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COMPASS MAGAZINE, Feb 1999. VOL. 6 ISSUE 2

It is early morning and the sun is just rising on Shui Nan's traditional market in Taichung City. Fruit, vegetable and meat vendors are setting up their fresh produce to sell for the morning and the smell of boiled dumplings hovers in the steaming morning air. Noodle makers are starting up their machines and shops selling clothing and household goods are ready to market to passers by.
Anything and everything one would expect to see in an Asian outdoor market can be found in its place here.
But wander down one of the side lanes of Shui Nan and something quite unusual will catch one's eye. Nestled in the heart of the market is an unassuming table, brimming with a colorful selection of what the older Chinese refer to as "fruit cookies."
A typical foreigner would certainly not identify these sweets as such. For westerners, they are authentic, "homemade" American pies.
Upon first catching sight of this delectable oasis, it is easy to understand why one might do a double take. But it is no mirage. A Taiwanese couple working at the pie table warmly greets customers, offering a sample as if it were coming from their own kitchen.
One might ask how these handcrafted gems representing provincial America came to be found amidst the sea of pure Asian fare. The story began not so long ago with a mix of creativity, combined with several pounds of dedication, much more than a pinch of faith and a large dose of hard work.
Gary Edmonds and his wife Sandi have lived in Taiwan for over 20 years.
Gary is pastor of the Pentecostal Church of China, which is known as the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ in America. Over time, the Edmonds discovered that Taiwanese people who tried pie seemed to like it. So when they decided to approach their congregation about starting something up that would help raise funds for construction of a church facility in Taipei and Taichung, the pies proved to be a great idea. The congregation donated funds and Mom's American-Style Homemade Pies was created.
The company officially opened last year in April and has been going great since. The reason that older Chinese know the pies as "fruit cookies," according to Gary, is that the word "pie" is a Western term, with no direct translation into Chinese.
At the start, after recruiting four people from their church as employees, Sandi spent two weeks training them in the method of baking. The Edmonds knew a pastor in California running a similar operation and even he and his family came to Taiwan to spend three weeks from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. providing further training for the staff, helping to get things rolling.
After only eight months of doing business in Taichung and Taipei, Gary notes that over 8000 pies have been sold. Gary and Sandi have been pleased with the positive response from Taiwanese customers, who often start off buying a pie every day and then establish a regular buying practice after some time. And foreigners, craving a taste of the familiar, often indulge as well.
The favorite flavor (there are 13 varieties, including taro and red bean) for Chinese women are the cream pies, while the men opt for the pecan pie.
Gary and Sandi run a tight (albeit, enjoyable) ship. Utmost quality was established as a habit from the start and is reflected from the beginning of the process through to their final product. Standards are high and criteria is strict when it comes to production. All of the pies are made individually by hand. They are free of preservatives. Sugar has been reduced or eliminated to appeal to the tastes of the local people. Absolutely no animal fat is used.
Locating ingredients is, thus, no walk in the park. The team is resourceful in locating fresh local ingredients, as well as importing from all over the world. Apples are from Washington state. Peaches are from South Africa. Pumpkin, cherries and vanilla are from America.
The kitchen, a rented building in Taichung County, resembles an operating room in its level of cleanliness, with one employee in charge of keeping it spotless throughout the day. The company is educational in that they provide instructions for eating the pies, since there are no preservatives.
"Most of the pies can last in a refrigerator three days maximum and we tell customers this," said Gary, completely fluent in Chinese. (After talking with Gary and Sandi about the pies, it appears that this is not an unusual issue as they have found most pies are reportedly eaten within a day's time). Another educational aspect which is avidly practiced in America as well is recycling. As incentive to recycle, customers who return pie plates and lids receive a refund of NT$5.
Each day, 150 pies are made and the goal is to sell them all in Taichung and Taipei. Work begins the afternoon before, when the kitchen team of four people roll out, fill and bake each pie. Gary recalled one employee in particular who spent much time rolling out the dough to precise measurements in the beginning." Now, with only a couple of brisk strokes of the rolling pin, she creates a perfectly-sized circle of pie crust.
The pies are baked in large, state-of-the-art ovens and places in refrigerators until early morning. First thing the next day, a percentage of the pies are air freighted to Taipei for sale in coffee shops and various businesses. The rest remain in Taichung. From 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., one couple from the staff goes to a Shui Nan table to sell. The other two team members distribute and sell pies to other various venues.
The general cost of a pie is NT$250 in Taichung and NT$300 in Taipei, to allow for shipping costs. Profits are low in order to cater to a larger number of customer tastes. All profits go to the church building fund. With their strong customer service skills and dedication to quality, Mom's Pies is sure to leave a lasting impression in the stomachs of Asians and westerners alike.
For more information on where to buy these pies, contact Mom's Pies at (04) 2391-7208.