Pies for Justice is returning this year on Saturday in celebration of Juneteenth for its first in-person bake sale, bringing together nearly 200 pies from about 40 chefs. Organized by Gather for Good, the bake sale donates proceeds to support advocacy for racial justice and underserved communities in Los Angeles.
This year marks the fifth annual Pies for Justice bake sale in honor of the June 19 holiday. It was launched in 2020 as an effort to nudge supporters back into restaurants hit by post-pandemic debt and thinned clientele, according to Sherry Mandell, a farmer and co-founder of community organization Gather for Good.
“It’s not easy for people who own a restaurant right now, but they still continue to make time and space for [Pies for Justice],” said co-founder Steph Chen, pastry chef for Sugarbear Bakes. “It’s amazing to see what chefs will sign up for even when they’re trying to keep the lights on.”
Now that the event is in-person, attendees will be able to munch on sliced or whole pies with coffee, cocktails and music this Saturday at the headquarters of ChowNow in Culver City. The charity pies will be prepared by about 40 chefs, from family-operated micro bakeries to five-star hotels across Los Angeles, supplied with ingredients from local farms. Chef and restaurant participants include AOC, Destroyer, Funke, Hotel Bel-Air, Ronan and the Rose Venice. (Wayfarer Bread in San Diego and Farmhouse at Roger’s Garden in Corona del Mar are participating from outside L.A., and will donate weekend proceeds from selected menu items.)
A salted caramel apple pie with buttery, flaky crust from the Pie Room by Curtis Stone.
(Andrea D’Agosto)
All Day Baby, which plans to bake off its pies Saturday morning and deliver them to Pies for Justice, is selling a strawberry crémeux pie with a layer of fresh strawberries, soft whipped cream dotted with freeze-dried strawberries and all-butter crust. Sam Robinson, pastry chef of All Day Baby, said she was psyched to showcase a pie when she received an email from Pies for Justice — because it is strawberry season, of course, and the event lines up with her beliefs.
“I like to use my pastry knowledge and skills wherever I can,” Robinson said. “In this particular profession you don’t get too many chances all the time to help other [causes], you know. You’re typically making food for people who come in on a daily basis.”
The pies on sale are not only darling Americana classics, though. Jordan Kahn’s Destroyer is making a Murasaki yam custard pie, glazed with a thin layer of black currant. The crust is made from einkorn flour, aged sherry vinegar and Okinawan black sugar, and the filling — a composite of roasted, tender yams with yam juice, rum and allspice — is matured overnight before being baked off the morning of the event.
Savory pies also will make an appearance. Fresh pizzas will be made on-site by Bianca Restaurant, Brandoni Pepperoni and Quarantine Pizza.
The event is ticketed, and the entry fee includes a raffle entry for a weekend getaway at Cuyama Buckhorn, a roadside resort in the high desert of Santa Barbara County.
Pies for Justice — which has raised more than $68,000 since its 2020 debut — is donating ticket and pie proceeds to Peace4Kids and the Gathering for Justice this year, both previous beneficiaries of the bake sale. Peace4Kids is a nonprofit dedicated to creating community with youth in foster care in South L.A. The Gathering for Justice is an organization for criminal justice reform and racial equity founded by singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte.
The bake sale honors Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black people, which was formally made a holiday for L.A. city employees last year.
“It’s a really great day, because these chefs are working so hard and they’re exhausted and they want to do things for the greater good, but they find it difficult on their own,” Mandell says. “We find that by bringing everyone together through Gather for Good, they can have a substantial and positive impact. It’s fun for them to see other chefs and be a part of the chef community.”
Learn more about the Pies for Justice bake sale and purchase tickets on its website.
