Pie contest winners Pham-Duy Nguyen and Frank Gerber. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick
Congratulations to Pham-Duy Nguyen, whose 3 A.M. Black Strap Rum Peach Pie took “Best of Show” in our First Annual Blue Ribbon Pie Contest. (Check back next week for the recipe). Frank Gerber came in next with his Montmorency Cherry Pie, and then Neil Robertson with his Nectarine Blackberry Pie.
NOTE: If you entered a pie and would like a copy of its evaluation, you may pick it up at the Event Tent next Thursday, October 1st.
Many thanks to our farmers, bakers, judges, donors and volunteers. Portland may have a Pie Commission, but it doesn’t have you!
See below for pie poetry, photos and Jenise Silva’s field report. Also, check out this lovely piece by Thea, who stayed ’til the bitter (make that very sweet) end.
Beautiful pies. Photos by Kimberly McKittrick
Pieku
by Evan J. Peterson
We cook with much love
but not always with gluten.
God bless xanthan gum.
Lemon sunshine and
darkest blueberries eclipse
with sage, lavender.
I want to thank you,
ancestors, who first combined
apples, cinnamon.
Slippery butter
is necessary. Vegans
may be out of luck.
Evan Peterson working the crowd. Photo by Michael Nank
Jenise Silva’s Field Report
The judges huddled around a single source of light as they tallied the score of the last pie entry. The street lamps were beginning to flicker and started to glow like Japanese lanterns as excitement and anticipation hung in the air among the many pie makers, pie enthusiasts, and friends and family. Everyone waiting to hear, “and the Best of Show for the 1st Annual Queen Anne Farmers Market Blue Ribbon Pie contest goes to….”
As Chef Event Manager I’ve had a lot of great experiences all summer long with some of the best Chefs in the city (and Vashon!). Whether it was grilling bruschetta for 100 hungry Market shoppers, leading the crowd in a hip hop salute to a visiting chef who spent time in the clubs as a DJ, or just getting to hang out every week with some incredible people who love food and life.
But I had never put together a pie contest. Fortunately, we have some great resources in Seattle. In fact, two of the best resources in this city are Kate McDermott and Jon Rowley – good friends of the Queen Anne Farmer Market. We had some wonderful conversations about what the contest might look like and Kate and Jon quickly agreed to come on board as “Master Pie” judges.
Kate puts her nose to work. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick
Once we put the word out via email, newsletter and twitter the pie community responded quickly and with passion. With little fanfare I had reached the maximum number of pie entries and had started a waiting list with 8 pie-making alternates.
On the day of the contest, pie makers – and their pies – started arriving at 4:45 pm and continued in a steady stream right up until the judging started at 6:00 pm. You could feel the many emotions (joy, nervousness, confidence) of the pie makers as each pie was registered and carefully placed on the table. It was like watching fireworks where with each new spectacular display you get more and more excited. The “ooh-aah” factor of passersby and contestants was palpable. As Kate and Jon surveyed the judging task before them the pie count tallied nineteen.
After approximately an hour and half of intense judging and with twilight fast upon the event, it was time to announce the top three pies. The standings were extremely close and the scores were tripled checked. The crowd remained steadfast and cheered on the final winners when they were called out…
Of course, everyone walked away with a well deserved blue ribbon and several others took home prizes from drawings held during the contest. Also during the evening pie maker Evan delighted the crowd with his “Pie-kus.” At the end of the evening some contestants shared pies with friends, loved ones and new acquaintances under the dark sky.
Jon and Kate hard at work. Photo by Kimberly McKittrick.
I want to thank our judges Kate McDermott and Jon Rowley. They were an integral part of the Blue Ribbon Pie Contest and they brought amazing generosity and professionalism to the event.
And special thanks to our wonderful friends and sponsors for making this night even more special for the winners. Thanks to Betty restaurant for donating a $100 gift certificate, edible Seattle for a one-year subscription, Chow Foods for a $25 gift certificate, Kim Ricketts Books for cookbooks, and Janna Wemmer for Secret Stash Salts. Additional thanks to my partner Michael Nank for acting as pie registrar.
But most of all – I want to express a BIG thank you to all of the bakers who entered. Thanks for sharing your love of learning, baking and, for some, trying something new. We hope to see you all next year for the 2nd Annual Pie Contest.
Parade of pies. Photo by Jon Rowley
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