It’s time for Pie! The Claremont Pie Festival is a sure sign of Spring and I was fortunate enough this year to be a judge for their Annual Pie Baking Contest. It’s the fourth year of my having pie for breakfast on a beautiful Saturday morning in March. Yes, it’s a rough life. While we were busy tasting pies, the rest of the Pie Festival got started! They have so many different activities during the Pie Festival. This year there was a Classic Car show, A Retro Fashion Show, vendors and demonstrations, a recipe card hunt through Claremont Village, food trucks (you know, to offset all the delicious pie options!) pie eating contests, vintage apron displays and a whole host of musical guests and performances!
This is just a small sample of the incredible entries to the Pie Contest. All the bakers really put their heart and soul into what they made. Congratulations to everyone who entered! It’s not easy to put your pie on the line. Choosing a favorite in our category was not easy! Here is a list of this years winners.
It was my incredible honor to be tasting pies alongside these two talented gentlemen. George (the gentleman with the snazzy bow tie) is the former pastry chef and recipe developer for Disneyland, author of 14 different cookbooks and just a wealth of talent and information. Sean is a distributer for Stone Brewery in San Diego and while you wouldn’t think pie and beer go together, you’d be wrong! Sean has been a judge every year for the Pie Festival and he knows his stuff! I learned a lot from both of them this year.
After our job was finished, it was time to explore the rest of the Pie Festival! This is a yearly event and free to the public. I Like Pie Bakeshop is the organizer of this fun, family-friendly day!
The Claremont Pie Festival always has a special guest too! In the past, they’ve had such talents as Kate McDermott of Art of the Pie and most recently, Home Cooking with Kate McDermott. Last year, their special guest was Christine Moore from Little Flower Baking. A top bakery here in Southern California. This year Pie Festival attendees were fortunate enough to meet Lisa Ludwinski from Sister Pie, a popular bakery in Detroit Michigan.
Lisa helped judge pies and did several live demos, plus a book signing too! Her book is gorgeous and filled with all kinds of recipes from her bakery in Detroit.
To check out all the gorgeous photos and learn more about the Pie Festival, go visit The Claremont Pie Festival page or check out their Facebook Page and Instagram account! Then be sure to mark your calendar for next year and I’ll see you there!
