PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
THE “PIE GUY” … The Newlyn Quest Club of Bryan will be hosting its 48th annual Barnfest on Saturday, September 27 at the MacDonald Ruff Ice Arena in Bryan. Promoting this year’s event is from left, Hulie Stockman (Newlyn Quest president), Jen Green (chairman), Alex Chau (Pie Guy) and Caitlin Roehrig (co-chairman).
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The “Pie Guy” will be making his first-ever appearance at the 48th annual Newlyn Quest Barnfest taking place on Saturday, September 27 at the MacDonald Ruff Ice Rink in Bryan.
From making their own pies and getting pies from other sources for their ever popular vegetable soup lunch over the past 47 years, the club is going into a new direction with Alex Chau of Fayette taking over the huge task of providing plenty of fresh baked pies for the annual daylong event.
Chau has been involved in farmers markets throughout Northwest Ohio including Bryan, Fayette, Montpelier and Wauseon, where he’s been in the pie-making business for the past three years.
The Newlyn Quest Club had found out about his pie-making expertise through word of mouth and a posting on the Montpelier Civic League Facebook page, that Chau was going to join the farmer’s market in Montpelier.
“They (Newlyn Quest) had reached out to me, and I was in conversation with them, and it sounded like a great opportunity for both parties to expand,” said Chau.
“Getting my customer base exposure to Newlyn Quest Club and their fan base exposed to the “Pie Guy. It’s a win-win situation.”
His main objective is that he’s all about bringing back things to the community itself.
“A lot of small towns around here, they kind of meet that redevelopment like bringing businesses back,” noted Chau. “I’m helping their community kind of realign our ideas.”
The “Pie Guy” has his game plan set to go in baking his delicious pies for Barnfest.
“It’s going to be a pretty much round-the-clock all week starting the Sunday before,” he said. “Making pies is not easy, it’s a lot of prep work.
“My partner (Matthew Keller) will be doing one portion of it during the day while I’m at work. Then when I come home from work, I’ll take over a little bit.”
The “Pie Guy” bakes a variety of pies including several kinds of fruit pies (apple, peach, blueberry, cherry, strawberry rhubarb) stressing the source of getting local fruits.
All of the pies mentioned above will be served at Barnfest as well as two traditional fall season pie favorites, pumpkin pie and pecan pie.
He is very excited about the opportunity of working with Newlyn Quest members.
“From the looks of it, it’s going to be a rocking day,” said Chau. “I believe these ladies always deliver, it’s not their first time at the rodeo.”
The pies will be served along with the popular vegetable soup and bread meal. Hulie Stockman who serves as president of Newlyn Quest club said that she noticed the “Pie Guy” on Facebook before going over to Montpelier and visited the Farmers Market.
“I went over to the Farmers Market, and I ordered a pie,” admitted Stockman. “We tasted it, and it was amazing.
“So, we’re like you know what we need a vendor here, so were going to use a local company and be able to promote them also then promoting our own organization at Barnfest.”
Stockman said that Newlyn Quest had different vendors over the years, but the organization needed feedback every year from different people.
“We’re going to try something new this year,” added Stockman. “We got the ‘Pie Guy’ putting in the rescue for us.
“Because years and years in the past, like every member of Newlyn Quest would make pies and this is years ago. But then again, the pies didn’t bake all very well.”