The Piehole Project is an annual pie auction that raises scholarship funds for culinary students in Dallas and Austin. One-of-a-kind pies are created and donated by the area’s most notable chefs and sold via an online auction. Since its debut in 2020, Piehole Project has sold 112 pies for a total of $30,000 which has been awarded to 12 students attending schools including Johnson & Wales, Dallas College and University of North Texas.
Piehole Project is the fundraising machine for FestEvents Foundation (LINK), a 501c3 created to raise funds for culinary students. FestEvents Foundation was started by Alison Matis and Cheryl Weis, hospitality and special events professionals who own and operate FestEvents Group (LINK, an event planning and management company that handles some of Dallas’ largest food-related events and festivals.
Piehole Project was launched in 2020 in response to a need to help develop a stronger workforce for the food & beverage and hospitality industries. Both Matis and Weis are long-time members of the industry and saw an opportunity to give back to it by creating fun events that celebrate the industry while helping its future members.