Judging

Overall flavor. 20 points.

No one wants a pie that doesn't taste good, so this is the single most important judging criterion. It is worth far more than what any of the others are. Be sure that your pie is tasty, preferably delicious, and ideally divinely flavored.

Presentation. 5 points.

The camera eats first. A beautiful pie will make the judges hungry for more, and they will be expecting greatness. If you can make your pie look as great as it tastes, you will be on your way to a winning pie. 

Crust. 5 points.

The crust separates a good pie from a fantastic pie. People who are serious about pie are very serious about crust, and a poor crust will virtually ruin a pie experience for them. 

Originality OR Traditionality. 5 points.

This is a specialty of the Cville Pie Fest.

Other pies break new ground in pie making. There may be a flavor combination never before dreamed, or something that would ordinarily be a whole fruit that is, instead, a custard pie. Whatever it is, we may never have seen it before. These are the Original Pies.

Sometimes a pie will transport you back to your childhood, reliving the ideal life of the best apple pie you've ever eaten. They will remind you of holidays, and favorite relatives, and all of the good times you've ever had in your life when a pie has been present. These are the Traditional Pies. 

Cville Pie Fest pies should be one or the other. A minor deviation from tradition will get neither points for Originality nor Traditionality, but going big one way or the other could get you the full points for this category. 

What is a valid pie?

• You may enter a round pie baked in at least a 9" round pan or you may make hand pies.

• All pies must have either a crumb or a pastry crust.

• You do not need to use an "original" recipe; recipes from books, restaurants, grandmothers, and so on are all encouraged. Pie Fest is a competition of skill in baking and ingredient selection, not of recipe creation.

• Unfortunately, we CANNOT take pies that need refrigeration, such as cream, chiffon, ice cream, or other frozen pies.

Register

Please register your pie before May 31st June 8th, 2023 if you want to enter the 2023 Pie Fest. You may enter as many pies as you want.  

Bakers must bring TWO of their pies to WTJU 91.1 FM at 2244 Ivy Road the morning of June 10th.  One of these pies will be used for judging.  The other is to be auctioned off and/or sold to benefit the mission of WTJU: to enrich the culture of Virginia and extend the educational mission of UVA by bringing together diverse individuals and communities through exceptional music and conversation.

Disclaimer

All rules are subject to change by the whim of the Pie Fest Committee at any time, usually because we realized that we've done something terribly foolish and want to fix it.