Ken Haedrich's earliest food memory is watching his parents make pies. Years later, after honing his self-taught cooking skills on his navy buddies, he prepared three nutritious, plate-licking meals a day and baked bread, desserts, and snacks for his own kids as well as for about 40 others as chef at a group home in New Hampshire. That experience broadened his recipe collection and confirmed him as a "comfort food" cook--before the phrase was popularized or even used. Ken went on to a successful career in creating recipes, writing about cooking, developing cookbooks--including the award-winning PIE--and sharing the pleasures and skills of baking through demonstrations and speaking engagements (including at the Smithsonian Institution). Through the years, Ken has contributed dozens of recipes to Almanac publications, including the 1997 and 1998 Cookie Calendars and the Good Cook's Companion series, and, in 2012, Everyday Baking. Magazines in which his food writing has appeared include Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens, Food & Wine, Yankee, and Country Journal. Today, Ken is "dean" of The Pie Academy (thepieacademy.com), where something delicious is always in the oven.
