Pi Day is the perfect day to share the good news that KCRW's Good Food PieFest & Contest is coming back in 2024! The crusty, gooey fun will go down on Sunday, April 28, at UCLA. Once again, we're partnering with the Fowler Museum (which is on the UCLA campus) for this day of fun, festivities, and food. But things will be a little different this year. Last year, our first year pie contest after the pandemic hiatus, drew such a large crowd, we realized we needed to switch some things up. We also wanted to lean into Southern California's local fruits and nuts. Which is why…
This year’s competition categories are different. The way the tasting works is different. And the Pie Marketplace will be better and bigger than ever.
Because so many bakers enter apple pies, the 2024 PieFest will have two apple pie categories. Photo by Deborah Rainford/Unsplash.
New Categories
Last year's winners were delicious, but we can't keep doing the same thing over and over, so we decided to refresh a few of our categories this year.
- We had so many apple pies in last year's PieFest, we decided to split them up into two categories: Apple Crumble and Apple Double Crust (which includes lattice). This will also help our judges compare apples to… well, apples.
- We have a new category, Berry, just for berry pies. It covers any kind of berry — strawberry, blueberry, marionberry, cloudberry, gooseberry, raspberry, huckleberry, elderberry, lingonberry, etc. You get the idea.
- If you're making any other fruit pie (like cherry, apricot, peach, etc.), you should enter it into the Fruit category, unless it's…
- …a hand pie! Every year, we've seen a handful of hand pies in the competition. Although they're delicious, they sometimes get short shrift. So this year, we're giving them their own category: Hand Pies. (Pro Tip: Because this category is new, we suspect it won't have as many entrants so this might be your best shot at winning a category.)
- On the flipside, creating new categories means we had to eliminate a few old ones. We are no longer accepting Savory, Cream or Cooked Custard pies (yes, that includes pumpkin pies).
So what are the categories for PieFest 2024?
- Apple Crumble
- Apple Double Crust (includes lattice)
- Berry
- Fruit (excluding berry & apple)
- Nut
- Vegan
- Lineage Pie is inspired by the Fowler exhibition Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives. Bakers in this category are encouraged to use global flavors and consider their heritage to create a pie with personal meaning. Aim for edible storytelling in a pie tin!
- Hand Pies (bring a dozen for the public)
- Kids (12 and under)
Click here for a complete list of baker FAQs.
In 2023, Oliver Kaplan used his great grandmother's recipe to bake a winning blueberry pie. Photo by Erin Kaplan.
New Rules
We've made a few rule changes. We've also reorganized the way the pie tasting works for the public. The goal is to help you explore and sample more pies, faster.
- We've raised the age limit on the Kids category so bakers 12 and under can compete.
- No matter which category you enter, you CANNOT USE meat, milk, cream or whipped cream in your pie. You can still use butter and eggs.
- If you want to taste the pies that have been entered into the 2024 PieFest, you'll need to purchase a tasting ticket. This will cut down on the long lines that people experienced last year and should ensure there are enough slices to go around. Proceeds from the tasting tickets will help us put on PieFest next year. Plus, if you buy a tasting ticket, you'll get a year of KCRW membership after the event.
- Tasting tickets go on sale in mid-April, so be sure to RSVP for more information.
- If you want more pie or you're not interested in trying the competition pies, you can buy pie (and other food and drink) at our Pie Marketplace.
Click here for more information and to sign up.
The judges for the 2023 PieFest & Contest smile after a hard day's work. Photo by Elina Shatkin/KCRW.
Judges
How does judging work? We assign each judge to a category. Categories with more entries (looking at you, apple) typically get more judges. At the end of the day, the judges wrestle in Jell-O to decide the ultimate winner. Everything except the previous sentence is true. Without further ado, here are the judges for the 2024 PieFest & Contest.
- Ben Sidell — Saltie Girl
- Bertha Mason — Baking With Bertha
- Brianna Abrams — Winston Pies
- Christine Moore — Little Flower Candy Co.
- Clémence de Lutz — The Gourmandise School
- Danielle Bell — de Porres
- Elizabeth Falkner — chef
- Fabienne Toback — producer, High on the Hog
- Genevieve Gergis — Saffy's, Bavel, Bestia
- Gustavo Arellano — journalist - Los Angeles Times, KCRW
- Hannah Ziskin — Quarter Sheets, House of Gluten
- Heather Platt — journalist
- Ira Glass — This American Life
- Jennifer Yee — Baker's Bench
- Karen Tongson — professor - USC
- Karis Jagger — producer, High on the Hog
- Khushbu Shah — journalist
- Lien Ta — All Day Baby, Here's Looking At You
- Meadow Ramsay — Kismet
- Mona Holmes — journalist - Eater LA
- Nicole Rucker — Fat & Flour
- Sang Yoon — Father's Office
- Sasha Piligian — pastry chef
- Shannon Swindle — Mother Wolf, Funke
- Sherry Yard — Bakery by the Yard
- Stacy Michelson — artist
- Stephanie Breijo — journalist - Los Angeles Times
- Tejal Rao — critic at large - New York Times
- Valerie Gordon — Valerie Confections
- Zack Hall — Clark Street Bread
Special thanks to the Fowler Museum, Caffe Luxxe, Skirball Cultural Center, and Coast Packing for help keeping this fantastic event afloat!