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