STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After three years of intense research and development, sampling at markets like A&C Superette in Castleton Corners, Sasha Millstei pinged the bullseye with her pot pie line.
Her Aunt Ethel’s product line landed in Florence Fabricant’s food column in the New York Times on Wednesdays, March 23.
The recommendation to readers sent orders through the roof and, Millstein admitted, took her breath away.
Aunt Ethel’s Pot Pies launched on Staten Island in March 2020, just before the pandemic hit. The company was founded by Millstein, who replicated her family’s recipe for mass production. The formula hails from Tompkinsville caterer Alicia Ethel Reinish -- Millstei’s aunt -- who maintains a strong following on the Upper East Side for her luxurious individual pot pies, chockful of veggies and proteins like slow roasted chicken or coq au vin.
THE ‘FLO FAB’ COMPLIMENTS HEARD AROUND THE WORLD
Fabricant wrote in her column a description of how to heat and serve the luxury convenience item, which retails at around $10 apiece. The famed food maven explained, “Recognizing that the bottom crust usually comes out soggy, Ms. Millstein eliminated it. The puff pastry top crust gets heated separately for crispness in a toaster oven or a regular toaster, then popped on top before serving.”
Flavors include roast chicken, coq au vin and vegetable lentil chili with a gluten-free toritilla crust. The columnist lovingly dubbed as “Flo Fab” by fans declares them out respectively as “tasty,” “sumptuous” and “delicious,” such superlative utterances enough to ring microwave bells nationwide.
The good news for Staten Islanders is that they sell for $7.99 at A&C Superette in Castleton Corners, one of the first retail markets to carry the product.
With site views spiking by the thousands overnight at Auntethels.com and production in overdrive, Millstein said the orders were “manageable” with some adjustments to the volume.
She said, “Oh, my gosh that is unbelievable. Goodness, it’s been a bit of shock. It’s going to take us about like a week to unbury ourselves out of the orders but we’ll do it.”
An Aunt Ethel's Pot Pie (Courtesy of Leecohenphotography.com)https://ift.tt/yQxZHoG
AS THE POT PIE HISTORY GOES
Aunt Ethel’s Pot Pies saw a respectable launch on Staten Island with a North Shore audience. As the Advance reported in 2020, a popup “Pot Pie Party” was thrown at the former Vida restaurant in Stapleton and Millstein sold out.
The takeaway from the event: skip the brick-and-mortar and go right to direct ordering. The other eye-opener based on feedback from the live audience: the vegan tasted cumin-lentil version was the most popular selection.
Alicia Ethel Reinish (Courtesy of Leecohenphotography.com)https://ift.tt/yQxZHoG
For 20 years, Upper East Siders have enjoyed luxurious pot pie, a rich dish chockfull of vegetables and slow-roasted chicken. But the family recipe, a brainchild and signature dish of Reinish, also saw a test run on the South Shore through Rossville Delivery Service in the three original flavors.
Reinish, by the way, was owner of Cafe Botanica, formerly of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Livingston, who operates the Catered Word.
Millstein uses Dufour Pastry, a Bronx-based women-owned company that has been in the buttery dough bix for over 50 years.
Millstein assures on her fresh-thyme and Herbes de Provence-based formulae and said, “It tastes like it’s been baking in your kitchen all day!”
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
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