The
pie was made by Ralph Gurule, who at 73 was our first baker.
Ralph was one of the American old school bakers who knew how
to do the classics from scratch.
Ralph hated retirement, so his son answered our
ad for a part time baker. Ralph used to say over and over “old
bakers never retire, they just drop dead”, referring
to his desire to keep baking and I think, to stave off the
inevitable onset of advanced old age. His strong,
muscular arms made small work of pie dough, scones and muffins.
Our first kitchen was too small for much variety but we wanted
to do everything the old fashioned way – no mixes, canned
fillings, or fake stuff.
Twenty
years later it’s the exact same pie that Ralph made.
We still use real butter and we still cook the fruit filling
in our kitchen. The quantity of dough has changed a lot, so
a big spiral mixer with a special dough hook gently incorporates
the cold fat and a little milk into the flour. I had been thinking
of writing this story about Ralph for a while because he was
one of the Flying Star (Double Rainbow) quality pioneers, whose
contributions are celebrated every time we serve our food and
bakery items. We have grown quite a lot over the last twenty
one years. But despite the growth, we have stayed true to the
reason we got into the restaurant business in the first place – the
love of food! We are proud to say that the newest generation
of talent in our kitchens and bakery share this passion with
us. I am reminded of the old saying – the more things
change, the more they stay the same. And so it is for Flying
Star.
Albuquerque, New Mexico 2008
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