Fair's pie contest is a sugary delight

Britt Brostrom had been thinking of her grandmother's pie, the one made with Concord grapes, for the past two months. On Saturday night, she baked it. On Sunday, she drove it from Durham to the N.C. State Fair for this year's pie-baking championship.

Domino Ireland had two years to think about the pie he would make for Sunday. Ireland, who lives in Raleigh, won the pie contest in 2009 and, because of that, was not allowed to enter in 2010. His creation this year, a malted milk ball and cashew butter pie, went into the judge's room not far from Brostrom's grape pie.

The dozen judges were the lucky ones. They gobbled 39 pies over the next two hours, including strawberry-raspberry, blueberry, apple-rhubarb, sweet potato, chocolate, peach, pumpkin and lemon. There was a balsamic blueberry pie. And a Vermont maple oatmeal pie.

One was called "blueberry surprise." Among the surprises: goat cheese and basil. The judges loved it.

The pie contest is just one of the competitions that keep the fair rooted in its tradition. After all, without ribbons for the best quilts and canned fruits, for needlecraft and jams, for lambs and pigs, the fair that runs through Sunday would just be a carnival.

But the pie competition has seen a drop off in entrants in recent years, for reasons not fully explained.

The contest had only a few requirements - each pie had to use a Pet-Ritz crust from sponsor Pillsbury and it had to be a sweet, dessert concoction. It's only for amateur bakers.

This year, Pillsbury offered a separate prize - an apron and a stuffed Doughboy - for a first-timer in an effort to boost interest.

Hits and misses

Brostrom, a state auditor, was one of 22 new entrants. A friend of hers, a lover of all things about the fair, encouraged her to enter some of the competitions. The pie contest was one. The friends also threw horseshoes.

Ireland, who works at SAS software company in Cary, entered five contests.

He had already won one of them, for a fried recipe using House-Autry breader. Last year, unable to enter the pie contest, he won grand prizes in the peanut vegetarian recipe contest (he made a smokey mac and cheese) and in another using North Carolina pork (empanadas).

All of the contestants left their pies with the judges Sunday afternoon and were not witness to the swirl of activity and tasting needed to determine a winner. The judges, who also are unaware of the entrants, were a mix of veterans and rookies, including N&O writer Brooke Cain.

Betty Cook of Raleigh has judged for more than 30 years. She said some people forget to bake the crust on its own ahead of time, and that usually leads to missed points.

Taste and appearance are worth half the contest. The rest is based on creativity, ease of preparation and general appeal.

Cook, a former home economics instructor, recalled some good pies over the years, and some duds. One year, someone entered a lemon pie but forgot to add sugar.

That wasn't the case this year. But as the pies made their way around the tables, they were picked apart. Some were too mushy or too watery. A few were overcooked. Several were uninspiring. Eight stood out - including Brostrom's and Ireland's - and advanced to a second round of judging.

Cook squinted her eyes at Brostrom's grape pie. In three decades, she could only recall a couple of those.

Brostrom said she got the recipe from her Illinois grandmother and has made it a few times.

She loved that it requires four cups of Concord grapes, which are in season at fair time.

As it made its way around the table, the judges said it made their mouths water.

"I was surprised," Cook said, "but it was really good."

Ireland said the idea for his heavenly malted milk ball pie came to him while eating Whoppers at the movies. He used cashew butter as a twist on the tried-and-true peanut butter pie. He had tried it out on some friends, but said he protected the recipe for fear one of them would enter it.

A pie worth $200

As his pie passed from fork to fork, there were ooooohs and aahhhhs. One of the judges said it reminded him of the 1950s. Creamy, another said. And over and over, one word: Delicious.

When the points were tallied, both Brostrom and Ireland were winners.

Brostrom's grape pie was the best of the newcomers, and it took third place overall.

Ireland said he actually grew nervous just before the grand prize winner was announced - there was only one name left, and his had not yet come up. When he was called, his arms shot into the air. He won $200.

Despite his winning record, Ireland said he has no plans to enter the food business.

"I wouldn't enjoy it if it was my work," he said. "And I would be overweight. And unhealthy. And have bad cholesterol."