KCRW Pie Fest 2026
For the first time since its inception in 2009, KCRW’s 12th annual Pie Fest brought hundreds of bakers and dessert lovers to the Autry Museum of the American West on March 14, 2026. The celebration, also known as “Pi Day,” honors the mathematical constant 3.14.
Angelenos arrived at the museum in droves, causing a parking fiasco, to indulge in all things pie. The main attraction of the day was the Pie Pageant, where more than 400 contestants gathered in the sweltering heat to see if their creations could win awards, including Prettiest Pie, The Pie’s Pie and Best Display. Winners were determined by attendees who voted on the KCRW website.
From whimsical creations thought up days before the event to decades-old family recipes, many contestants shared a love for creativity, baking and competitiveness. Former Santa Monica College alumna, Cynthia Furey, entered the competition for the first time and hoped her alien-themed diorama, featuring 3D-printed elements and LED lights, would take home Best Display.
“I went to the Pie Fest years ago when it was at UCLA, and I always wanted to enter it. I actually have a culinary degree, so I was like maybe I’ll enter it this year. My pie is a caramelized Brie and apple pie, and it’s sort of a play on you know, when you have melted brie and then crackers and fruit on a plate. I caramelized the brie, I whipped it, I put caramel in the apple pie, and I think it tastes delicious,” Furey said.
Aside from the pies, activities included making hats with mini pies out of ribbons, puppet making, an apron fashion show, demonstrations from the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild, more than a dozen food trucks and vendors, and a free visit to the museum.
Now Serving, a cookbook store located in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, featured a tent where several well-renowned cookbook authors were signing books. Among them was Nancy Silverton, a multi-James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of Max & Helen’s.
“I was invited to sign books,” Silverton said. “Actually, I had been going back and forth talking to Evan Kleiman, host of Good Food on KCRW, about our restaurant, and she is the one who started Pie Fest 12 years ago.”
Silverton said her role was reduced due to logistical constraints. “I was invited to come and not compete in pies but serve pies,” she said. “I’m short-staffed, so we’re not able to supply the amount of tastings she needed, so right now my contribution is simple: my signature.”
As the topic of Los Angeles dining and food trends came up, the restaurateur shared her thoughts. “I always try to stay away from the word ‘trend’ because to me, ‘trend’ means here today, gone tomorrow. What I like are things that stay here forever,” Silverton said.
“What I really love is the amount of restaurants not only in Los Angeles but around the country,” she said. “That are opening up, trying to focus on their neighborhood and then being modest restaurants rather than these huge investments that take so much money to open and so many people to run. And I like that.”
As the day concluded, 24 judges — including Will Ferrell and Andy Richter, alongside culinary experts Roy Choi of Kogi and Briana Abram of Winston Pies — went on to the tasting portion of the competition and crowned 11 winners across five categories.