Sarah Plumley Advances to West Virginia State Fair Pie Bake-Off: “Elvis Pie” Is A Hit

April 4, 2011 - PRLog -- Charleston, WV  April 4, 2011 – Recently, the West Virginia State Fair announced the slate of twenty bakers who will compete in the state’s first “Best of the Counties” pie bake-off to be held August 13, 2011.  Sarah Plumley, 36, of Charleston won top honors for Kanawha County and now advances to the finals.

Plumley grew up baking alongside her mother, Carolyn Davis, though her mother has always been considered the master chef in the family.  Over the years, though, Sarah’s passion for cooking has grown as she has tried her hand at positions in catering and hospitality.  She started a blog focused on cooking called One Single Cook (http://onesinglecook.blogspot.com) and then in 2009, she and her long-time friend, Chef E Blackhurst, Executive Chef at The French Quarter, Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, competed in the Charleston Iron Chef competition and took home the People’s Choice award for their creation, “Tomato-Chile Cream Sauce Over Linguine Topped with Creole-Rubbed Grilled Chicken.”  According to Chef E, “Cooking with Sarah is a beautiful thing.”

In recent months, Sarah has become obsessed with pies, driven partially by the cupcake trend she had witnessed in New York and Washington, DC.  “I started to think about why those cupcake shops were so successful, like Georgetown Cupcakes in DC that is now featured on the show DC Cupcake, and I realized that it was because they picked one thing and were really great at it,” comments Plumley.  “The sisters who founded that shop were inspired by their grandmother’s cake recipes.  I was inspired by the pies I grew up baking with my mom.”

In addition to her full-time work at Kureha PGA in Belle, WV, Sarah has started a fledgling pie business and now offers her pies through The Blossom restaurant in Charleston (http://www.blossomdeli.com/), online via her Etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PiesBySarah) and by special order.  She recently invented a Chocolate Pecan Bacon Pie and is becoming famous for her “Black Bottom Elvis Pie,” featuring chocolate ganache, crunchy peanut butter, sliced bananas, banana custard and whipped cream, which is a favorite at The Blossom.  According to Jay Cippoletti, owner of The Blossom, “Customers just love Sarah’s pies.  One of the first to order the Elvis pie said, ‘I could die tomorrow and meet the real Elvis and not be as happy as I was eating this pie!’”

A regular customer of Pies by Sarah, Heather McChesney of Charleston, says, “What I love about Sarah’s pies is that she packs tastes and emotions of home into every pie she bakes.  Whether I’m ordering a derby pie for a party or ordering a slice at The Blossom, I’m often reminded that sometimes things can be better than mom's!”  As it turns out, Sarah’s mom, Carolyn Davis, agrees:  “I’m done baking pies.  Whenever Sarah’s around, I put her in charge!”

Sarah has also branched out just a bit into “whoopie pies,” cute little confections that are akin to two shallow cupcakes sandwiching a creamy whipped filling.  She had a booming business in heart-shaped orders for Valentine’s Day and also provided them for the March of Dimes fundraiser to kick off their March for Babies Charleston campaign.

The winner of August’s Pie Bake-Off will receive a pie plate, $150, and a blue ribbon.  First, second and third place winners will be announced.  “I’m in it because I love baking pies,” says Plumley, “and of course, for the bragging rights!”

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Pies by Sarah! is the brainchild of Sarah Plumley, author of the blog, One Single Cook (http://onesinglecook.blogspot.com). Her business is focused on creating the best pies known to man—pies, just pies. On Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/PiesBySarah.