Anne Pile Hogue

Anne was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but considers herself a native of Albany, Missouri, located in the northwest section of that state. After completing high school in Albany, she earned a B.S. in Interior Design in 1974 from the University of Missouri. Following graduation she worked in Kansas City, but yearned to return to her hometown. In 1979 she did just that.

Annie's earliest venture into food preparation was strictly on the hobby scale...preparing large holiday meals for college friends who couldn't return to their homes.

Following the birth of son Tucker (1979) and daughter Brooke (1982) Anne began Annie's Pantry™, a local catering service that was an immediate success. This led, in 1984, to the opening of the Clay Street Deli. The Deli departed from the usual home cooking format and fast food fare, and more closely resembled a metropolitan-like delicatessen. The menu included several hearty soups and salads and numerous specialty sandwiches of Anne's own creation.

One sandwich, The Clay Street Club, was so popular and so versatile, it was marketed by a large distributor to groceries and convenience stores under the Annie's Pantry™ label.

This collection of recipes, mostly original creations by Anne, represents a different approach to cooking. Asked to describe her philosophy of cooking, Anne says, "I try to use unusual combinations of common ingredients to produce attractive, desirable results... from simple to elegant dishes... with a minimum of effort."