Don and Teri tell us about Yummies

Don and Teri came to tribune.travel home to visit Jessy Ruiz from Asphalt, and we used the occasion to talk to them about Yummies, their new project.

Who are Don and Teri, and what is Yummies?

We are the founders of Pie in the Sky Bakery some 35 years ago. And we had the business for twelve years. And we went traveling around the world for many years. And we returned here eight years ago, when we decided that I was a little too old for sailing and we needed something to do.

We coincided with COVID, so we started a new food business. But this time, instead of baking, we make home-cooked, memory-tickling meals like chicken pot pie and lasagna and shepherd’s pie and lots of fruit pies called Yummies.

At Yummies by Don y Terry on Facebook, people can see our products, their photos, they can read comments and they can see our posts. Now we’re here because we’re expanding our audience into Puerto Vallarta that we know well from our days in Pie in the Sky. And relying on Facebook alone wasn’t quite enough.

How did you get to Puerto Vallarta?

We sailed here in 1980, it’s so different. Just about everything. Everybody has their benchmark whenever they arrive. That’s what they started at. So, it’s very normal for people arriving today to see it as being normal as we, 35 years ago, see quite a lot of change.

When we sailed here 35 years ago, we anchored off La Cruz. There was no marina. There was no marina in PV. So, we chose La Cruz because it had been recommended to us by fishermen, actually. And at that time, La Cruz was a tiny little fishing village with a bunch of mango trees as well. And Terry is an acupuncturist of some 45 years’ experience, and she started treating some families in La Cruz.

And we were adopted. We were adopted like family. So we got our start there. And when we returned eight years ago, La Cruz was the first place that we visited. And again, we were greeted like family. So, it touched our hearts. And we love it. We love the simpleness, we love the smallness of it, and the convenience of having a modern marina there tickles our fancy because we’re sailors, longtime sailors, so we still have that connection. It feels like our hometown more than anywhere else.

What do you do now?

We don’t bake anymore. We don’t have big ovens anymore. We decided when we left Pie in the Sky, when we sold it in 2000, that we were never going to get into a bakery business again. So, this time when we got into the food business, we said, well, how about home cooked meals? And we’ll freeze them, and we’ll deliver them. And so that’s what we’re doing, that’s what we’re conveying.

What dishes do you have?

So, our favorite and our first meal was chicken pot pie. Terry had a craving for chicken pot pie and developed a wonderful recipe for it. It’s chicken pot pie. It’s an individual pie plate, five inches in diameter, more than ample for one, sometimes shared with two. It’s covered with our famous pie crust that we had from Pie in the Sky days. And it needs to be baked because baking sets the crust. It can’t be put in a microwave; it can’t be done on a stovetop.

Then we had other items like shepherd’s pie. And that’s a sirloin with a potato mashed potato topping and nicely spiced. And we have chili con carne. We have fruit pies, apple, cinnamon, apple and mango, which is just coming into season now for us. We have lasagnas. We have different size lasagnas, a family size of one kilo, and an individual size, which really feeds two of one pound half a kilo. We have both vegetarian and meat, so we have a broad range of clients.

What will be the new items in Yummies’ menu?

Well, we’re adding to it. We’re testing now in the summer when we have more time, less demands on our deliveries, we have time. Terry’s in the kitchen experimenting with new dishes, and hopefully by the fall we’ll have two or three additional dishes to our twelve that we have now. And we think that will probably round it out very well.

We’re just perfecting Cuban black bean soup. And it’s perfect for vegans and vegetarians, and it’s really a hearty soup.

How can we reach you?

We are on Facebook. That’s how you can reach us easily. We’re also on messenger. We’re on WhatsApp. And our phone number is 322 275 3322. And we deliver. We hope you all will contact us and try our lovely meals and bring us some suggestions of what people would like next.