Brandon held its own bake-off this July 3, when eight local cooks joined the town’s first-ever Independence Day apple pie contest. Judging the entries with utmost seriousness were famed pie-lover George Washington, the discerning seamstress Betsy Ross, and local philanthropist Shirley Farr (Scott Scribner, Nancy Leary, and Laura Peterson).
Competitors braved kitchen temperatures upward of 90 degrees on the morning of the contest to deliver their creations in time for the afternoon event behind the Brandon Inn. As the judges deliberated, volunteers handed out samples of each pie to the appreciative audience.
Emily Van Der Heijden took home first prize, $25 in Brandon Bucks, and bragging rights with an apple pie she and her mother fell in love with years ago at a local store and recreated together.
Lisa Curcio won second with another homemade recreation of a commercial pie, this one originally from the Little Pie Company in New York, which Curcio noted now costs an astounding $73 to order online. “So basically, I learned to make the apple pie because I am frugal,” she wrote in her application.
Third prize went to Marnie Werner, who brought a pie her mother had adapted from a recipe in her college ski club’s cookbook. “I have fond memories of helping her bake this pie and then began to bake it on my own when I was old enough. My dear mother passed in 2022, and I will continue to bake this pie for life, in her honor,” she wrote.
The Neshobe Current threw its hat into the cut-throat competition with an “upside-down apple pie” (also known as tarte Tatin), an admittedly unconventional entry intended to honor the French for their contributions to America’s fight for independence. Loretta Johnson, Kelly Norris, Jessica Joyce, and Mahala Becker also submitted entries.
Barbara Scribner organized the contest and said in an email to The Current that she “was very appreciative to her volunteer crew and the emcee Bill Moore for assisting with the event.”
First place winner of the apple pie baking contest, Emily van der Heijden
Top photo: Shirley Farr, George Washington, and Betsey Ross wait for the next pie to taste
