Derby pie

History

The Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky, introduced Derby Pie in 1954 as a signature dessert. The inn’s owners, Walter and Leaudra Kern, along with their son George, spent considerable time perfecting the recipe. The name itself came about because family members could not agree on what to call it, so they wrote down their suggestions, placed them in a hat, and drew the name “derby pie.”

Kern’s Kitchen now holds the trademark for “derby pie,” which was officially registered in 1968. The company presents the name as “DERBY-PIE” in its official materials and ads. The recipe remains a closely guarded secret, known only to a handful of Kern relatives and one employee who actually prepares the mixture. The company has been aggressive in protecting its trademark, filing over two dozen lawsuits over the years. As a result, bakers of similar pies must use alternative names, such as “Pegasus pie,” after the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Pegasus Parade, or “May Day pie,” referencing the first Saturday in May when the Kentucky Derby takes place.

After the Kerns left the Melrose Inn in 1960, they continued producing Derby Pie for a limited clientele. In 1969, they secured trademark protection for the name with both the state of Kentucky and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the federal trademark has been renewed ever since. Walter and Leaudra’s grandson, Alan Rupp, took over the business in 1973 and zealously defended the trademark. This defense included legal action against cookbooks that used the name “derby pie” for similar recipes.

In April 1982, a federal judge ordered a local cookbook to be recalled so the page containing the recipe could be removed. Bon Appetit magazine briefly succeeded in May 1987 when a judge ruled the term generic, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision, noting that the magazine had not provided scientific survey evidence to prove the public viewed “derby pie” as a generic term. Federal district courts have consistently ruled in favor of Kern’s Kitchen. By 2008, the company’s attorney, Don Cox, estimated that Kern’s Kitchen had brought 25 trademark lawsuits.