Congratulations to all the Winners of the 2026 KCRW Good Food Pie Contest!

Welcome to Pi Day 2026 at the Autry Museum. For real. After a two year hiatus, a quick run up to the contest and other changes to the format, who knew how many pies and people were going to show up to the Pie Contest.

Welp, 414 pies, 26 judges and 11,000+ people showed up! It is always an emotional day and I find my eyes welling up with tears at unexpected times. This is the moment when you realize how you and so many of your fellow Angelenos are stitched together with the same thread: KCRW. More specifically, KCRW Good Food and Evan Kleiman. We truly are a lucky bunch.

With only three pie categories for this year’s contest, the odds of taking home a ribbon for a pie were even more impossible - and honestly that really is not the point of entering the contest. Being with the LA Pie People is what the day is about. It is pretty impossible not to have the ribbon dream in the back of your mind though. Every single baker works so hard on their beautiful pie babies and would love to go home with one.

New this year was a “Pie Pageant”. People attending the PieFest could meet the contestants, learn about the story behind their pie and vote for the the Prettiest Pie, the Pie’s Pie or for a quirky category called Best Pie Display. I was hoping the others entering wouldn’t really pay attention to that category. It’s perfect for me. I work in Production Design. More about that later. It was quite fun coming up with the perfect setting to match my pie. I love everything about picnics!

Pie Display

It was suggested to do a recipe card for the display to hand out to the attendees which was another fun thing to do. I printed 200 thinking I would have plenty left over. Not the case. I gave them all away.

Recipe Card

Bake with Harry’s Berries of Course!

The pie I had planned to make for the doomed KCRW Pie Contest in 2024 was a strawberry pie. A very different strawberry pie, but made with Harry’s Berries of course. In my mind one would certainly have a leg up using the best strawberries in the world. So obvious! But then the contest was cancelled due to the protests. I had been sitting on a strawberry pie dream ever since, waiting for the opportunity and inspiration for it to come together.

Strawberry Picnic Pie

The other home made ingredients

Congratulations to all the Winners of the
2026 KCRW Good Food Pie Contest!

By the time the Pie Pageant ended, the day had gotten quite warm. I packed up my basket and my friends and I headed for the Wine Garden for a quick respite before the judging on stage started. That was the moment it sunk in how many people had turned out for the event. The lawn was packed with thousands of people!

The announcements were made for Prettiest Pie, The Pie’s Pie and finally Best Display. This being Los Angeles of course there were dozens of super creative “pie sets” and mine didn’t make the cut. I did get asked about catering events though! That was that I was sure, which I was 100% fine with. I can’t be greedy, being very proud to possess four KCRW pie contest ribbons already. So on with the fun. I wasn’t really paying attention when my friend then said I was guaranteed a ribbon. I politely disagreed with her but she said your pie is on the table! I looked and I could see the basket handle sticking up. Wow. The Celebrity Judging was absolutely hysterical. Andy Richter, Roy Choi and Buddy the Elf. Roy Choi tried to pick up my pie by the handle at one point. Of course it didn’t work and he got chewed out by Nicole Rucker for breaking it. Somehow he put it back together!

Never in a million years did I think I would be on a stage with Will Ferrell that day. Once I found myself there, I knew one thing: I was not leaving that stage without a hug. He’s my favorite!