Friends Take 1st, 2nd at Winter Market Pie Contest

This job comes with some pretty neat perks. On Saturday morning, for instance, I got to sample some absolutely delicious homemade pies.

Among the seven entries in the Power Road Winter Farmers Market Homemade From Scratch Pie Contest, five were fruit-based, one had a creamy peanut butter filling, and one contestant entered a pecan pie. We judges worked with a weighted list of criteria, but honestly, this pie judging business is all about taste – flaky crust, balanced flavors, attractive presentation.

Not long after we all turned in our judging sheets, market master Jean Smith announced the winners. Farmington resident Sharon Davis looked a little shocked that her caramel-drizzled apple pie came out on top.

Davis held her 11-week-old granddaughter, Ellenore, as she accepted the grand prize – a $100 gift certificate from Whole Foods and a reusable Whole Foods grocery bag.

She used her father's recipe, with a few adjustments of her own. "My dad is actually the pie baker, I used to bake with him," she said. "If he was still here, I would have put him in the contest. I guess he was there with me."

The last time Davis entered any food-related contest, she took home people's choice honors at ' annual Chili Cook-Off. Since her father passed away, she hasn't entered anything else, but said she might consider taking another shot at Page's, which is scheduled for March 6.

Ginny Morris, whose fluffy peanut butter pie took the second spot, credited her friend Barb Hafey with providing the pie crust recipe. She said this was her first pie contest, although she did enter an apple dessert contest in high school. 

Morris and Davis, who met at Positive Attitude Dance Academy, where the market is held every other week, decided together to enter the contest.

"Sharon and I just did this for fun," she said.

Which is exactly why I agreed to judge the contest. Well, that, and the pie.