Derby pie
Encyclopedia
Derby pie is a pastry created in the Melrose Inn of Prospect, Kentucky
, USA, by George Kern with the help of his parents. It is often associated with the Kentucky Derby
.
The pie is a chocolate
and walnut
tart
in a pie shell usually with a pastry
dough crust. It is also commonly made with pecans, chocolate chips and Kentucky bourbon.
Popular additions are butterscotch
, caramel
, and other types of nuts
.
The name "Derby Pie" is a registered trademark of Kern's Kitchen, which registered the name in 1968. The company uses the name in the form "DERBY-PIE®" in official literature and advertisements. Kern's Kitchen diligently guards the trademark and secret recipe, which is known only to a small group of Kern family members and a single Kern's Kitchen employee (who actually mixes the recipe today). The company has filed several lawsuit
s over the years to protect its commercial rights. Because of this, others who make similar pies have had to alter their recipes slightly and/or use a different name (such as "Pegasus Pie", a reference to the Pegasus Parade at the Kentucky Derby Festival
and May Day Pie, in reference to the First Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby).
as a specialty pastry. The restaurant's owners and Derby Pie creators were Walter and Leaudra Kern, who constantly researched the optimal recipe for their creation. They were assisted by their son George Kern. The name "Derby Pie" was chosen because the various family members each had a different name for the creation, so to resolve the naming quandary they put the various names in a hat, and pulled out the paper which said "Derby Pie".
Even after selling the Melrose Inn in 1960, the Kern family continued to make Derby Pie for select customers. In 1969 they trademarked the name Derby Pie to both the state government of Kentucky and the United States Patent and Trademark Office
. Since then, the trademark has constantly been renewed as a federally registered trademark. After Alan Rupp, grandson to Walter and Leaudra Kern, took over the Derby Pie business in 1973, he religiously defended the trademark. Part of this defense including going after various cookbook
s that named a similar pie Derby Pie. A federal judge in April 1982 ruled against a local cookbook, and demanded that the cookbook be recalled so the page with the Derby Pie recipe could be removed. The cooking magazine Bon Appetit
won a temporary victory in May 1987 when a judge ruled the named "Derby Pie" generic
, but the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals reversed the decision, saying the Bon Appetit magazine "failed to introduce scientific survey evidence to support their assertion that the public views 'Derby Pie' as generic". Federal district courts have continued to side with Kern's Kitchen in this regard. Kern's attorney, Don Cox, estimated in 2008 that the company had sued to protect its copyright 25 times.
Prospect, Kentucky
Prospect is a city in far northeastern Jefferson and southwestern Oldham Counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky, along the Ohio River. The city is a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. It's one of few cities in Jefferson County that extend into another county. The population was 4,657 at the 2000...
, USA, by George Kern with the help of his parents. It is often associated with the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
.
The pie is a chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
and walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
tart
Tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard....
in a pie shell usually with a pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
dough crust. It is also commonly made with pecans, chocolate chips and Kentucky bourbon.
Popular additions are butterscotch
Butterscotch
Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter, although other ingredients such as corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt are part of some recipes...
, caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
, and other types of nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
.
The name "Derby Pie" is a registered trademark of Kern's Kitchen, which registered the name in 1968. The company uses the name in the form "DERBY-PIE®" in official literature and advertisements. Kern's Kitchen diligently guards the trademark and secret recipe, which is known only to a small group of Kern family members and a single Kern's Kitchen employee (who actually mixes the recipe today). The company has filed several lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s over the years to protect its commercial rights. Because of this, others who make similar pies have had to alter their recipes slightly and/or use a different name (such as "Pegasus Pie", a reference to the Pegasus Parade at the Kentucky Derby Festival
Kentucky Derby Festival
The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby...
and May Day Pie, in reference to the First Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby).
History
The Derby Pie was created in 1950 by the Melrose Inn in Prospect, KentuckyProspect, Kentucky
Prospect is a city in far northeastern Jefferson and southwestern Oldham Counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky, along the Ohio River. The city is a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. It's one of few cities in Jefferson County that extend into another county. The population was 4,657 at the 2000...
as a specialty pastry. The restaurant's owners and Derby Pie creators were Walter and Leaudra Kern, who constantly researched the optimal recipe for their creation. They were assisted by their son George Kern. The name "Derby Pie" was chosen because the various family members each had a different name for the creation, so to resolve the naming quandary they put the various names in a hat, and pulled out the paper which said "Derby Pie".
Even after selling the Melrose Inn in 1960, the Kern family continued to make Derby Pie for select customers. In 1969 they trademarked the name Derby Pie to both the state government of Kentucky and the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
. Since then, the trademark has constantly been renewed as a federally registered trademark. After Alan Rupp, grandson to Walter and Leaudra Kern, took over the Derby Pie business in 1973, he religiously defended the trademark. Part of this defense including going after various cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
s that named a similar pie Derby Pie. A federal judge in April 1982 ruled against a local cookbook, and demanded that the cookbook be recalled so the page with the Derby Pie recipe could be removed. The cooking magazine Bon Appetit
Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
won a temporary victory in May 1987 when a judge ruled the named "Derby Pie" generic
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
, but the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals reversed the decision, saying the Bon Appetit magazine "failed to introduce scientific survey evidence to support their assertion that the public views 'Derby Pie' as generic". Federal district courts have continued to side with Kern's Kitchen in this regard. Kern's attorney, Don Cox, estimated in 2008 that the company had sued to protect its copyright 25 times.