Pie, Oh My!
4 Hours, 28 Pies: Judging the 12th Annual Gramercy Tavern Employee Pie Contest
Pie, Oh My!
Each year around this time, scenes from the aftermath of the annual Gramercy Tavern Employee Pie Contest pop up on my Instagram feed, and every time I make a mental note to see if I might possibly sit in the following year. This year, I actually remembered to follow up on that memo to myself and emailed Union Square Hospitality Group’s Senior Communications Director to see if I might be able to embed myself but stay out of the way and observe the proceedings and take some pictures and maybe ask some questions of participants and judges. Thankfully my missive arrived at an opportune time and last Friday I received an invitation to join the festivities this past Monday afternoon.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at Gramercy Tavern on Monday at 11:30AM. The entrance was already filled with the buzz of guests checking in for lunch reservations. I dropped my jacket and bag with the coat check, taking only my phone, notebook, and pen with me as I was led to the restaurant’s private dining room. The long table for the judges was set for 12 with a leather placemat, napkin, silverware, and glass of water at each seat along with a notebook, pen, and a stack of forms to rate and rank each pie.
I was greeted by Gramercy Tavern Executive Pastry Chef Karen DeMasco, who I had never met in person but felt like I knew the James Beard Award-winning chef through her stellar reputation, not to mention years of eating the marvelous desserts on the menu at Gramercy Tavern. My first surprise of the day that was when DeMasco informed me that I would not only be observing but had been upgraded to be one of the 12 judges among the panel of James Beard Award winners, cookbook authors, bakers, pastry chefs, and USHG staffers.
Over the next four hours at the 12th Annual Gramercy Tavern Employee Pie Contest we tasted, talked about, judged, and ranked 28 pies of every flavor (including a number of savory affairs). Each pie was prepared, baked, and presented by Gramercy Tavern employees across departments (hosts, servers, pastry cooks, sous chefs, line cooks, garde manger) who were given access to the professional kitchen’s ingredients, tools, and equipment and also allowed to order in any special ingredients needed for their creations. Two whole pies were submitted, one to be sliced and shared for judging and one to be presented on the judging table (to later be enjoyed for an epic pie-filled staff meal). Part of the accolades of winning first place also means that an adaptation of winner’s pie will be featured on the Gramercy Tavern dessert menu for two months.
I was first told we were tasting around 20 pies, which seemed like showing up for a marathon without even stretching, but that lineup soon grew to 28(!) total. I’ll always go for pie over cake, but after Monday I swore off pie for a while, but I promise to be back in form next Thursday when Thanksgiving arrives and my two Radio Bakery pies have been secured.
Read on for more details, photos, and all the fillings, crusts, creams, and toppings along with the full lineup of pies and the winning pies that podiumed, including the Top 3 as well as honorable mentions for Showstopper and Best Crust/Pastry.
