Just in time for Thanksgiving, Chapel Hill pie artisans promote pie contest

With the passing of Halloween and the men’s basketball team’s first exhibition game, it won’t be long before Thanksgiving. Some Chapel Hill residents have already begun practicing their skills for the feast they’ll prepare later this month.

The Chapel Hill Farmers' Market will hold its annual Pie Contest on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The best pies will win “market goodies” and a Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties cookbook. Awards will go to the pie with the best use of market ingredients, best sweet pie, best savory pie and best crust. The best overall pie will win a market gift certificate along with a cookbook and goodies.

The Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties is sponsoring the event. Visitors can expect a performance from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. by a local musician, and of course, plenty of pie to sample.

Here’s the catch: contestants’ main ingredients must come from North Carolina.

“It’s kind of like a mini version of 'Chopped,'” said Cherie Michaud, a member of the Junior League of Orange and Durham Counties. “You have to go to the farmers' market the week before and use the products from the farmers' market.”

Michaud has entered the contest before and sees the contest not only as an opportunity for local bakers to test their skills, but also as a way to promote local produce. Michaud said the Junior League was happy to sponsor the contest, since local produce plays such a key role in the group’s mission.

“That’s a big reason why we partner with the Chapel Hill Farmers' Market — because we help collect food donations,” Michaud said.

Claudia Sanders is a board member and volunteer for the Chapel Hill Farmers' Market and helped plan the market’s first pie contest.

Sanders, who works as a personal chef, said she has avoided grocery stores and shopped only at farmers' markets and local produce stands for years. Sanders stressed the importance of supporting local business by shopping local, as well as the environmental benefits of local produce’s reduced shipping costs.

“I challenged myself around eight years ago to stop buying food at the grocery store and start cooking just what I found at the farmers' market because I wanted to eat really well,” Sanders said. 

Though farmers' markets may not always be the most readily available food option, Sanders said the Chapel Hill Farmers' Market has worked to improve access by accepting Electronic Benefits Transfers and food stamps.

Kate Underhill, the Chapel Hill Farmers' Market’s manager, stands by the produce she sells as better-tasting and longer-lasting than what might be found in a grocery store. In addition, Underhill said promoting local produce can help a community in other ways.

“Supporting local farmers and artisans at the farmers' market is keeping money within our local economy and supporting your neighbors,” Underhill said.

arts@dailytarheel.com