I believe no other woman in the country takes savory pies quite as seriously as Tina Raines.

According to her, her ardor for these delectable treats blossomed at the same time her romance with husband Aaron did.

Aaron Raines was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, both known to be meat pie-loving countries.

“I was introduced to meat pies when I moved to Australia. My husband is a surfer and we lived by the beach. He surfed everyday, so on our way to the beach we would stop by for meat pies, sold at just around every corner,” says Tina. “After I tasted my first beef (minced) and mushroom pie, I kept coming back for the same for six months!”

When they moved back to the Philippines, she realized there was no store that sold good ol’ meat pies. So she headed to the kitchen to experiment—and came up with a winner.

If there is one thing that separates Tina’s pie from everyone else’s, it is the flakiness, the thin layers and the rich butter finish of her crust. It is, in fact, what makes her pies!

Don’t get me wrong. Her fillings are rich, tasty and made from the finest ingredients. And she is very generous with them. Each standard four-inch pie is overly stuffed, which is why each and every bite is hearty.

Pie crust recipe

It literally took a village for the Raineses to come up with their own, exemplary pie crust recipe.

Aaron’s grandmother baked pies in New Zealand, and he also had a surfing buddy who owned a bakery in the Gold Coast. Growing up, the young Aaron would go in and out of the bakery, watching people bake pies. From such flashbacks and memories of the Gold Coast bakeshop, he started to recall and comment on how the crust was done.

Tina, on the other hand, applied all the tips she was hearing and did a few experiments of her own. From a cookbook called “Pies,” she combined the recipe for puff pastry and short crust.

“I use good imported butter, add vinegar to my crust and only work in an air-conditioned room,” she says, revealing some of her secrets. “My oven is ordinary and the process of making them is quite primitive, but we pay a lot of attention to detail.”

It is a husband-and-wife team, indeed. “I measure the ingredients for the pie crust, I make the filling,” says Tina. “My husband puts the dough together, kneads and rolls it. I lay the dough on the pie plates, put the filling and seal it with the upper crust. Aaron once again takes over and watches over the baking.”

Business

The business of selling homemade pies commenced earlier than the couple had expected.

“Life was great, my husband and I had good jobs. We ate out on weekdays, went away on weekends and enjoyed life! Our plan was to return to the Philippines in 2012. By then we would have saved enough, open a pie café and a resort in La Union. ”

But God had other plans. “I got a job offer. Three weeks after I signed the Manila job contract in Australia, I found out I had cancer. Then, I knew I was really meant to go home.”

Tina underwent surgery and chemotherapy, surrounded by family and friends, and with a brand-new marketing job to “keep her mind off things.” She was also given the luxury to bake and perfect her pies during her spare time.

“Oh, taste and see, that the Lord is good,” is a verse on a piece of stationery given to me by my sister Cristy. It’s a verse I recall after hearing Tina’s story and having a mouthful of her pie. (Tina is now on remission.)

Of her pies, my personal favorites are the salmon, bangus and the chicken and mushroom. What I do is I cover the pies with foil and reheat them in a toaster oven for five to seven minutes—presuming, of course, that they weren’t in the fridge overnight.

To serve alongside it, I whip up a nice green salad with a vinaigrette made of lemon juice or wine vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Also available are sweet pies (lemon and herb, peanut butter and, her most recent addition, the Valencia oranges and herb topped with torched meringue), tarts and quiches (Tina’s Pie Outlet, 0917-8310925).

Oktoberfest beer

I was jut informed by Raj Sadwani that the commemorative Oktoberfest-to-go one-liter set (glass + beer) by Paulaner is now available for the month of October only. The “Bier is festive, full-flavored, ultra-delicious, and is brewed specially for the most famous festival in the world. Every year, more than one million liters are served at the Oktoberfest.” Call Noemi at 8906046, 8957179.

For my new 2011 holiday cooking class schedules, call  0908-2372346/ 0917-5543700/ 4008496/ 9289296.

E-mail the author at [email protected].