Dutch Desserts

Marjan Beebe came to the United States from the Netherlands in 1989 to visit her brother in Kinderhook, NY. While here, she met Keith Beebe, a local college professor. They began to date and after about two months decided to get married.

In the early days of their marriage, Keith told Marjan that he was an apple pie "fanatic" and was always looking for "the best" apple pie. After trying numerous pies from roadside stands and restaurants, Marjan told Keith, "You haven't tried apple tart (as they are called in the Netherlands) until you have tried mine."

After one bite of her apple tart, Keith agreed that not only was it the best he had ever tasted but that it was marketable. He told her he never tasted anything even close to the wonderfully delicious crust combined with the apples and cinnamon.

Eventually they started to sell the apple tart at one small farmers' market in Kinderhook. This was very successful and people began to ask for other flavors such as blueberry, peach, raspberry, etc.

Several years later Dutch Desserts continues to grow at a very fast pace. They now provide their tarts to numerous stores in eastern New York, western Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and, they sell their products at many upscale farmers' markets throughout the area.