LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PERSON BEHIND THE PIES

Meet Staci.

Get to know Staci Fischer Taistra, the instructor leading our Holiday Pie Flight Workshop + Dinner.

Read about the person, the traditions, and the memorable moments from the kitchen.

Holiday Pie Flight Workshop + Dinner

November 13, 2026

6:30 PM - 9:00PM

Five questions with Staci

01/ The Beginning

How did you first get into baking, and who helped you learn your way around the kitchen?

Is there a family recipe that holds a special place in your heart? What's the story behind it?

02/ The Tradition

03/ The Real Life Moment

Be honest, have you ever had a baking disaster that you can laugh about now? What happened?

04/ The Love of Baking

We're making chocolate cream, apple, and pumpkin mini pies. Which is your favorite, and what do you love about making it?

05/ A Seat at the Table

For someone thinking, "I'm not much of a baker," what would you tell them, and what are you most excited to share at the workshop?

My love of baking started in my grandmother's kitchen. Being from Hungary, she baked more strudels, sponge cakes and crepes, specifically Kifli and Palacsinta. She taught me the way she had learned, by feel and by heart, with flour on her hands and something always in the oven. Everything I know about finding my way around a kitchen, I learned standing beside her on a step-stool. And everything I bake is filled with love. I still have her apron she wore while baking and cooking.

Some recipes are more than recipes, and my mother's chocolate chip banana cake with chocolate mousse is one of them. It has always been one of my favorites, every time I make it, I'm her little helper again, measuring, mixing, and sneaking a taste of the mousse while she pretended not to notice. While there is no story behind it, it has grown more precious in the last year. Like all our family recipes, this one has a third generation in it. Last summer, my daughter found out she was no longer allergic to walnuts thanks to this cake. The doctor asked us to bring a food that has walnuts baked into it. I knew immediately what we would bring. We called my mom and the day before the challenge, the three of us baked it together in my kitchen with my grandmother's mixer and measuring bowls. Having my mother, my daughter and me in the kitchen with the same recipe made it more precious than I ever thought a cake could be.

The great cookie disaster happened on a play date back in my daughter's preschool days. I had made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my daughter and her friends, plated them and set them on the table. As I was cleaning up, I watched the girls each take one big, eager bite.....and then freeze! I had used salt instead of sugar. I still remember their little faces grimacing from the 2/3 cup of salt. The wonderful thing about four year old girls, they pivot; they simply promoted the cookies to a tea party for their dolls, who apparently loved them, while I went back to the kitchen and baked a fresh batch. This time with the sugar.

This is like asking me to pick my favorite child. I honestly love them equally because of what they each mean to me. But to truly answer this, you will have to join us at the event. I will share the recipes, stories and fun facts while enjoying the sweetness of the holiday season.

I'd tell them "welcome, you're my favorite kind of person." I'm not a professional baker, I'm just that little girl in the kitchen keeping my family's recipes alive through another generation and wonderful people like you who want to learn.

Baking sounds fancy, but it's really just following directions and then eating your homework with the people you love. Can you measure, stir and set a timer you might ignore once? Then you can bake. I'm most excited to share that the best recipes come with stories that turn into memories. So hopefully, everyone comes and by the end of the workshop, they'll have a recipe and a story of their own: the memory and feeling of the night is the real recipe, everything else is just ingredients.