Made with love in Newton, Massachusetts.
UPON A TIME, around 1983, a great British baking company was born, a celebration of my pursued passion. Therefore, I named this endeavor in a celebratory voice “...to the Queen’s Taste” (pastries to read English mysteries by). While selling these unpretentious, unforgettable treats, it wasn’t long before receiving invitations to Americana antique shows, premier Flower shows, gourmet food shows, American made arts and crafts festivals and Scottish Highland games festivals. Dazzled by it all, my travels took me to the top of Loon Mountain in New Hampshire to the Valleys’ of Ohio, to picturesque, Victorian Cape May (America’s oldest seaside resort).
THE JOY OF IT ALL was meeting numerous people from hometowns throughout New England, New Jersey, New York City, PA., Ohio and Maryland. I viewed magnificent Americana landscapes from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the rolling Susquehanna River in Harrisburgh. Pa. Worthwhile friendships of camaraderie developed between vendors, along the way.
TICKLED PINK were our customers upon returning each year with our British offerings; ranging from Chocolate Cream Buns, a treasured recipe from London’s ‘Old Savoy Hotel’, to our Wimbledon Victorian Shortcake (almost as big as a house), to illegal Eccles Cakes, to charming Chelsea Buns. Our loyal customers ate every crumb!
AN ANOMALY to British desserts, I introduced the original all-American Whoopie Pies to our table at various shows; Unique vintage Whoopie Pies from the 1950s Devil Dog recipe: and a star was born. Sales took off like a rocket. When people tasted samples they ‘fell in love’! People tasted samples and their feedback was fantastic, in jest, they began to call me “Devil Dog Dena.” The inspiration to specialize in our Whoopie Pies exclusively on the world-wide web comes from YOU, our appreciated customers, many of whom are now friends.
MY FRENCH CONNECTION
Believe it or not, I discovered a colorfully, illustrated, French written, Whoopie Pie recipe book, at a highway gas station-rest stop in Normandy, France. All twelve tourists, including myself, departed our bus to grab a bite to eat. The connected food mart sold hot and plentiful French country dinners to go, with a large assortment of brightly colored, fresh, organic farm grown vegetables from their family farm, down the road. In the check-out line, I bought the last copy only written in the French language. The wonderfully creative flavors were not typical to American whoopie pie culture, such as: ‘Whoopies Fleuris a la Violette’ or ‘Whoopies Amande et Nougat’ or ‘Facon “grandmere” to name a few.
WHAT A TREASURE! Upon returning home to Newton, Mass, I could not stop making every irresistible whoopie pie flavor in my little French book. In fact, I never stopped. My passion continues to grow!
THAT FRENCH EXPERIENCE at the filling station in Normandy ignited 4th grade lunch box memories at the Sarah Greenwood School in Dorchester, Mass. The year was 1955. My Mom would fill the lunchbox with a Devil Dog treat, now and then. Devil Dogs were quite scrumptious in the 1950’s; BIGGER and BETTER than today’s refined, highly processed article; a different animal altogether.
THEREFORE, with much passion, I created ‘QUEEN of WHOOPIES’, vintage whoopies circa 1950’s Devil Dog recipe. Our dear customers and Whoopie Pie aficionados cannot find another whoopie to compare quite like Queen of Whoopies. When the 2020 worldwide pandemic burst upon the scene, dismantling many businesses, and many lives, all of our wonderful Shows were cancelled. Our loyal customers learned quickly what we had to live without. We grieve for our loved ones left behind. I took a bold step adapting to the challenges surrounding ‘Covid 19’ and launched the website, Queen of Whoopies. Lovely friends and customers encouraged me to create this endeavor; not an easy task as I was technology timid and computer fearful. A special ‘thank you’ to my grandson Harry who was super encouraging and impactful challenging me to learn ever changing computer technology in order to create Queen of Whoopies.