Winnipeg’s ‘Shut Ur Pie Hole’ desserts attracting celebrity attention

Winnipeg – From baking in the basement of Winnipeg’s Greek Orthodox Church to rubbing shoulders with celebrities in Hollywood, that was Heather Daymond’s journey at this year’s Emmy Awards.

Organizers of the award show contacted Daymond to be part of their gifting lounge because her business Shut Your Pie Hole caught their eyes.

“I have to admit at first I thought it was spam, I didn’t think it was the real thing,” Daymond said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I have to admit at first I thought it was spam, I didn't think it was the real thing," Daymond said.

“Then they called me and they just said we love your name, we love your product and we’ll do anything to help you get here.”

Daymond walked the red carpet and spent hours in the lounge during the Emmys in September talking to celebrities who tried her pies, made with fresh Manitoba ingredients.

“My favouite was Chris O’Dowd, the cop from Bridesmaids… in his next movie he plays someone from Winnipeg so I told him I could help him with his Winnipeg accent,” Daymond said.

She launched Shut Your Pie Hole in 2014 so people could start enjoying fresh, homemade, portable pies from mason jars.

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“We’ve done over 30,000 jars of pie and we still hand roll all the pastry,” Daymond said. “All of the ingredients inside have no chemicals and no preservatives.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've done over 30,000 jars of pie and we still hand roll all the pastry," Daymond said. "All of the ingredients inside have no chemicals and no preservatives."

After the first three months of baking the pies in Winnipeg, she had orders of 1,200 jars each week. Daymond has expanded her team since then.

“Seventy per cent of our business is done outside of Manitoba and the Emmys was our launch into the U.S,” Daymond said.

Starting in 2017, Daymond wants to start building a new kitchen in January to create more jobs for people with disabilities in the province.

“I come from a family of invisible disabilities and so my kitchen that I’m building is called an ability kitchen,” she said. “That was part of going to the Emmys… we’re going to need to do a round of capital investment.”

For anyone dreaming of starting their own business, Daymond shared some inspiring words of advice.

“Living your dream takes a stretch and it’s all worth it in the end because then you’ve answered all the questions to yourself,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Living your dream takes a stretch and it's all worth it in the end because then you've answered all the questions to yourself," she said.

“It was a dream come true to go to the Emmys and be with those celebrities and tell my story, tell them that I started this business with a $4,000 income tax refund, and that’s just the beginning.”

WATCH: Heather Daymond explains which flavours you can try from Shut Ur Pie Hole

1:20 Sampling pies from ‘Shut Ur Pie Hole’ on Global News Morning