A Day of Pie
Yesterday was Baltimore’s first annual pie festival, the B’Eat More Pie Fest. After almost a year of planning, some stress and a whole lot of pie, I’m happy to say that the festival was a huge success. People came, ate pie, listened to music, laughed, ate more pie, and then settled into a sugar induced haze.
Twenty pies were entered into the contest, which meant (after Rachel and I contributed a few) that we had 25 pies for the raffle! That also meant that we had a few hundred pie bites to sell, ranging from a samosa pie with yogurt to a banana toffee pie.
We had music.
And nieces.
Our judges took their job very seriously.
The winning sweet pie (top photo) was a Blueberry-Peach Mini Mariner Pie, a pie so delicious that our judges were talking about the crust for hours. The winning savory pie was a Frito Chili Pie, something the savory judges agreed would be the perfect end to a late night out.
In the end, the festival was everything we’d hoped for and much more. We were able to raise $350 for Heart’s Place, Baltimore’s only family shelter. We had a great community event that we can’t wait to repeat next year. Thanks for all your help, support, and love!
Theresa (Miss Charlotte)
12.09.2011 at 07:23I LOVE pie!!! This looked like all sorts of fun. Happy Monday!
Carrie Melissa Jones (@southxsf)
12.09.2011 at 08:57This looks like it was such a success! Congratulations! I’m actually planning a “Pie Speakeasy” in San Francisco (a much smaller-scale event that I would eventually like to open up more to allow home bakers to sell their pies without all the messy legal paperwork), and this is so inspiring. I love that you donated proceeds to charity and really made it a community event. :)
-Carrie
elena
12.09.2011 at 09:09Thanks Carrie! Good luck with your speakeasy!
Ashley
13.09.2011 at 05:18Yum! Looks like a delicious time was had by all. I have a few questions, in case we ever want to “borrow” the idea down here for a fundraiser/fun time. How much did you charge for the cups/bites of pie? Chefs entered two pies for every one type, correct? Did they have to pay an entry fee? Did attendees/tasters pay an entry fee? Thanks for the help. Great idea!
elena
13.09.2011 at 12:32Thanks!
We charged the same for both pie bites and raffle tickets- $1/1 ticket, $5/6 tickets, and $10/13 tickets (bakers dozen!). Each chef brought two of each pie entered. There were no entry fees for either attendees or contestants (we figured the price of the pie ingredients was a fee enough!). Good luck.
Aunt Jill
16.09.2011 at 14:54So happy it was a success! We’ll be sure to make it next year. xoxo
Melanie
17.09.2011 at 07:48Hi Elena,
This looks like such a great event! Would love to know what kinds of pies you and others baked…never tire of pie talk!
elena
19.09.2011 at 11:47I made two apple and honey pies, a chocolate peanut butter pie, and a peach pie (that I dropped at 1am onto my kitchen floor!). We had a great range of sweet and savory pies, everything from a cold blueberry pie to a salmon quiche! Eventually I’ll put together a full list and put it on beatmorepie.com
Melinda Ferguson
21.09.2011 at 06:27Just discovered your website in an old Southern Living mag. I grew up in Tryon, NC (south of Asheville), and graduated from Meredith in Raleigh. Came to Atlanta thereafter and really miss my ole Tar Heel roots sometimes. Love your blog.
Now that fall is here, I have an internal need to bake an apple pie. I used to make pretty good pastry, but would love to know your recipe for both. Enjoyed the Beat…Pie reports.
“…then why is the sky Carolina blue?”,
Melinda
elena
27.09.2011 at 19:14Hey Melinda! Here is my favorite apple pie recipe: http://biscuitsandsuch.com/2009/10/06/caramel-apple-pie/. Enjoy!