Humble Pie, Dartmouth, NS

It was a cold January day when we first stumbled into Humble Pie Kitchen on 77 King Street in Dartmouth, NS. The heat from the ovens was welcome enough, but the aromas.… How does one even begin to describe the scent of hot buttery pastry, the richness of meats that have been slowly simmered? It assaults your senses in the absolute best possible way. I never wanted to leave. After a wonderful chat with owner Mike Noakes, I did tear myself away from the shop, but with several of his pies in hand. I enjoyed the pies later that evening after reheating them to Mike’s exact specifications and I can tell you that the amazing smell paled in comparison to the flavour. Am I excited about this place? You better believe it! Do yourself a favour and go—go now, and as The Humble Pie motto says, “Come hungry, leave crumbs.”

Mike was born in New Zealand but is married to a Canadian girl. After spending many years in New Zealand they decided to return to Canada with their four children, partly to teach the children to connect with both their Canadian and New Zealand families and heritage. Mike got to hankering for the sort of hand pies he enjoyed in his homeland, and started experimenting with pie-making. Just like that, Humble Pie was born.

“Humble Pie is named for the fact that it’s only pie. It’s not splitting the atom or conquering Mount Everest, or campaigning for women to get the vote—all things New Zealanders did first,” Mike says. “It’s just pie, albeit a pie that we try to make perfect each and every time. It’s unlikely we will ever achieve the perfect pie but that shouldn’t stop us trying... and the only one who will know if we achieve it is the customer who eats it.”

Humble Pie generally carries four small, plain pies at a lower price point and up to 12 larger, 7-oz pies. The most popular pies are steak and cheese, although a close second is the chicken, cranberry and brie pie. The beef stroganoff and double smoked bacon and the butter chicken are battling for third. The rising star is the chicken and bacon alfredo. 

The saying in New Zealand is “everything is better with butter,” but Mike believes that the saying in Canada is more like “everything is better with bacon.” Hence, chicken and bacon alfredo!

Mike is extremely grateful for the way his company’s pies have been received. The Dartmouth community has embraced them since they began, so they are manufacturing more and more pies. When Humble Pie began, they were selling 50 each week at the Alderney Landing Farmers Market. Since then, they have steadily grown through 150, 300, 500 and, just before Christmas, 1,500 pies weekly! 

Mike says they’re just pies but we think he may be a wee bit too humble! Hours and menu available at humblepiekitchen.ca.