Peasant Pies’ homespun approach fills a need in San Francisco’s high-tech, fast-paced culture. Office catering is on the rise and Peasant Pies savory and sweet pies provide a unique and healthy alternative to all of the other food options on the market.
In the early 1990s, Ali Keshavarz and his business partner, Gerard Buulong, ran a jazz club/French restaurant but wanted to change direction. “We thought, what can we do that’s related to food but less formal and healthier….
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Peasant Pies’ homespun approach fills a need in San Francisco’s high-tech, fast-paced culture. Office catering is on the rise and Peasant Pies savory and sweet pies provide a unique and healthy alternative to all of the other food options on the market.
In the early 1990s, Ali Keshavarz and his business partner, Gerard Buulong, ran a jazz club/French restaurant but wanted to change direction. “We thought, what can we do that’s related to food but less formal and healthier…. more like a healthy fast food! Something inexpensive, delicious and nutritious – we wanted to find a concept that incorporated those three ideas,” says Keshavarz. It was Buulong, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, who originally told Keshavarz about the peasant pies, created by French fishermen who would take seafood out of their catch, chop it up, and add tomato and garlic. They would stew this mixture overnight, and in the morning they would bake dough around it to make a small pie, which they could then slip into their pockets and take them out on the boats with them.
This very primal, working class food that you eat with your hands appealed to Keshavarz. “We wanted to be different, and be ‘fast-casual’- meaning there is no waiter, you get your food, sit down, and eat. The peasant pies were perfect for this,” says Keshavarz. “We created a healthier version of fast food and the food cart.”
