A new start-up is delivering savoury hand pies, pickles and chutney to the people of Toronto.
Chaar Pies and Preserves is co-owned by longtime friends and industry professionals chef Pouravi Mediratta and baker Chitraang Nayyar. The two met back in India while attending the same culinary school and realized how great a team they made after winning a few national-level culinary competitions.
The friends later moved to Canada to further advance their training in culinary arts. Pouravi attended George Brown College in 2019 for the Culinary Management program and went on to work as chef de partie at Boehmer restaurant on Ossington. Meanwhile, Chitraang found himself attending a unique Boulanger and Baking Arts program at Nova Scotia Community College while simultaneously working as a baker and chef de partie at The Wooden Monkey Restaurant in Halifax. After his stint in the eastern province, Chitraang joined Pouravi in Toronto and went on to work at Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie.
Back in December 2020, as a steady increase of home-grown businesses and pop-ups started to dominate Toronto's food scene, the friends took a leap of faith to launch their passion project, Chaar Pies and Preserves.
The small business is currently a two-person operation, specializing in flaky hand pies and house-made pickles and preserves.
The hand pies are made with Brodflour's Stone Milled Organic Red Fife Flour to achieve a complex and flaky golden pastry. Several fillings are available and are rooted in Indian spices and flavour profiles, including their Signature Butter Chicken, Meatzza Pop, Far East Asian Spiced Pork, Spiced Cottage Cheese, Oh So Soy Keema and Roasted Peppers & Goat Cheese.
They also sell several preserves to go alongside the pies, including Mint, Cilantro & Gooseberry Chutney; Tomato Panch Phoran (Bengal's Sacred 5 Spice) Relish; Mint and Goat Cheese Raita and Mustard Chicken Pickle.
The concept for the co-owners is about fusing contemporary flavours with traditional techniques and recipes. As Pouravi says, "Most of our offerings are age-old recipes from our grandmothers and mothers with a twist of our skills."
The pies are available to order freshly baked or you can select the option for "Bake It Yourself" pies that come with instructions. Pickups and deliveries are available throughout Toronto and there are no delivery fees for orders over $100. Orders can be made directly by sending them a message on Instagram or through their Facebook page.
