APC Crisco National Pie Championship winners (photo courtesy of American Pie Council)
Food Network Challenge recently premiered an episode called the Amazing Pie Championship about the 2009 APC Crisco National Pie Championship, an annual baking contest open to both professional and amateur bakers. This annual contest is sponsored by the American Pie Council and Crisco. In this episode, Challenge follows four professional pie bakers through the competition held in Celebration, Florida in April 2009.
Competitors from all over the United States and Canada competed in amateur, professional, junior chef, and commercial divisions. Nearly 900 pies were entered in the competition, including 130 professional pies and 266 amateur pies.
Three winning pie bakers hail from California.
Professional division pie baker Bryan Ehrenholm of Modesto won 1st place in the nut pie category for his Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut Pie and 2nd place in the open category for his Hula-licious Pie.
Amateur division pie baker Patricia Lapiezo of La Mesa took home 1st place in the Philadelphia cream cheese category for her Meyer Lemon Cheese Pie, 1st place in the California raisin category for her California Raisin and Maple Crunch Pie, 1st place in the Crisco classic chocolate cream category for her Rocky S'Mores Pie, and 2nd place in the peanut butter category for her Peanut Butter Explosion Pie.
Amateur division pie baker Alberta Dunbar of San Diego took home 2nd place in the pumpkin category for her Pumpkin Surprise Pie with Crystallized Ginger Sour Cream Topping.
Among the winners from other states is Orlando Food Examiner Dawn Viola who competed in the professional division and won 1st place in the apple pie category for her Vanilla-Vanilla Bean Roasted Apple Pie.
If you missed the initial air dates, look for upcoming broadcasts of the Amazing Pie Championship.
Find pie contest recipes:
California Raisin and Maple Crunch Pie recipe
Vanilla-Vanilla Bean Roasted Apple Pie
Recipes from the 2009 APC Crisco National Pie Championship
Pie recipes from the Santa Clara Baking Examiner
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