What does an obscure pieman from Australia in the early 19th century have to do with a Japanese student living in Pasadena in 2010? Quite a bit, it seems. In a stunning feat of international wavemaking, amateur piemaker Yuichiro Sato walked away with KCRW’s Best Savory Pie and Best Pie award at its Good Food Pie Contest in Beverly Hills earlier this month.
Sato was inspired by William Francis King, a somewhat bizarre entrepreneur who in 1829 became known as “The Flying Pieman” in Australia. King sold kidney, pork and mutton pies to passengers on the Parramatta Steamer, then would run–18 miles–to Parramatta with the leftover pies, to sell again as passengers disembarked.
Sato dedicated his Meat Pie to King and explained to the judges, “In this spirit, my pie is made to amaze you. This pie captures the essence of all great meat pies–a light flaky crust, crunchy, earthy vegetables, the intoxicating umami of porcini and other mushrooms, and of course, a juicy, beefy filling. As a nod to The Flying Pieman’s English roots, the bottom crust is a mash of Yukon Gold potatoes flecked with parsley.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Toque Magazine.