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THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS LINGERS OVER ORLANDO AT THE 2008 GREAT AMERICAN PIE FESTIVAL SPONSORED BY CRISCO®
More than 25,000 Pie Lovers and Pie Bakers United in Weekend of Competition, Family Fun and Of Course, Pie Eating
It was a pie-lovers dream come true. For one weekend, April 19-20, thousands of pie lovers, pie bakers, celebrity chefs and vendors of all things pie-related converged in the idyllic town of Celebration, Fla., just outside Orlando, to celebrate a love affair with what is arguably America's most beloved
dessert, pie.
The 2008 Great American Pie Festival sponsored by Crisco® was the most successful in the event's 14-year-history, with more than 25,000 pie lovers in attendance and a record-setting 50,000 slices in the Never-Ending Pie Buffet, which was sponsored by a smorgasbord of local, regional and national commercial bakeries, restaurants and markets.
The Food Network added an exciting presence at the pie baking championship and throughout the weekend festival, as film crews captured the thrills, spills and chills of every competition and event to compile into a special program which will air at a later date.
Among pie-eating contests, baking demonstrations, vendor exhibits, games and live entertainment, the highlight of the festival was the announcement of the winners of the APC Crisco® National Pie Championships. Held annually since 1995, the National Pie Championships offer participants the opportunity to test their pies against other top bakers nationwide. The APC has established a standard of quality in pie making on all levels.
During the championships, 123 of the nation's leading Commercial, Professional, Amateur and Junior Chef pie bakers entered 867 pies and competed for honors and serious bragging rights in their divisions. Competitions were held at the host hotel, the Orlando Sun Resort by Lexington in Kissimmee, and winners were announced at the Great American Pie Festival
on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, with the exception of the commercial division winners, who were announced in a private reception on Friday,
April 18.
“Best of Show” grand prize winners included Professional pie baker Dionna Hurt from Orlando, and former host of iVillage Live's cooking segment, who won the title, as well as $5,000, a Crisco® gift basket and a Four Points by Sheraton Gift Basket for her “Bananas Foster Cream Pie”.
Amateur pie baker John Sunvold from Orlando won “Best of Show,” $5,000, a Crisco® gift basket and a Four Points by Sheraton Gift Basket for his “US Route 1: Florida Key Lime with Maine Blueberries Pie”.
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Danielle Nettuno, 2008 Junior Chef Division Winner,
with Celebrity Chef Jon Ashton |
The winner of the Junior Chef Division was Danielle Nettuno from Titusville, FL. who won the “Best of Show,” a $1,000 gift certificate to Chef Depot, a Crisco® gift basket and a Four Points by Sheraton Gift Basket for “Brown Sugar Streusel Pie”.
While no best of show is traditionally awarded in the Commercial Division, more than 150 first place ribbons were awarded among 447 entries. Bakers Square captured 22 category first place wins, the most awards given in this division. Commercial Division categories consisted of: Family-wholesale cost under $2; Premium-wholesale cost under $4; Gourmet-wholesale cost under $6; Super Gourmet-wholesale cost over $6; and Independent Bakers with pie sales under $1,000,000.
Celebrity chef judges included Gale Gand, the executive pastry chef and partner in Tru, a four-star, five-diamond dining establishment in Chicago; Chef Jon Ashton, an English-born culinary artist who is currently the Food Correspondent for the nationally syndicated morning show “The Daily Buzz” and Susan Bond, product development chef for Bakers Square.
At the festival's close, a giant four-foot, 200 pound fruit-filled pie was created, with slices sold to benefit Kids Cafe and Second Harvest Food Bank in Central Florida.
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Jon Ashton and Keegan Gerhard, Two Celebrity Judges
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| Dionna Hurt, 2008 Professional Division Winner |
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