Why Chicken Pot Pie?

After years of producing the best, high-quality quesadillas, tortillas, and dessert pies, we launched another better-for-you classic category, Pot Pies. Check out this interview with our Culinary Director, Chef Isabelle Nunes.

What inspired Rise & Puff to expand into pot pies after launching tortillas and quesadillas?

People have always loved pot pies but the category has never really loved them back. Most options on the market are loaded with saturated fat, excess calories and mystery ingredients. One of our founders spent time early in his career at Marie Callender's, and that experience planted a seed: what if you could have all the flavor people crave, built on a recipe that actually makes sense nutritionally and is convenient? Our inspiration comes from a genuine desire to reimagine the classics with better quality ingredients and real flavor.

Why did chicken pot pie feel like the right first flavor to introduce?

Chicken pot pie is the original. It's comfort food in its purest form, nostalgic, crowd-pleasing, and deeply satisfying. We made it, we loved it, and we knew we couldn't keep it to ourselves. That feeling said everything. Goodness is meant to be shared.

What did the team learn from the response to the chicken pot pie that influenced launching turkey and veggie varieties next?

The vegetarian version was always part of the plan. We believe in building a line that works for everyone. Turkey came from listening. Our Rise & Puff community spoke up, the demand was real, and when we found a turkey source we were proud of, the decision was easy. We go where the quality leads us.

How does Rise & Puff approach creating comfort food that still feels clean, wholesome, and ingredient-conscious?

We set our standards early and we don't move them. Trends come and go, but comfort is timeless, it's more of a feeling than a formula. At Rise & Puff, we want to carve out space in people's busy lives for food that's worth thinking about: where it comes from, how it's made, and how it makes you feel afterward. That's not a talking point… it's the whole point.

Were there any unexpected challenges in developing frozen pot pies that tasted homemade and chef-crafted?

Of course, that's the work. But, the biggest lesson we learned was that simplicity wins every time. We can't give away our process, but we can say this: cooking well takes patience, and the time we put into getting it right is the greatest investment we can make.

What makes the Rise & Puff pot pies different from traditional frozen pot pies on the market today?

Almost everything. We don't cut corners, and we don't stop caring when the recipe gets hard. We look for special or differentiated ingredients that can really elevate the dish. In the case of the pot pie Madeira wine really adds a wonderful finishing note. It was quite challenging and expensive to source the wine but the flavor was nicely enhanced. Our pies taste better because they're made better with higher quality fresh ingredients that enhance flavor instead of masking it. Our crust sets the standard. And, unlike most of what's out there, we built our process around the best ingredients first.