What does your life taste like, in a pie?
Pietopia creates a playful structure that gives people room for deep contemplation and self-connection, that also satisfies all our needs to grow during a time of hardship or great joy. I love the reflective nature of the stories, built in with something so tangible like taste. And I love that people so readily embrace this concept with me! The winners included a young professional who grapples with the minutia of her daily life by imagining herself as part of a greater whole in the universe, a woman in the second-spring of her life who has woven girlhood memories with her present day life and experiences, and another young woman who grapples with the messy deliciousness of family life, savoring the salty with the sweet. Below are their stories, correlating artwork that were their prizes, and their recipes. Enjoy!
The 2010 Winners
The Messy, Sticky, Ooey, Gooey, Banana, Caramel, Chocolate, Fudge Brownie Pie, by Caroline Ford
My younger brother has a spirited, cheerful three-year-old daughter and a giggly, flirtatious one-year-old son. Except, my brother is a drug addict and dealer and is in prison with a 20-year sentence. He has completely missed the exciting “firsts” of his babies and will continue to be absent for their early years. It breaks my heart, but I love the kids so much I can hardly stand it. more
The Galaxy Pie, by Hannah Kane
There are at least 70 sextillion stars in the observable universe. Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. This boggles my mind. Though I often daydream about being an astronaut, my job has nothing to do with space, or stars, or even science. I’m a project manager at a nonprofit. In my job I deal with details. more
The Rinky Dink Pie, by Margit Beerli
My life is simple right now because I choose to live uncomplicated and because I am in the third third of my life. I have raised my family, tripped, stumbled and danced through my middle years and now I’m savoring my surroundings: blooming peonies, the quality of light in the morning on the mimosa tree, the surprise of gold finches suddenly taking flight in a cloud of yellow. more
Reflections: Pietopia 2010
…Pietopia has been a lesson in illuminating the vast potential, complexity, and beauty of human life. more…
The Judges
Pietopia had two panels of judges: the Food-writer panel and the bakers-panel. Each entry is reviewed first by the food-writers panel to see how well each describes his/her life through the taste of their pie. Then those who make it through that round, will go on to the bakers panel, where a group of professional bakers will test the recipe to see how well the actual flavors correlate to their story.
The 2010 Food-Writer Judging Panel
- Leela Cyd of LeelaCyd.com
- Leslie Cole of The Oregonian Newspaper
- Michelle Wildgen Editor at Tin House Publishing
- Joel Weiler of the MakeMeSomePie.com
- Beth Howard of TheWorldNeedsMorePie.com
- Ellen Jackson, co-author of The Grand Central Baking Book and the Paley’s Place Cookbook
The 2010 Baker Judging Panel
- Amber Darrington, owner of Le Cookie Monkey Bakery
- Evan Dohrmann and Ali Jepson, owners of The Little Red Bike Cafe
