KCRW's PieFest 2026

was epic

Best in Show winner Jashmine Corpuz surrounded by judges at KCRW’s PieFest and Contest 2026. Photo by Rommel Alcantara.

As I drove up Cahuenga alongside the 101 freeway on my way to The Autry late on Saturday morning, traffic was strangely heavy. I found myself getting impatient. Then a thought occurred, “Is this because of us?” Are these cars filled with bakers and their pies? As I followed the string of vehicles turning right onto Forest Lawn Boulevard heading towards the turn-off for Zoo/Autry parking, impatience gave way to excitement. By the time I got there at 11:30 AM, the main parking lot was already full. I parked and practically ran into The Autry classroom, where I met Laryl Garcia, Good Food’s Senior Director, deep in Pie Land. For years, Laryl has wrangled the judges and overseen the minutiae required to get the ribbon-worthy pies to the stage, along with the names of their makers, so we don’t have an Oscar Moonlight moment.

The pies were starting to be laid out amongst their own ilk (Apple, Fruit that isn’t apple, Cooked Custard/Cream). For me, the contest is real when the aroma of that room hits me in the face, a mixture of baked crust, sugar, vanilla, cooked fruit with a bright overlay of citrus and, this year, passion fruit. There was a lot of passion fruit. Someone should bottle that aroma. There were 414 registered pies, 24 judges, and 11,000 humans making a memorable day for all.

KCRW’s PieFest & Contest begins. Photo by Rommel Alcantara.

Then I left the air-conditioned room to roam the event space. This is the first year PieFest took place at The Autry, and I was eager to see how our events team organized the generous lawns. The Pie Marketplace, filled with thirty vendors, was so impressive. Thank you to all of them who baked and cooked so people could eat!

Judges doing the hard work. Photo by Darren Ma.

I love our PieFest and Contest for many reasons, but the biggest is the way LA shows up. I look out at the thousands of people from the stage, and I see a microcosm of the city. That everyone is there to celebrate a particularly fiddly pastry only makes it better. And can I say that Will Ferrell, Andy Richter, Roy Choi, and Nicole Rucker brought the perfect balance of serious hilarity required to the live judging.

Best in Show
Jashmine Corpuz’s Ube Blueberry Pie

Jashmine Corpuz’ Ube Blueberry Pie was the Best in Show and the blue ribbon winner for the Cooked Custard category. Photo by Darren Ma.

Best Crust
Amy Szyarto - Caramelized Apple Hand Pies

Caramelized Apple Hand Pies by Amy Szyarto won Best Crust. Photo by Darren Ma.

Fruit
1 - Kevin Brown - Three Berry Pie
2 - Courtney DiPaola - Blueberry Rhubarb
3 - Carlo Dominguez - Cherry Blood Orange Slab Pie

Winning Fruit Pies. Photos by Darren Ma.

Cooked Custard
1 - Jashmine Corpuz - Ube Blueberry
2 - Roxanne LeCrivain - Coconut Custard Double Twist
3 - Allison Brooker - Strawberry Picnic Pie

Winning Custard/Cream Pies. Photo by Darren Ma.

Apple
1 - Kevin Brown - Apple Pie #5
2 - Amy Szyarto - Carmelized Apple Hand Pie #35
3 - Samuel Weiner - Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie

Winning Apple pies. Photos by Darren Ma.

Our Junior Baker Category was especially meaningful this year because we renamed the category in honor of our dear friend Christine Moore of Little Flower. Her daughters, Maddie and Avery Moore, joined Clemence DeLutz of Petitgrain Boulangerie to judge the category.

The Christine Moore Junior Baker Award
1 - Oscar Martinez-Miller - Chunky Monkey
2 - Hannah Martin - Huckleberry Cheese Pie
3 - Margot Cook - Choco Churo Pie

Oscar Martinez, Hannah Martin, and Margot Cook winners of the Junior Baker Category. Photos by Rommel Alcantara.

Winners of the Christine Moore Junior Baker Award. Photo by Darren Ma.

The Pie Pageant
Prettiest Pie - Julia Tauscher with “Garden Party”
The Pie’s Pie - Alex Rios with “Cannelé à la mode”
Best Display - constantkilljoy with “Pie Chemical Romance”

The thank yous for an event like this are enormous. It takes a literal village.
Thank you to The Autry for letting us take over your place for the day. It was the perfect setting. Thank you Will Ferrell and Andy Richter for saying yes to such a wacky, random ask. And to Roy Choi, you are the ultimate mensch! You have a permanent place on the judges’ roster. Thank you demo stage wonders: Nicole Rucker, Roxana Jullapat, Nik Sharma, and Sherry Yard. And the book signers. You are stars: Nancy Silverton, Roxana Jullapat, Rose Wilde. Thank you LeCreuset for the gorgeous presents for all the winners and to King Arthur Flour for providing a GE Profile Stand Mixer to our grand prize winner. Above all, THANK YOU KCRW Events team Krissy, Maggie, Liv, and Sheena for putting on a terrific show. Eat more pie and see you next year!