Thanksgiving 2k18 Recap
So, you might have heard by now that we baked a few thousand or so pies last week. You know…AS ONE DOES, RIGHT?
Thankfully, this was our FIFTH time at the PJP Thanksgiving rodeo, so we know a thing or two about how it was all going to go down. Here’s a brief recap, including a thing or two that we DIDN’T plan for.
We received a record number of orders this year and that made our hearts so happy, at least until we were inching close to baking 200 pumpkin pies in one day. Once you surpass 150 pumpkin pies, you are really just in the pumpkin Twilight Zone. And because we are super extra by nature, we used a turkey cookie cutter and made over 200 turkeys out of pie crust for the tops of the pumpkin pies. I’m not saying it was a smart use of our time or that the Team PJP members cutting each turkey didn’t hate me, but goodness, those turkeys were ADORABLE. Worth it.
On Sunday, our top oven blew up. I’m still not emotional stable enough to address the incident in a public forum, but the short story is that a total oven outage almost broke me. Curious if I’m the sort of girl that will cry in Starbucks? YES, YES I AM. (I’ll give you the details - of the oven and of the crying - tomorrow. Suffice it to say, it all worked out. Pro tip: Writing large checks and hugging repairmen goes a long way.)
For the first time ever, Jeanne and I baked very little. My primary responsibilities were to direct, organize, double check our counts, and keep a side eye on the production schedule. Jeanne went to Hy-Vee, Aldi’s, Wal-Mart, and Sam’s at least 41 times and boxed about 1,000 pies. We both slept on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights…a first in PJP history.
And that is all to say that Team PJP was, as always, amazing. On Tuesday morning, I pulled in the parking lot at PJP Buttonwood at 7: 25 after dropping off my youngest at school to find Kevin, Katie, and Sydney already working away though I didn’t ask anyone to come before 8 am. That’s the sort of support and dedication and care that I hope every business owner gets to experience. Without question, everyone logged long hours with no complaints and good attitudes…and it showed in the seamless pick up process.
Our sweet Emily (who owns Sugarberry Blooms and worked for us for two years before leaving after welcoming her first baby) came back and worked hours in the evenings making all the French Silk pies. She also served as my therapist. When Andrew and Tyler offered to stay until 1 am on Wednesday morning to just load, unload, and reload the ovens, Emily has a serious entrepreneurial tete-a-tete with me to not be so controlling and allow helpful things to happen so I could go home to sleep for a few hours. It will rank as a pivotal moment in PJP history. Also a shameless plug: Emily will be at PJP on Saturday, December 8th for a holiday pop-up shop. Entrepreneurial therapy optional.
So what I’m saying is that it takes a village to make a couple thousand pies and our villagers are the best. And our sweet customers checked on us, hugged us, took selfies with us, complimented us, and told us we were going to sail through to 6 pm on Wednesday night like champs. And they were right.
So that’s it - Thanksgiving 2k18 in the record books. Someone dig this post up when I start panicking next October, please.