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A lattice top dream of a blackberry pie with big-as-your thumb fresh berries peeking through the pastry and a garland of smooth-edge leaves trimming the edge. Judge often bakes his small decorations as cookies, then adheres them to the pies with washes during the bake.
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We couldn’t ask Chef to open each and every box, but the beauty of this peach of a pie shines through.
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Best of both worlds: fresh raspberry and chocolate pie
There’s nothing simple about Chef Wayne Judge’s pies. He starts with tender and flaky crusts brimming with toothsome fillings of seasonal fruits. He adds intricacy with the top crusts, some deftly woven lattices, others with cut out shapes. He layers edges with individually cut pastry of leaves of different shapes.
Patterns of perfect whole berries and finely shaved chocolates dark and light form intricate, edible mandalas to contemplate, but contemplation only goes so far. These babies beg to be eaten – okay, if you have great self-control, relished. Slavered over. Served to company or savored in solitude en su totalidad. We'll never tell.
Judge is a new face this year at both the Midtown Farmers Market in the University City Loop and at the Chandler Hill Artisans Market in Defiance, Missouri, but he’s already developed a loyal and appreciative audience for his pies, pastries, jams, and pickles.
“I’ve sold out every week since the market [Midtown] opened,” he says. “People now know to come to my table first and choose a pie. I’ll hold it for them until they finish shopping.”
Judge also answers email inquiries through his website, which is functional, but still under construction. He posts photos on Facebook, but to truly appreciate his artistry, you’ve got to see these pies on the table, in the crust. You’ll find his jams, jellies and preserves and pickles – handsome devils all – but those perfect pies steal the show.
Micro-shavings of white and dark chocolate overlay the leaves of a strawberry chocolate pie.
Pie flavors follow the seasons. Judge cleverly preserves fruits at their prime as canned pie filling. He adds fresh whole and cut fruits as he sees fit and chooses garnishes with care to bring out the best flavor combinations.
For pickles, he sticks with three cucumber basics: garlic dill, bread and butter, and a hot version of the garlic dills. During the high heat of summer, he also pickles the jalapenos he grows at home.
His raspberry-chocolate jam tastes delicious right outta the jar. “Strawberry is my biggest seller in the jams now,” he says. “I buy berries locally grown from McConauchie Manor Farms, the stand near me at the market,” he says.
This convivial chef, whose vitae includes personal chef service and catering small-ish events, is something of an entertainer as well. He’ll put on a show in your kitchen. “It’s like food TV, only live and in your house. I put on my entertainer’s hat and teach. We cook and then we eat – it’s fun.”
Bon Vivant Catering and Chef Service
Email contact: bonchefstl1@yahoo.com
Market locations and hours:
Sat: 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.at Midtown Farmers Market in U. City
Sun: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Chandler Hill Artisans Market at Chandler Hill Vineyards in Defiance, Mo.
Happy Memorial Day!
