Congratulations to KCRW’s Good Food Pie Contest winners for 2016!

Congratulations to all the winners of our eighth annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest! Once again, our grande dame of pie, Evan Kleiman, presided over a fun-filled day on UCLA’s Royce Quad. Our judges tasted their way through 374 pies in eight categories: fruit, savory, cooked custard, cream, nut, vegan and a special Cuban category that was inspired by the Fowler Museum at UCLA. This year, contestants also entered pies in a new sweet potato pie category sponsored by the Universal Pictures film, “Almost Christmas.”

In recent years, fruit and savory pies have won Best in Show. But after much heated debate, a pie in the cooked custard category swept the show, surprising even our judges.

BEST IN SHOW

Best in Show: Salted cinnamon honey pie by Renee Tracy

The judges awarded Renee Tracy’s salted cinnamon honey pie the Best in Show ribbon for its balance and nuanced sweetness.

BEST CRUST

Best Crust: Blueberry pie by Karla Subero

Karla Subero’s blueberry pie crust was so well executed that pie contest judge Sherry Yard was able to lift this beauty out of its pie pan intact, ending all discussion as to the winner for Best Crust.

FRUIT PIES

1st Place: “Berries Gone Wild” pie by T.A. Thole

2nd Place: White miso caramel apple pie by Nicole Bigley

3rd Place: “Obama’s Crack” (nectarine) pie by Woolf Kanter

SAVORY PIES

1st Place: Steak mushroom cheese pie by Stephanie Cabral

2nd Place Thai pork and basil hand pies by Pruitt Kerdchoochuen

3rd Place: Tomato pie by Bari Stevens-Chapman

CREAM PIES

1st Place: Banana cream dulce de leche pie with pecan shatter by Kevin Winzer

2nd Place: Banana cream pie by Jack Oleksinski

3rd Place: “Chocolate Buzz” pie by Patricia Lapiezo

NUT PIES

1st Place: Chocolate pecan pie by Mary Quirk

2nd Place: “Dirty” whisky nut pie by Jennifer Newfield

3rd Place: Bourbon pecan pie with almond wheat crust by Amanda Gatlin

COOKED CUSTARD PIES

1st Place: Salted cinnamon honey pie by Renee Tracy (also awarded Best in Show)

2nd Place: Buttermilk custard pie with spelt crust by Emily Wright

3rd Place: Chocolate chess pie by Karen Smyrl

VEGAN PIES

1st Place: Amaretto cherry pie with coconut oil crust by Karen Uyeda

2nd Place: Vegan pear and pecan pie by Adam Byers

3rd Place: Sour cherry pie by Christopher Riedesel

SWEET POTATO PIES

1st Place: Sweet potato cornbread pie by T.A. Thole

2nd Place: Sweet potato cheesecake pie with graham cracker and pecan crust by Yuan Hua

3rd Place: Cardamom tahini sweet potato pie with Speculoos crust by Nicole Bigley

CUBAN PIES

1st Place: Ropa vieja pie by Yesemia Fernandez

2nd Place: Cuban pastelón pie by Karen Chao

3rd Place: Salted caramel mango guava rum pie by T.A. Thole