Anne’s Á  la Mode Is a Mobile Baking Trailer Serving Up Seriously Delicious Pies and Cobbler

“I’ve always, always baked every day, and food is my love language. But I didn’t start doing it professionally until this,” says Amanda Anne Crisman, who launched Anne’s Á  la Mode with her husband, Mark, in 2021.

A Colorado native, Amanda grew up in the country just east of Denver, and has fond childhood memories of her mother’s baking. In fact, she credits her mom for not only passing along a love of baking to her, but also the idea of launching a mobile baking trailer. “So my mom, in 2018, had the idea. She was like, ‘Amanda, I need to talk to you.’ I was like, oh no, what now? ‘I want to start a pie-making business!’ She had gone to the Edgewater Marketplace. She was looking all around and couldn’t find a piece of pie, and so she decided that should be our business,” Amanda recalls.

She and Mark, who briefly worked in restaurants before spending twenty years in health care, immediately began searching for a trailer. In 2019, the two found the perfect option, a 1969 Yellowstone Canned Ham. “The trailer was at a graveyard in Bailey, like a vintage trailer place. So we rescued her, and then my dad and Mark fixed it up,” explains Amanda.

“We were all ready to launch in 2019 and didn’t, because 2020 happened,” adds Mark. Instead, he used the unexpected downtime to put the final touches on the trailer with his father-in-law, while Amanda perfected her pie crust recipe.

Then, in the fall of 2021, Mark decided to leave the health-care industry and go all in on the family baking business. “Our first gig was at an apartment complex. We had no idea what we were doing. I think we made $200 that day,” says Amanda.

Now, nearly two years into the operation, the husband-and-wife team are extremely happy with their decision to launch Anne’s Á  la Mode. “For me, I enjoy being creative with the things we put out – like the habanero peach pie and lavender blueberry pie,” Amanda says. “A special one for this year is going to be an apple pie with Hatch green chile and aged white cheddar, so just all kinds of weird pie experiments. It’s really fun.”

Soon, she and Mark will head back to the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, where their habanero peach pie won the Governor’s Plate competition last year. “We’re going back this year to defend our title, and the apple pie with Hatch green chile is going to be our offering,” Amanda notes.

Mark adds that he finds joy in just being in the moment. “I was in middle management, so just being out in public again and being your own boss is great,” he says. “When you hand somebody a pie, they’re just happy. It’s a great transaction. It’s just been a lot of fun, throwing it all at the wall and seeing what sticks.”

When it comes to fan favorites, Amanda is quick to respond. “The habanero peach. They love it. Oh, and the strawberry peanut butter pie. I think I invented that one,” she says. “It’s a regular pie crust with an additional bottom crust that is almost like Reese’s peanut butter candy. And then topped with whole, big strawberries and crumb-pressed. It’s a thing to experience.”

Also on the menu are several savory pot pies in options like chicken, beef and pork green chile and cheddar, and the Cup-O-Cobbler – topped, of course, with a scoop of ice cream.

Amanda and Mark are not only focused on creativity in the kitchen, but also sustainability. “We have zero food waste,” Amanda notes. “All of our waste goes to the goats and chickens at Five Fridges Farm, where our commissary kitchen is. Chickens love pie dough.”

“We’ve always had an eye on sustainability,” Mark adds. “Food trucks are not super efficient to operate. We’ve always tried to do the compostable stuff. But now I’m in the middle of a full solar conversion. By the end of this month, I think I might have the solar fully rigged. I’m hoping to be able to do most of our events fully off solar power. … We’re trying to be good stewards and keep it sustainable.”

For more information on Anne’s Á  la Mode, including a full event schedule, visit annesalamode.com.