Elena Diyanova and her family are originally from Russia; they lived in several countries all over the world before settling in St. John’s. Since making Newfoundland their home, the Diyanovas launched Newfound Perogi, a family-run business that sells handmade dumplings prepared with a Siberian recipe.

“During our transition from one country to another we’ve earned the reputation of cooking the best homemade pierogies ever. Some of the biggest fans of our delicious pierogies are our two kids Ilya and Alexey, and their wonderful friends.” Diyanova wrote.

Seeing how much her children and their friends enjoyed the dumplings inspired Diyanova to share her family’s signature dish more widely. Newfound Perogi currently runs out of Tilt House Bakery on Portugal Cove Road, where they prepare batches of their Siberian Pelmeni, package, and freeze them.

The handcrafted dumplings are made with fresh ingredients and the company recently expanded to offer a number of different fillings including; chicken, beef, pork and fresh cherries.

“At Newfound Perogi we believe that food that tastes homemade should be made only with the freshest natural ingredients …there are no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives in any of our products” Diyanova wrote.

Working out of Tilt House Bakery means that Newfound Perogi are able to serve the food service industry along with retail outfits like supermarkets. They are happy to customize their recipes and packaging to make it easy for restaurants to use their products.

“Working closely with our clients, we meet their most stringent requirements with respect to choice of ingredients, recipes, and packaging.”

Smaller portions of the company’s packaged dumplings areavailable at Tilt House Bakery, Belbin’s Grocery, Food For Thought, and Rocket Bakery. The frozen pierogis can be prepared in just four minutes and served on their own as an entrée with butter or sour cream.

Diyanova is proud to be able to offer a quick and healthy option for busy families in St. John’s. However, Newfound Perogi’s dumplings can be more than a quick bite to eat, they have the potential to be the foundation of an elegant dinner.

Diyanova has served hot pierogies in different sauces (including a mushroom sauce, a rose, and a butter cheddar sauce) at successful pop-up style events in venues all over town.

On Newfound Perogi’s Facebook page, you can find suggestions for a variety of sauces and toppings that go well with the dumplings. The recipes are shared with photos of pierogies dressed in a trickle of sauce and a sprinkling of fresh herbs, illustrating just how swanky the humble frozen pierogi becomes with the proper plating.

The company recently hosted a contest where they invited fans to submit their favourite way to serve Serberian Pelemini. The contest got a huge response and the winning recipe will be announced on March 19th.