What do you think?
Rate this book
Pieography: Where Pie Meets Biography-42 Fabulous Recipes Inspired by 39 Extraordinary Women
What kind of pie conveys the experience of starting a new job, getting married, becoming a mom? Over 30 of the country's top foodies are here to tell you. Each one has devised a pie recipe that captures the essence of her life. Stir in beautiful photography, short essays, and brief bios, and voilá, you've got more than a cookbook: you've got Pieography. From Espresso Dream Pie to Salmon and Spinach Pie, this collection nourishes body and soul.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
243 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 10, 2013
I love reading about someone's personal journey, and I love pie. This book combines both. This book is filled with wonderful stories and delicious recipes. And I'm not just saying that because I happen to be one of the women featured... Well that may be a tiny part of the reason, but if you love pies (savory and sweet) and you like to read about people than this book is for you!
January 23, 2015
I had such high hopes for this book. After all, who doesn't love a good portmanteau?
The good things about this book: the recipes are a great mix of creative pies and traditional pies, with far more of the former than the latter. The pictures are excellent, and the typeset and layout are really very attractive. The women featured run the spectrum of home cook to entrepreneur to professional chef, which is a nice touch because all juxtaposed together, you probably couldn't tell which pies were created by home cooks and which were created by professional chefs. It nicely drives home the point that you don't necessarily need special qualifications in order for pie to be accessible.
Unfortunately, these things are outweighed by the bad things about this book.
Ostensibly, contributors were culled from the Where Women Cook magazine, which is cool, because the culinary world is dominated by men, right? Well forget about diversity beyond that; this recipe book and its progenitor magazine are together the flagship for #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen. If you go look at the covers, every single one features a brilliantly pale white woman. Seriously, of the the 39 contributors, 35 are white, 2 are black, and 2 are East Asian (the 2 South Africans are both white, which, for a country that is almost 80% black, is a slap in the face). Those are very disappointing ratios because I know there are plenty of brown or vaguely-brown pie-bakers out there. I mean really, not one Latina?! Shit.
Then the first several pieographies were all about, "Oh, my pie story is all about how I'm a wife and a mother." I had to wait until the Sweet pies section before there was some semblance of individuality, starting with Katie Camarro's Chocolate Maple Walnut Hot Fudge Ice Cream Pie (oh my hell, I slobber), whose pieography I greatly enjoyed. In fact, thereafter most of pieographies were excellent, about the women themselves or how they thought up the pie or the process by which they decided what pie fit them best.
And then there was the woman who threatened to poison anybody who hurt her children. Ok then.
There were a few editing errors, mostly punctuation-related, but after reading this and some tasting notes for a gin I recently sampled, I would like to formally ask food writers to stop using the word "unctuous" to try to describe something appetizing. Stop it. STOP IT.
So why 3 stars and not 1 or 2? Because ultimately, it's a recipe book, and the recipes really do look fucking awesome.
The good things about this book: the recipes are a great mix of creative pies and traditional pies, with far more of the former than the latter. The pictures are excellent, and the typeset and layout are really very attractive. The women featured run the spectrum of home cook to entrepreneur to professional chef, which is a nice touch because all juxtaposed together, you probably couldn't tell which pies were created by home cooks and which were created by professional chefs. It nicely drives home the point that you don't necessarily need special qualifications in order for pie to be accessible.
Unfortunately, these things are outweighed by the bad things about this book.
Ostensibly, contributors were culled from the Where Women Cook magazine, which is cool, because the culinary world is dominated by men, right? Well forget about diversity beyond that; this recipe book and its progenitor magazine are together the flagship for #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen. If you go look at the covers, every single one features a brilliantly pale white woman. Seriously, of the the 39 contributors, 35 are white, 2 are black, and 2 are East Asian (the 2 South Africans are both white, which, for a country that is almost 80% black, is a slap in the face). Those are very disappointing ratios because I know there are plenty of brown or vaguely-brown pie-bakers out there. I mean really, not one Latina?! Shit.
Then the first several pieographies were all about, "Oh, my pie story is all about how I'm a wife and a mother." I had to wait until the Sweet pies section before there was some semblance of individuality, starting with Katie Camarro's Chocolate Maple Walnut Hot Fudge Ice Cream Pie (oh my hell, I slobber), whose pieography I greatly enjoyed. In fact, thereafter most of pieographies were excellent, about the women themselves or how they thought up the pie or the process by which they decided what pie fit them best.
And then there was the woman who threatened to poison anybody who hurt her children. Ok then.
There were a few editing errors, mostly punctuation-related, but after reading this and some tasting notes for a gin I recently sampled, I would like to formally ask food writers to stop using the word "unctuous" to try to describe something appetizing. Stop it. STOP IT.
So why 3 stars and not 1 or 2? Because ultimately, it's a recipe book, and the recipes really do look fucking awesome.
December 31, 2018
This is a unique book, but the stories and the collection its self are a bit short for me.
I like that the book is organized by sweet and savory and expands on the definition of pies to include some recipes I'd never seen before. That being said some of the recipes are a bit duplicative and like I said we don't really dive into who the people are and their story beyond what kind of pie they would be.
Overall I'm excited to try some of the cheese-based pies and see how they turn out.
I like that the book is organized by sweet and savory and expands on the definition of pies to include some recipes I'd never seen before. That being said some of the recipes are a bit duplicative and like I said we don't really dive into who the people are and their story beyond what kind of pie they would be.
Overall I'm excited to try some of the cheese-based pies and see how they turn out.
March 14, 2017
As always, Jo Packham's books are beautifully designed and photographed. Plus, what an interesting idea - pie as biography. I loved the idea more than the actual book, but still...
November 17, 2015
Clever. I love pie so it makes me think about my life..if it was pie. Fun premise. Recipes look great.
August 27, 2020
what kind of pie would you be.
a fun book for a work through a recipie book challenge.
a fun book for a work through a recipie book challenge.
November 15, 2025
this book has the sweetest stories, most fascinating woman and STUNNING photos
November 12, 2013
I love a cookbook with beautiful photography and stories to go along with it. The variety of pies in Pieography was amazing and I quickly bookmarked multiple recipes. I've already made the brownie pie--it was to die for!
September 16, 2016
I really liked the concept and a few of the recipes but I had trouble relating to many of the stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews