PCC Markets, Town & Country Markets, Erewhon Organic Markets and Anacortes Safeway, Bainbridge Island, the Chimacum Farm Stand in Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Co-op, 3 Sisters Market, and Camano Plaza on Camano Island.
Heidi also offers classes and provides pies for community events. She says, “I get contacted all the time from people who want to learn how to make pie and I love teaching them.” If you are interested in registering for a Saturday Pie Class contact Heidi at 360-969-3817 to register.
Check out the Facebook page and website: Wild Crow Pie Co. Whidbey's Organic Gourmet PIE Company. Wildcrowpieco.com
This year you can special order a Thanksgiving pie through The Goose, Star Store or 3 Sisters until November 11th.
