I loved its flaky crust, its seasoning and its packed filling. Wellington Pot Pies has been up and running for six months. “I spent over a year setting it up,” says owner Mark Wellington, “testing recipes, leasing a commercial kitchen, obtaining the necessary permits and arranging vendors. I was determined to make pot pies of the highest quality. There are no preservatives, I use organic vegetables, bake the pies fresh then flash freeze them.” The six-inch pies are fully cooked and can be frozen for up to three months; they just need to be heated in the oven for 30 minutes at a low 300 degrees. Mark offers a wide variety of pies, twelve and counting. “I have another twenty I want to try,” he says. There are meat ones – turkey, chicken, ground pork and ground beef, franks and beans, sausage and pepper, two seafood – clam chowder and shrimp and scallops as well as vegetarian pies including sweet potatoes with a toasted pecan crust. Mark roasts and grinds everything in house. “I use top round and pork loin, Kosher uncured beef franks, hand-shucked clams. My pork stock is made with smoked ham hocks.”

The new business is a family affair. Mark’s wife, a retired Air Force colonel, handles billing, orders, customer service and inventory. “She keeps us up and running,” he comments. Mark’s two daughters cover social media.

I asked Mark what led him to sell pot pies. “I love to cook. I found a pot pie recipe in a friend’s family cookbook I had contributed to, tried it and was hooked. I immediately started experimenting with ingredients.” Mark had worked as executive chef at a New York nightclub and in 2005 he started a limousine business specializing in servicing the elderly and those with dementia but Covid put an end to that.

Mark has been selling his pies at area farmers markets. “We sold over 100 pies at the Nyack Farmers Market last week,” he says. He is still trying to determine how often to take a booth at various locations. To find out where he will be, sign up for his monthly newsletter through his website, Wellingtonpotpies.com and through social media like Instagram, Nextdoor and Facebook. “I will also deliver to Palisades with a four-pie minimum,” he says (call 201-446-2973). Why does he feel he has been so successful? “I’m offering homemade food in the marketplace.”