Cutting pie in the restaurant business involves more than a steady hand and a good eye. At Mrs.Rowe's Restaurant and Bakery, employees need to prove themselves before being trained to cut the pie. Here are some pie slicing tips from owner and general manager, Mike DiGrassie, that you can use at home:
- Don’t give in to the temptation to cut into a warm pie. It will taste good, but will be a mess.
- Use a blunt-tip serrated knife.
- Keep the knife hot. (The restaurant keeps their knife in a jar of hot water.)
- Place the knife back in the jar of hot water after each cut.
- If cutting a meringue pie, slice through the meringue first. Then go back, using your meringue cuts as guides, and slice through the filling and crust.
- Make sure you slice through the crust, or the pie will tear when you try to scoop it out.
- Cut the pie in half, turn it, cut it in half again, then cut each quarter once more for eight slices. For six slices, cut the pie in half, turn it; make your next cut at quarter-angle. (If you are looking down on the pie, the cuts now make an X). Then cut through the center of your two largest slices.
