By Tyneisha Lewis
"Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it’s a start."
-Anthony Bourdain
The idea for this interview started with a Food Network magazine. In particular, the November 2020 issue of Food Network magazine. Every magazine has a Thanksgiving issue all about the holiday along with tips, recipes, and news to make it an easy and satisfying one.
In Food Network's November issue, they had a segment called 'Pies in the sky', which highlighted regional places to get pies along with their top selling pies. The regional place for Maryland was you guessed it, Dangerously Delicious pies in Baltimore with their top pie being the Baltimore Bomb Pie.
The owners of Dangerously Delicious Pies were featured in articles in several magazines such as CCBC magazine and Food Network. Of course I wanted to see if DDP were willing to do an interview, so I contacted them.
One of the owners, Mary Wortman was available for an interview and willing to answer some questions.
How did you get started in the business?
MW: I taught school for 25 years before I bought this business with my husband. We weren't actually looking to buy a business, it just kind of happened quickly. We didn't know the first thing about being in business, but when you have to learn quickly...you do!
What's the story of Dangerously Delicious Pies?
MW: The business was started about 20 years ago by Rodney Henry. Rodney was a traveling musician that always needed a place to stay while on the road. He grew up baking pies in his grandmother's kitchen. He often traded pies for a place to stay. The concept snowballed from there.
What inspired Dangerously Delicious' variety of pie recipes and flavors?
MW: Most of the pies were inspired by Rodney's family recipes. We do come up with new pies from time to time. We usually run them as specials to see how our customers take to them.
Any tips /recommendations for people interested in making pies?
MW: When making pies, always use your imagination. You can really put anything in a pie shell! Pies have always been a comfort food. Just be creative!
What's new & upcoming at Dangerously Delicious?
MW: Since Covid 19 hit, we have learned how to be a little more creative with our business. Unfortunately, we made the heart-breaking decision to close our Hampden location to increase our shipping capabilities at our Canton location. Our shipping business increased during Covid 19 due to many customers wanting food delivered right to their house. We felt it was in the best decision to move in that direction. We are now gearing up for the busiest time of year for us (October, November, and December). Everyone wants pies during the Fall season. We bake many, many pies for Thanksgiving as well as making hundreds of pies for corporate orders.
Do you have a favorite pie recipe? Could you share the recipe?
MW: Our best-selling pie is our signature pie, The Baltimore Bomb pie. It is a vanilla custard pie with Berger cookies crumbled inside. Berger cookies have been a favorite to locals for over 75 years. Our Chicken Pot Pie is a favorite as well as our line of quiches. I would gladly share a recipe with you; however, our recipe books make very large batches and would not work well with someone baking at home.
What would you like people to know about your shop?
MW: At our pie shop, everything is made from scratch from start to finish. We make our own pie crust and use all fresh ingredients for each and every pie. Our menu changes daily due to the ingredients we get in for the day. It is always best to order in advance if you want a certain pie from our menu. We sell pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our whole pies serve 6-8 people. We also sell pie by the slice from our lobby. We are open in Canton Tuesday-Thursday 10am-6pm and Friday- Sunday 10am -8pm. We are currently only open for carry-out.
My thanks to Mary Wortman for doing an interview with me. I hope Dangerously Delicious Pies will continue to be a sweet success. Check out Dangerously Delicious Pies, the place for pies and the Baltimore Bomb pie.
