Curry Pies Popular at Sherman Oaks Farmers Market

Part of the charm of farmers markets is that the person filling your order is quite often the owner of the business.

Malibu Pies, a business that has a regular booth at the Sherman Oaks Community Farmers Market, is no exception.

On a recent Saturday at the farmers market owned by the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce, Marcus Salvemini, a South African, who lives in Malibu, was taking orders and describing his product to customers.

Here’s the advantage of having the owner take your order. Salvemini can describe all of the ingredients that go into all of his offerings. And he also has an interesting story about how he came up with the idea for his product offerings.

The origination of the meat pies he created are loosely-based on some he sampled on trips to Australia.

Unlike the U.S., where meat pies tend to be the standard chicken or beef versions, Australians can get really creative about what they put into their meat pies.

Salvemini's compared an Australian meat pie to the American apple pie. Australians view the potential ingredients for meat pies with the same flare that Americans place on fruit pies, which can be apple, cherry, blueberry -- or just about any fruit that can be imagined.

He has three curry varieties—curry beef and vegetable, curry chicken and vegetable, and curry veggie.

Less spicy versions of all three are also available as are two kinds of breakfast pies. To see a list of ingredients and place an order, visit malibupies.com.

His meat pies also are fashioned toward the calorie-conscious California palate. His organic wheat crust is much thinner than those he has sampled in other countries.

Salvemini’s meat pie business, which he launched in 2006, was so successful that he decided to open a restaurant.

He found a location he liked in Sherman Oaks and opened Salvemini’s Italian Kitchen, located at 15030 Ventura Boulevard No. 2.

"I like the demographics in Sherman Oaks," Salvemini said.

Visitors to the booth at the farmers market can sample several varieties of his Malibu Pies. He also sells slices of the pizzas made at his restaurant.

But for those, who crave a broader menu, they can always visit his pizzeria or have items delivered for free up to a 4-mile delivery distance from the restaurant.

The meat pies have to be special-ordered at the website malibupies.com or by calling ahead to the restaurant.