Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Calderon.
Hi Karina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a little girl, my Saturday morning cartoons were Food Network cooking shows like Ina Garten and Rachel Ray. Since this was before being able to Google recipes on the computer, I would have a notepad and pen and rigorously write down the recipes they were making. I would attempt my hand when my mom wasn’t around (I mostly made desserts and she was not a huge fan of giving us sweets!). I used to do lemonade stands and sell cookies and little treats. Never did I think I would have my own business sharing my love of culinary arts. When I was in high school, I did culinary arts for an elective and fell in love! It was my favorite class hands down and I looked forward to the next class. My teacher at the time was very encouraging and told me I could even go to school to learn how to become a chef. I actually didn’t know that I could make a career out of it at all, so it was super exciting news to me. I started working in the food industry at 15 years old, so this makes my 9th year in the industry! I have done it all, seen it all, been there, done that! It’s been quite a ride.
After high school, I started the culinary arts program at Austin Community College. I learned so much and gained so many amazing experiences. During my time at ACC, I won 1st place in a National Cake Competition, worked as a cook at the VIP tent at Austin City Limits Music Festival, staged at a few awesome restaurants in downtown Austin, and was even awarded a full-ride scholarship that paid for me to study pastry and hospitality in Sorrento, Italy. I got to study at the Sant Anna Institute located right on the Amafi Coast and toured amazing restaurants and met Michelin Star chefs like Peppe Aversa of Il Buco. I graduated in 2017 with my associate degree and was awarded a James Beard Foundation Scholarship which fully paid for my studies at the International Culinary Center in New York City (formerly known as the French Culinary Institute).
I graduated the Culinary Entrepreneurship program at ICC after working on business plans and presenting them to a panel of 50 chefs, investors, and teachers. I absolutely loved my time there. I got to go to so many pastry demos in between classes. I met some of my personal pastry heros like Chef Ron Ben Israel and Chef Michael Mignano. Once I got back to Texas, I started back up working at one of the previous restaurants I worked at before and was promoted to a kitchen manager position. My husband and I started dating after I transferred locations. A few months later, I found out I was expecting our first daughter. I worked up until the day before our daughter was born (I had her on my day off!). After becoming a mother, things changed for me. It was hard being away from my newborn. That’s when Georgetown Pie Co. was born. I started making mini pies out of my small one bedroom apartment and sold them at tiny events here and there. Then branched out to larger markets, took on catering orders and larger events, and soon found myself not being able to keep up with demand. I got all my permits and moved into a commercial kitchen space. It was the best thing ever, at home I could only make 15 pies at a time, but at the kitchen I could make 120 pies at a time in just one oven!
From making 1 pound of dough at a time to making 50 lbs of dough at a time! Production has been way easier since moving to a commercial kitchen. At each market, I bring a few hundred pies and 100-200 pastries like my famous instagramable gourmet pop tarts! I have been so blessed to always have sold out markets! My regulars are amazing and usually make it out to each market to try all my flavors. I even have people that have traveled a couple of hours to come to try my pastries! I actually never was a huge pie fanatic or anything before this. I always had bad pie and it literally just put a bad taste in my mouth to the point I avoided pie. But one thing I learned in culinary school that had stuck with me was, you never “don’t like” something, you just haven’t tried it a way you like! So I started making pies the way I liked and turns out a lot of people like them the way I do too! I have tons of customers tell me that I’ve converted them to pie lovers! It is honestly one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No way! Owning my own business has been the hardest venture yet. In the very beginning, I was working three jobs while starting my business. As a new young mother, it was very difficult for me to always be working. I had terrible mom guilt and still do sometimes. But as a parent, you make sacrifices for your children. I knew in my heart that it wouldn’t be that way forever and this was all for my daughter and growing family in the end. I have always wanted to own a bakery in town and pass it on to my kids. I still remind myself that this is just a season. My husband and I recently got married and had our second daughter which made me have to scale back on the amount of markets I was doing full time for my business and get another job to help us financially. People do not realize how much time and money goes into building a business. Being an owner of a small business usually means you are also the marketing director, voice of the social media accounts, photographer, promoter, the one who packages the goods and sells them, and the one that bakes all night only to wake up the next morning to set up your booth and sell what you made. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication. Don’t even get me started about when COVID hit! I was looking into signing a lease on a location but had some bad gut feelings about it. So I didn’t sign. Thank goodness I didn’t! I am so sad for all the small local businesses that have shut down due to the pandemic! I know how hard these entrepreneurs have had to work to get to where they were.
As you know, we’re big fans of Georgetown Pie Co. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I own Georgetown Pie Co! We specialize in all kinds of pies! Key Lime, Pecan, Banana Cream, Mixed Berry, Cherry, etc. What sets Georgetown Pie Co. apart is that every single thing from the crust, filling, and toppings are made 100% from scratch! No shortcuts! I use high-quality ingredients and a lot of love in each part of the pie. The technique to making pie dough and consistency of that technique is key to making a good flaky crust. My fillings are cooked down for a couple of hours before cooling for use. I have to stand there and stir and babysit the fillings. We also make gourmet pop tarts which always sell out first at all the markets! They are just so yummy and the perfect size to walk around and snack on!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I am well on my way to making my childhood dream of owning a bakery come true! In the next 5-10 years, I know I will have a beautiful storefront where I can not only make awesome pies but also showcase the plethora of pastries I’ve learned to make throughout my travels and studies!
Pricing:
- Mini Pies $7
- 9 inch Pies $25
- Gourmet Poptarts $5
Contact Info:
- Email: Georgetownpieco@gmail.com
- Website: Georgetownpieco.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/georgetownpieco?igshid=gecligfq2il2
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/georgetownpieco
