Pie's the Limit at KCRW Contest

What is pie? Does the shape matter, or the size? Does it have to be a dessert? What distinguishes a pie from, say, a tart or a quiche?

These were some of the questions posed at KCRW's second annual Good Food Pie Contest, held Sunday at the inaugural Taste of Beverly Hills. Amateur and professional bakers offered up 120 interpretations of what pie could be, including sour cherry halva pie; coconut egg custard pie; and fig, goat cheese and rosemary pie.

There was even a gluten-free, vegan tamale pie if you're into that sort of thing.

When the gates opened, all the pies sat pristinely atop folding tables in a row that stretched out at least 100 feet.

"No eating of any pies yet," said Evan Kleiman, the event's master of ceremonies and host of KCRW's Good Food. "Let's hold those desires in for now."

Erica Steenstra and Mary Kay Schafer spent all summer preparing for this pie contest, testing recipes on Schafer's husband. They eventually settled on three pies: a Tangerine Dream Pie with mascarpone chiffon, a Kick-Ass Pecan Pie with habanero chili and a peach pie with grilled peaches and a balsamic reduction sauce.

"We're very proud of our pies and we had a ton of fun," Steenstra said. "Both of us were unemployed this summer and we thought this would be a fun summer project to do together. We live near each other and it was a good distraction from job hunting."

The judges were a distinguished group of Los Angeles chefs, plus Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold. After tasting the pies earlier in the day, judges whittled the field down to three finalists for each of the five pie categories: fruit, nut, cream, savory and interpretive. After everyone had a good look, the top three pies in each category were announced and then whisked away to the judges' table.

The gluttony of the masses was unleashed on the other pies. After 30 minutes, the main tent lay in ruin—pie dishes empty, paper plates and plastic forks overflowing from trash cans, and many people holding their stomachs after sampling two, four or 10 pies.

Meanwhile, the judges were engaged in the arduous task of tasting the best pies again. They ate with their hands, snapping off bits of crust, or digging in to get to the scrumptious pie innards.

Judge Zoe Nathan, chef and owner of Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica, explained how the panel went about picking a winner.

"We've been fighting, mostly," Nathan said. "First we got it down to the best 10, then the best three. You don't always agree with everything, but sometimes you really want a pie in another category, so you let it go and then fight harder for the other pie."

The judges argued about which pie had the best flavor or the best crust. Eventually their discussion centered on the meta-culinary question of what pie is. A tray of spanakopita, or spinach pie, was the subject of a particular disagreement.

"We've all been talking about what makes it a pie," said judge Eric Greenspan, chef and owner of The Foundry on Melrose. "Zoe called it a 'hand pie' and I think that's a positive way of looking at things. A hand pie is still a pie. A moon pie is still a pie."

A savory meat pie was awarded Best in Show. Amateur chef Yuichiro Sato speaks little English, but his winner's grin overcame the language barrier just as effectively as his creation overcame the pie barrier.

"I really have to tip my hat to the judges for making such a courageous Best in Show choice," Kleiman said. "It was between the meat pie and the cherry pie, and I think they were really, really courageous."

Laurel Almerinda was another big winner, with a coconut cream pie that took home the blue ribbon for Best Cream Pie and Best Crust. Two years ago, she quit working as a screenwriter to become a full-time chef, and now works at Huckleberry Cafe.

"I made it nine times—most of them were complete disasters," Almerinda said about her baking test runs. "I didn't think I was going to place. I just wanted to make a pie and come out here and have people enjoy it."

The youngest contestant to place was Gabriela Haslip, 15. She took second in the cream category with her first homemade pie, besting a field that also included her mother. Haslip has aspirations to be a professional baker.

"I've been baking since I was 4 or 5. I always helped my mom, but I never baked something by myself," Haslip said. "I found this pie in a magazine. It said it was a chocolate wafer crust and I thought it would be cool to make it. I did a test run and it was really good. I only made it twice."

When the judging was over, people lined up for a taste of the winning pies, despite already filling up on the entries that didn't make the final cut.

"I tasted 10 pies. I'm stuffed," said Jessica Jacobs, who had four slices from the judges' table on her plate. "I totally ate too many other pies beforehand, but I still want to taste these."