If you love pumpkin pie, you’ve probably learned to pace yourself through Thanksgiving dinner in order to leave room for dessert. But not everyone shares that affection for the traditional holiday treat. When the Georgia Straight called up six Vancouver chefs to ask how they felt about it, their answers were pretty divided. Here’s what they said, along with ideas for alternatives.

David Robertson, chef and co-owner of the Dirty Apron Cooking School

“I’m not a big fan of it. It’s just a flavour that has never sat well with me—probably just some bad pumpkin pies growing up.…I just don’t like it [pumpkin] when it’s puréed. It’s not so much the flavour of pumpkin but the texture.…I dislike it. I could go as far as hate. Now everyone is going to be nervous to have me over to their house for dinner! Let’s just say that I’ve yet to have a pumpkin pie that made me say ‘Wow, I want another piece.’ …Dessert this time of year for Thanksgiving is free game.…If I go festive, I’ll do an apple pie over a pumpkin pie.…If you’ve ever had a really good apple pie, there’s no comparison.”

Jonathan Chovancek, chef and co-owner of Kale & Nori Culinary Arts

“I’m always big on pumpkin pie for dessert, but I only like a bite, and that’s the thing. I love a perfectly baked pie crust, and I love really flavourful roasted pumpkin pie that’s not made from a can, but a pumpkin that’s been roasted down and made into a pie with whipped crème fraîche, but I only like a bite. Got to keep healthy and fit!”

Quang Dang, executive chef of West

“Pumpkin pie is not on the top of my list. I don’t like it because most people use canned pumpkin. It’s like, ‘Blegh!’…[An alternative could be] an apple tart, something like that, because you’ve got all the apples in the fall—anything to do with apples, pears, or even quince, right? I definitely like a tart. It’s Thanksgiving, which I think sort of cries ‘harvest’, so something that feels harvesty, like a tart or an apple crumble.”

Yoshi Tabo, executive chef of Ki

“At home we have pumpkin pie and apple pie and lemon tart… But I never eat the pumpkin pie.”

Alana Peckham, executive chef of Cru restaurant

“It’s fantastic! I buy canned pumpkin purée. It’s just pure pumpkin with nothing else in it, and then I add my own spices and everything. It’s actually not very hard.…[For those who don’t like pumpkin pie,] apple pie is very Thanksgiving—if not apple pie, then a tarte Tatin would be amazing as well. Anything to do with pears—poached pears right now served with ice cream or served with a sabayon would be nice. It’s about seasonality.…For those who don’t really like pumpkin pie—I know that when I was younger I didn’t really care for it—I think a lot of it is just the amount of spice that goes into it. If you are somebody who doesn’t like it as much, I would say take the plunge, try making one yourself, and adjust the amount of spice. Because it’s not really the flavour of the squash or the pumpkin that I think most people are offended by. It’s really the amount of spice that goes into it.”

Abishek Roy, chef and owner of Atithi

“We usually don’t do it at the restaurant, but I like pumpkin pie. We don’t make it over here, but sometimes we do buy it from Whole Foods.…We get the organic one, which is less sweet, so we like that one. I have a daughter, and she is always ready to have that.…[As an alternative at Atithi] we make a very good chocolate crème brûlée, which has a flavour of cardamom. This chocolate crème brûlée is specially made for us only from XOXOLAT chocolates."

> With files from Carolyn Ali