Maya-Camille Broussard is an American chef, author, and restaurant owner. She is the owner of Justice of the Pies in Chicago, Illinois, and was a 2022 finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Baker. [1] Broussard is a featured pastry chef on the Netflix series, Bake Squad . [2]
Broussard grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Her father, Stephen, and her aunt, Patricia Broussard, grew up poor in the housing projects on the West Side of Chicago, and experienced food scarcity, in part due to the expense of their father's alcoholism. [3] Though Broussard's mother and father attempted to give Broussard a more stable upbringing, she inherited a generationally scarce and toxic relationship with food. Her hunger and health worsened after her parents divorced and Broussard chose to live with her father. [4] This adversity inspires Broussard's baking and her community work. [4]
Broussard is hard of hearing. She lost 75% of her hearing in a childhood accident. Broussard learned English primarily through reading and attended speech therapy for many years. Broussard relies on lip reading to communicate. [5] [6]
Broussard graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She ran Congo Square Theatre's educational outreach program from 2003 to 2008, teaching workshops in lower-income schools. [7] [8]
In 2004, Broussard graduated from Northwestern University, her father's alma mater, with her Master of Arts degree in theater. [9] A few years later, Broussard's father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died in February 2009—just days before the opening of Broussard's first business, Three Peas Art Lounge. [9] [10] On Christmas Day in 2011, Three Peas was destroyed by a flood. [11] [12]
Broussard is a self-taught pastry chef. [4]
In 2014, Broussard founded Justice of the Pies in honor of her late father, Stephen J. Broussard, a criminal-defense lawyer who was passionate about baking pies. [2] [13]
Broussard operates Justice of the Pies out of the Hatchery, a food-and-beverage incubator with over 50 private professional kitchens, of which the highest-profile occupant is celebrity chef Rick Bayless. [4] Justice of the Pies has sold pies to local grocery stores and farmers' markets. It also operates as a catering service. [14]
In October 2022, Broussard released her book, Justice of the Pies: Sweet and Savory Pies, Quiches, and Tarts plus Inspirational Stories from Exceptional People. [15] [16] About the book Publishers Weekly stated, “This deliciously loaded collection is a baker’s dream.” [17]
Since 2017, Justice of the Pies has been hosting an I Knead Love workshop several times a year. The course teaches children and teenagers from lower-income communities basic cooking skills, essential nutritional info, and how to cultivate creativity and joy in the kitchen. [18] [19]
Justice of the Pies hosts a yearly "Pie Drive" to support Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA). CGLA serves the legal needs that arise from lack of opportunity, criminalization of poverty, and racial inequity experienced within Chicago's Cabrini Green community. Broussard's dad often advocated for second chances and equality. [3] [6] While a student at Northwestern University in 1968, Broussard's father and several Black students stormed the bursar's office on May 3, 1968, to protest the inequities Black students experienced at Northwestern. [4] The 38-hour sit-in played a pivotal role in the creation of the Black House and the establishment of the African American Studies program. [9]
Since 2020, Justice Of The Pies has been partnering with Baileys by infusing their desserts with liqueur flavors. The brand donated $25,000 to Black Women's Blueprint on behalf of Justice of the Pies during the holidays in 2020. [20]
Broussard regularly gives food to The Love Fridge, a community hub that provides food for low-income neighborhoods that are located in food deserts. [20]
Broussard experienced a decrease in demand for Justice of the Pies' treats and services as a result of COVID-19. [14] At the beginning of the pandemic, as hospitals were overwhelmed with patients suffering from COVID-19, Justice of the Pies provided food to frontline workers at John H. Stroger Hospital, Roseland Hospital, Advocate Trinity Hospital, and Provident Hospital. [14] [21] Broussard chose to serve Stroger Hospital because it is the largest hospital in Chicago that sees the most patients who do not have insurance and because it services a lot of patients who have endured trauma. [22] The food was paid for by actress, Kerry Washington. [23] [24]
In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, Chef Mario Santiago and Justice of the Pies provided chicken and biscuit pot pies to African American and Latino residents, to promote healing and unity, as well as fight food insecurity. [25] Justice of the Pies also provided meals to minority business owners who experienced property damage in South Side neighborhoods due to unrest over George Floyd's murder. [26]
In 2022, Broussard created her Peaches + Herb Cobbler, infused with a low dose of cannabis butter, to honor the work of Black women dispensary owners, Kika Keith and Kika Jr. from Gorilla Rx Wellness. [27]
In November 2018, Chicago Magazine, named Justice of the Pies' bleu cheese praline pear as one of their Five Very Adventurous Pies to Try This Thanksgiving. [28] In November 2020, The New Yorker named Justice of the Pies' bourbon pecan pie in their list of The Best Classic Pies to Order Online. [29] In 2021, Broussard was featured on Today with Al Roker, teaching him and viewers how to make sweet potato plantain pie. [30]
In November 2018, Broussard was featured in Food & Wine's list of Bakers Who Are Changing Their Communities for the Better. [31]
In September 2021, Justice of the Pies was featured at Chicago Gourmet. [32]
In 2022, Broussard was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Baker. [1]
In February 2023, Broussard was inducted into the Department of State's American Culinary Corps. [33]
Broussard has participated in sixteen Bake Squad episodes and won three challenges. [34] [35] [36]
Every cast and crew member wears clear masks while interacting with Broussard on the show to provide her with communication accessibility. [2] During the challenges, Broussard is aided by her enhanced sense of taste, smell, and sight, which she has gained as an adaptation to hearing loss. [2]
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas more popular with locals. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.
Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese, eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies, graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually refrigerated.
Isa Chandra Moskowitz is an American vegan chef, cookbook author, former host of the vegan community access cooking show Post Punk Kitchen, and restaurateur.
Paul John Hollywood is an English celebrity chef and television personality, widely known as a judge on The Great British Bake Off since 2010.
Gesine Bullock-Prado is an American pastry chef, TV personality, author, attorney, and former film executive.
Christina Tosi is an American chef and cookbook author. She is founder and co-owner with Momofuku of Milk Bar and serves as its chef and chief executive officer. Food & Wine magazine included her in their 2014 list of "Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink".
Zac Young is an American pastry chef and TV personality. He has been featured on various baking shows on Food Network and the Cooking Channel, most notably on Top Chef: Just Desserts and Unique Sweets. He also appeared as a guest judge on baking competition show Nailed It! on Netflix, Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship, and Food Network's Chopped.
Claire Ptak is an American baker, food writer, and food stylist. She owns and runs a bakery-café, Violet Cakes, in London's East End. Alongside running her own business, Ptak has also published an array of cookbooks and written a food column for the Guardian and the Observer Food Monthly. She is widely known for having baked the royal wedding cake for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – a layered sponge filled and covered with a lemon and elderflower buttercream icing.
Sugar Rush is an American baking reality streaming television series, released on Netflix on July 13, 2018. The series features four professional teams of two competing in a baking competition for a prize of $10,000. Teams of two bakers compete in three rounds. The round one is cupcakes, round two is confections, and round three is cake. The third season, dubbed Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet, is the series' first spin-off season, where if a team wins either a cupcake or confection challenge, they can choose either additional 15-minute time in the final cake challenge or $1,500 prize.
The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.
Pizza Thief is a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant has a "sibling" adjacent bar called Bandit Bar.
Yonder was a Southern restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Chef Maya Lovelace opened Yonder in northeast Portland's Cully neighborhood in 2019. The business was named one of the city's ten best new restaurants of 2019 by The Oregonian and was featured on an episode of the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2020. Yonder closed on June 26, 2022, when Lovelace converted the space into Hissyfit.
Cheryl Day is a baker and author, who is owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia and co-founder of Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice. She is the author of two best-selling cookbooks, written with her husband Griff Day. In 2015 she was a semi-finalist James Beard Awards in the category of Outstanding Baker.
Paola Velez is a pastry chef and social justice activist from New York with Dominican heritage. She has worked for restaurants such as Milk Bar and Maydan in Washington, D.C., and she co-founded the organization Bakers Against Racism, as well as the donut pop-up shop Doña Dona in 2020.
Matta is a Vietnamese restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Seastar Bakery was a bakery in Portland, Oregon, United States. Annie Moss and Katia Bezerra-Clark owned and operated the business, which shared a space with Handsome Pizza in northeast Portland's Vernon neighborhood starting in 2015. Seastar served breads, cookies, pastries, and toast, among other baked goods. Despite garnering a positive reception and being deemed one of the city's best bakeries by Eater Portland and Portland Monthly, Seastar closed in August 2022.
Paladin Pie is a Dungeons & Dragons-themed pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.
The Queen's Head was an LGBT-friendly pub and lounge in Portland, Oregon, United States. Daniel Bund opened the restaurant in late 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Described as an inclusive drag bar and gay club, The Queen's Head hosted burlesque and talent shows, karaoke, poetry slams, trivia competitions, and other events.
Briony May Williams is a British celebrity chef and presenter. She appeared on series 9 of The Great British Bake Off in 2018, finishing fourth. She presents the cooking show Food Unwrapped and the reality housing show Escape to the Country, and writes recipe columns for BristolLife and the supermarket Asda's Good Living.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)