Posted by Birkshire Eagle, NY on September 29, 2009 at 13:34:55:
Taste buds of judges are given a workout
By David Pepose, Berkshire Eagle Staff
F or some it was a taste of victory; for others, it was eating crow. But for the judges of Hanc*ock Shaker Village's fourth annual Pie Contest, the Saturday event could only be described as one sweet deal.
"One of the staples of Shaker cooking is a pie in all its various forms," said Ellen Spear, president and CEO of Hanc*ock Shaker Village. "They'd have pie three meals a day. ... it was an economical way of feeding the community."
The contest was part of the Hanc*ock Shaker Village County Fair, which will continue its festivities throughout today. And with 15 different pies from throughout the county -- ranging from butternut squash to Shaker-style apple pie -- the four
judges had their hands full digesting this bit of living history.
This year's judges included Susan Orlean of the New Yorker, Marilyn Bethany of RuralIntelligence.com, Tim Farkas of The Berkshire Eagle, and Lesley Ann Beck of Berkshire Living, who reviewed the pies based on presentation and taste of both crust and filling, as well as overall effect. Contestants had a choice of submitting a traditional Shaker recipe or an original creation of their own.
"There's something magic about having bakers across the county like this," Spear said. "This event shows that any local baker can make a masterpiece, and this is their chance to shine."
The competition was particularly fierce. "That's the problem with judging -- there's some relativity. Is it well done, or is it what you like?" said Orlean, before adding dryly, "is it that iconic ideal of ‘pieness'?"
After the seventh or eighth pie, the judges took a halftime coffee break, in which they discussed their individual styles for reviewing pies.
"I like to taste the crust separately -- I think it should taste good in and of itself," Beck said. "I also like to taste each of the fruits -- the pears, the apples, the plums -- rather than have them run together. I want to taste them individually."
Meanwhile, Orlean said that she "was awed" by each of the pies, making it tough to choose. "I feel as a judge I'm a bit of a softie -- I don't have the stomach to be mean."
Farkas -- the rookie of the bunch, with no previous pie contests under his belt -- said he wavered from his prescribed pre-contest regiment with a turkey sandwich with mayo. "I started to feel wobbly after [pie number] 11, but I picked myself back up," he said.
Looking back, Farkas said, he might have been a bit too critical on the first pies, "but when the sugar kicked in, I got a little nicer."
After more than an hour of tasting, the verdicts were in -- with an outsider winning the top prize. Dorothy Naylor of Calais, Vt., earned the grand prize with her apple pie, while West Stockbridge's Card Lake Inn won first place for their rendition of apple pie.
"I can't believe it," said first-place winner Mark Fierimonte of West Stockbridge. "[Apple] is my favorite flavor of pie... it's got that extra bit of love in it."
Onlookers also got a piece of the action, as each pie was divided and sold to attendees. One particular pastry -- a second place-winning plum pie by Amy Hubner of Williamstown -- had such a following that the pie was gone within minutes.
"It was worth waiting for," said Patty Strauch of Otis. She said that she staked out the line after seeing the pie on the table.
"It has a beautiful latticework top," she laughed. "This is serious business."
Meanwhile, Rob and Debbie Danna drove more than an hour and a half from Rhinebeck, N.Y., to attend the pie contest. "We're big pie fans," Rob Danna said sheepishly. "We'll be here next year for sure."
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