And Prizewinner! Kate Schlenker, owner of Newbury Park Pastries, took home one of the Best Food Vendor prizes at this year’s Savor! event. The competition was judged by Dominique Crenn, the San Francisco Michelin 2-Star chef and restaurant owner of Atelier Crenn, Petite Crenn and Bar Crenn. The Proper Pork Pie was her and the crowd’s favorite.
And well deserved. Kate has been baking cakes, pastries and pot pies for 30 years and for the past twelve, out of her commercial kitchen and retail space in the Genesee Valley Regional Market in Henrietta. Raised as a self-proclaimed produce brat, she grew up trailing her father in restaurant kitchens and learned early on that she wanted to make sweets and savory pies.
Her good friend, Janine, and owner of Janine the Bean Rescue, who rescues and feeds feral cats, told her about the Savor! event. It’s a two-year new fundraising competition of local chefs benefiting Rochester Regional Health. Kate wanted to produce something entirely different and researched over 300 recipes for pies. Her trifecta of British heritage led her to The Proper Pork Pie and worked on creating her version but also wanted to keep the traditions of the meat pie. Using three different cuts of pasture-raised pork which are triple ground plus a spice combination that she’s perfected, she entered the competition.
It’s served with whole grain mustard and a pickle that she brines with radishes, ginger, carrot, cloves, mustard seed, vinegar and bay leaf. It reminded me of British Bangers with the fine grind and spices and brought me right back to my time spent in the U.K. It’s packed with flavor plus this baby is filling.
You’ll find this and more pies including her popular Chicken Pot Pie, which was gifted to me, and the ultimate comfort food, plus sweet pies and tarts at Sunday’s Brighton Farmer’s Market plus her retail shop on Saturdays. Kate’s motto: “slow growth, I’m not looking for 900 markets, slow and steady wins the race”. She’s already won!
Opinions of the author are her own and products were purchased for discussion or otherwise noted. I welcome your comments and suggestions for food and specialty items from upstate New York and can be reached at: linda@anexpatreturns.com
