How to Prevail at Pie
Tips from Melissa Bishop, Winner of Last Year’s Spectacular Santa Barbara Pie Contest
Last year, when photographer/author Leela Cyd and illustrator/stylist Joya Rose hosted the first ever Spectacular Santa Barbara Pie Contest at Sama Sama Kitchen, an Ojai caterer and private chef named Melissa Bishop wowed the crowd with a spiced-lamb tagine pie topped with turmeric cream, which won her the Best in Show award. To help us prepare for this year’s second annual contest, which is on Saturday, December 3, 3-6 p.m., at Potek Winery in The Mill (406 E. Haley St., Ste. 1), Bishop told us some of her secrets.
Tell us about yourself. My home is Ojai, and I cook for a living, mainly doing retreat catering in town and providing regular meal service for private clients.
What’s your pie-making background? My father’s favorite food is olallieberry pie from Duarte’s in Pescadero, and I grew up eating it regularly. That said, I have always thought of myself as an intuition-led cook as opposed to a scientifically inclined baker. I am much more of a pie eater than a pie baker.
