Kristen Daily (she/her) is the owner and baker of Pie Bird Pies, a home-based bakery in the Drake neighborhood of Des Moines, which she co-owns with her wife, Andrea. Kristen loves to make (and eat!) pie, and she's passionate about using local and seasonal ingredients. Food has always been about connection and community for Kristen, so opening her home bakery has been the perfect way to express that care and joy. When she isn't up to her elbows in flour, you can find her in the garden or walking her beloved rescue chihuahuas, Frida and Norman.
Prior to baking full-time, Kristen worked in the nonprofit sector and taught introductory creative writing and communications courses at Iowa State University, where she received her MFA in poetry. But the pull of the kitchen was too strong to resist, and she opened Pie Bird Pies in May 2020.
Pie Bird Pies received statewide LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit, One Iowa's, inaugural Community Partnership Award in 2021. That year, Pie Bird Pies was also named one of the 33 Essential Restaurants in Des Moines by Eater. And in 2022, Kristen was inducted into Les Des d'Escoffier International, a philanthropic group of women in food, beverage and hospitality. That year, she was also named one of the Iowa Restaurant Association's 40 Women to Watch.
