Helen Nugent is the Toronto-based pie maker who specializes in stunning, intricately designed pies that are definitely way too good to eat.

Thanksgiving may already be behind us this year, but there’s never a bad time for a pie, especially one that looks as amazing as those made by Helen Nugent, a self-taught food artist who abandoned her career in corporate communications to focus on her passion, baking. Today, Helen is recognized as one of the world’s leading pie artists, has her own cookbook, and collaborates with various food-themed magazines and even the Food Network. And to think it all started with a photo of a beautiful pie she saw on the internet…

Photos: batterednbaked/Instagram

“I was going to a friend’s house for dinner and saw a beautiful pie with concentric circles of leaves on Pinterest that I thought I could pull off and bring for dessert. From that moment on, I was hooked,” Nugent told BHG.com.

The food artist started coming up with all sorts of interesting pie designs, from geometrical patterns to floral motifs, but it was her husband, Jim Brand, whos photographed her work and shared in on Instagram, where it really took off. Pie baking became such a big part of Helen Nugent’s life that she decided to quit her job and focus on baking.

“My career has been in corporate communications and I never thought about following baking as a career path. At the same time, I was feeling very burnt out with my career and looking for a new direction,” Nugent told Bored Panda.

Asked what her best kitchen habit was, Helen Nugent said “I don’t have a lot of good habits in the kitchen! I’m messy. I lose things. I don’t plan ahead. It’s a bit of a minefield in there to be honest. If I have one good habit, it’s using timers for everything.”

The above self-description definitely doesn’t show in Helen’s pies. If anything, they make it seem like she plans her designs to perfection and is very meticulous in pulling them off.

If you’d like to learn how to bake artistically designed pies, pick up Helen’s book, Pie Style, on Amazon, and also keep an eye on her Instagram for more awe-inspiring creations.

For more incredible pie art, check out the insane edible masterpieces of Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, and the symetrical wonders Lauren Ko. Oh, and who could forget Karin Pfeiff-Boschek’s delightful pies?