diff --git a/FakePieShop/Controllers/Api/SearchController.cs b/FakePieShop/Controllers/Api/SearchController.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c2a5cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/FakePieShop/Controllers/Api/SearchController.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+using FakePieShop.Repositories;
+using FakePieShop.Models;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
+
+namespace FakePieShop.Controllers.Api
+{
+    [Route("api/[controller]")]
+    [ApiController]
+    public class SearchController : ControllerBase
+    {
+        private readonly IPieRepository _pieRepository;
+
+        public SearchController(IPieRepository pieRepository)
+        {
+            _pieRepository = pieRepository;
+        }
+
+        [HttpGet]
+        public IActionResult GetAll() => Ok(_pieRepository.AllPies);
+
+        [HttpGet("{id}")]
+        public IActionResult GetById(int id)
+        {
+            Pie? pie = _pieRepository.GetPieById(id);
+            if (pie == null) return NotFound();
+            return Ok(pie);
+        }
+
+        [HttpPost]
+        public IActionResult SearchPies([FromBody] string searchQuery)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchQuery))
+                return BadRequest();
+
+            IEnumerable<Pie> pies = new List<Pie>();
+
+            pies = _pieRepository.SearchPies(searchQuery);
+            return new JsonResult(pies);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/FakePieShop/Program.cs b/FakePieShop/Program.cs
index 2c88a41..4aec9ba 100644
--- a/FakePieShop/Program.cs
+++ b/FakePieShop/Program.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 using FakePieShop.Models;
 using FakePieShop.Repositories;
 using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
 
 WebApplicationBuilder builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
@@ -14,9 +15,14 @@ builder.Services.AddScoped<IShoppingCart, ShoppingCart>(services => ShoppingCart
 builder.Services.AddSession();
 builder.Services.AddHttpContextAccessor();
 
+// use this configuration if using .net for backend only
+// builder.Services.AddControllers();
+
 // configuration for MVC and entity framework core
 builder.Services.AddRazorPages();
-builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();
+builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews() // this does the same as the above, but also includes support for .net views
+    .AddJsonOptions(options => options.JsonSerializerOptions.ReferenceHandler = ReferenceHandler.IgnoreCycles);
+
 builder.Services.AddDbContext<FakePieShopDbContext>(options =>
 {
     options.UseSqlServer(
@@ -36,7 +42,9 @@ if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
     app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
 }
 
-app.MapDefaultControllerRoute();
+// if writing a backend only project:
+// app.MapControllers();
+app.MapDefaultControllerRoute(); // otherwise, this does the same configuration, but full stack
 app.MapRazorPages();
 
 // use our own seed data
diff --git a/FakePieShop/Repositories/IPieRepository.cs b/FakePieShop/Repositories/IPieRepository.cs
index 634f88e..15c9c6a 100644
--- a/FakePieShop/Repositories/IPieRepository.cs
+++ b/FakePieShop/Repositories/IPieRepository.cs
@@ -7,5 +7,6 @@ namespace FakePieShop.Repositories
         IEnumerable<Pie> AllPies { get; }
         IEnumerable<Pie> PiesOfTheWeek { get; }
         Pie? GetPieById(int pieId);
+        IEnumerable<Pie> SearchPies(string searchQuery);
     }
 }
diff --git a/FakePieShop/Repositories/PieRepository.cs b/FakePieShop/Repositories/PieRepository.cs
index 60a60fa..d1ec4a0 100644
--- a/FakePieShop/Repositories/PieRepository.cs
+++ b/FakePieShop/Repositories/PieRepository.cs
@@ -32,5 +32,8 @@ namespace FakePieShop.Repositories
         {
             return _fakePieShopDbContext.Pies.FirstOrDefault(p => p.PieId == pieId);
         }
+
+        public IEnumerable<Pie> SearchPies(string searchQuery) => 
+            _fakePieShopDbContext.Pies.Where(p => p.Name.Contains(searchQuery));
     }
 }