Getting Stuffed 

Fans of the pierogi served this winter at Burlington’s ¡Duino! (Duende) are in luck. David Miller, who made the stuffed dough pockets for the restaurant, has gone into business for himself. Last month, he began selling the dumplings from his Burlington home under the banner of Pirogi Union, a home delivery and catering business.

Miller says he began making pierogi 20 years ago and has refined his recipe over time. He focuses on preparing classic versions — including potato-cheddar, beef-mushroom, and sauerkraut made with carrots, cabbage and coriander — using local ingredients. According to Miller, one fan jokingly declared that the pierogi taste so authentic, “[Miller] must have Russian slaves in [his] basement.”

But Miller has also played around with less traditional varieties. At an event he catered, he says, spinach, portobello and yogurt-cheese pierogi were a hit.

Because he has “an affinity for stuffed food of all sorts,” Miller plans on adding another Russian dumpling, pelmeni, to his roster. He’d also like to take on empanadas, gyoza, siu mai and Tibetan momos. For now, though, since producing pierogi is so labor intensive, Miller offers just one kind at a time.

In addition to plumping up his dumpling offerings, he hopes to begin selling his wares to local markets while expanding his catering and delivery business. Those are big plans for someone with a job as a flight instructor at the brand-new Vermont Flight Academy. But Miller hasn’t yet resorted to serf labor.