Judging

One of the distinctive features of the South Side Pie Challenge is its judging. We invite restaurant and pastry professionals to judge our pies, and each entry gets a report card with a numbered score, totaling up subscores in categories including appearance, crust, filling, and overall taste. Our judges come from all over Chicago, including pie and baking legends like television’s Gale Gand, Hoosier Mama’s Paula Haney, and Kendall College teaching chef Belinda Brooks. But we especially seek out Southside professionals old and new, from MasterChef Junior’s 11-year-old Evan Robinson, a pie baking phenom, to Chef Cliff Rome, an entrepreneurial and local-food institution of the South Side.

Judges work in teams of two, taking on one of our four categories, assessing and grading each pie together. When every team has submitted its final results, all four teams choose the grand prize winner from among the first place winners. The whole process takes a couple of hours.

Our judges do all their work on a volunteer basis. All of them know and support the charitable goal of the Pie Challenge–helping to alleviate food insecurity on the South Side through the Hyde Park/Kenwood Hunger Programs. Some of our judges have been with us more than once and some since the very beginning and we are very thankful for their service and commitment. 🙂 

John Aldape, Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab manager and Lettuce Entertain You official pie taster

De’Azia Baldwin, StruggleBeardBakery

Lauren Bushnell, Peerless Bread & Jam Bakery

Adrienne Blumthal, PieBox

Belinda Brooks, Kendall College Culinary

Maya-Camille Broussard, Justice of the Pies

Fabiana Carter, Fabiana’s Bakery

Steve Dolinsky, The Hungry Hound

Charla Draper, former food editor for Ebony and Southern Living Magazines and founder of National Soul Food Month

Kirsten Esterly, former general manager, Medici Restaurants

Gale Gand, founding pastry chef of Tru; numerous books and television shows

Paula Haney, Hoosier Mama Pie Company

Stephanie Hart, Brown Sugar Bakery

Jan Holt, events manager, Mesirow Financial

Art Jackson, Pleasant House Bakery and Pub

Jane Katte, pastry chef and food stylist

Jordan Koss, pie enthusiast

David Laufer, pastry chef, University Club of Chicago

Mary Masticola, owner and chef, La Petite Folie

Felicia Mayden, pastry sous chef, RPM Restaurants

John Meyer, BJ’s Market and Bakery

Justin Ponce de Leon, pie enthusiast who literally grew up judging SSPC pies

Ben Rogers, general manager, The Promontory

Cliff Rome, Peach’s Restaurant, Rome’s Joy Catering

Evan Robinson, MasterChef Junior

Michelle Russell, pastry chef, The Parrot Cage

Martin Sorge, 2023 winner of The Great American Baking Show

Tina Tomasello, pastry chef, The Women’s Athletic Club of Chicago

Alex Willis, pastry chef, The Promontory

Ja’Net Winston, CEO Sweet Pies by Ja’Net

Yoshi Yamada, chef-owner at Superkhana International