Sue Moody, a pastry chef at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro rolls out dough for a walnut pie during a pie-making workshop at Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center in Damariscotta. (Alexander Violo photo)
Pastry chefs from Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro shared tips of their trade during a pie-making workshop at Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center in Damariscotta on Monday, Jan. 25.
The workshop, a celebration of National Pie Day with the name “The Art of Making Delectable Pies,” featured Sue Moody, a pastry chef for 4 1/2 years at Moody’s, with a lifetime of experience baking sweets; and Jill Nutter, who has 19 years of experience at Moody’s.
Moody and Nutter demonstrated baking techniques and answered questions from those attending the workshop.
To open the workshop, Moody went over how to make a walnut pie, going through the step-by-step process from preheating the oven to 350 degrees to making the crust and pouring the mix into the uncooked pie shell.
Throughout the process, Moody answered questions about her preferred methods and how she goes about making quality desserts on a day-to-day basis.
Some of the pastry creations, including a mincemeat pie (left) and walnut pie (right) were on display during the workshop put on by Moody’s Diner and hosted by Spectrum Generations Jan. 25. (Alexander Violo photo)
Moody said she started cooking at age 8, learning from her grandmother and picking techniques up as she progressed as a chef.
“No matter who you are working with, you’re always picking up new ideas. I’m always watching for them,” Moody said.
During the demonstration she recommended using a muslin cloth to keep pie filling in the pie, especially when baking liquid pies.
Though she enjoys making a number of pies, Moody said her favorite to make and eat is the four-berry pie, an especially popular dessert at Moody’s in the summer months.
Moody said another popular pie during the summer is blueberry.
“When you get fresh blueberries, that is the biggest seller,” Moody said.
Nutter said that in addition to the seasons, customers tend to order on a generational basis, with older visitors sticking to custards and youths favoring cream-filled creations.
“Younger folks order a lot of cream pies,” Nutter said.
After the workshop, participants had the opportunity to enjoy slices of pie and discuss their own pie-making strategies.
Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center Director Marianne Pinkham said the center has done a number of programs with chefs at Moody’s and culinary figures throughout the community.
“We try to do programs and activities that help people connect across generations. We’re all about bringing the community together,” Pinkham said.
