Chicago pie shop cooks up fun in baking videos for kids

Ryan Chiaverini Image
Thursday, April 16, 2020
'Justice of the Pies' baker helping educate community
Chicago native, Maya-Camille Broussard is using her baking skills to educate and bring awareness to food disparities in lower income communities.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago woman is working to spread the love, one pie crust at a time.

Justice of the Pies is a Chicago bakery that specializes in sweet and savory pies, quiches and tarts. Maya-Camille Broussard founded the business in 2014 in memory of her late father, Steve Broussard.

"I like to say that we are a social mission, in a culinary art form," she said.

Justice of the Pies has its own signature workshop called the "I Knead Love Workshop," which teaches kids basic culinary skills and educates them about nutrition. More than 100 kids from low-income communities have participated in the workshop, and Broussard recognizes that they still "knead love" - perhaps more than ever - amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"What I started doing was creating videos that I can post online so that the kids can watch it at home and hopefully practice some of the recipes that I'll be teaching them," she said. "This is the perfect opportunity for kids to become more self-reliant in terms of what they eat and how they sustain their bodies."

Broussard is also considering assembling ingredient kits that you could order for contactless delivery so you can bake along with her during a future test kitchen.

"This is the perfect time to do the things you never had time for that you can finally do," she said. "Baking is an act of love, when you share recipes and when you share techniques with those in your family. I'm happy to have that love."