 Logan County's finest cooks will have another opportunity to
show us their stuff when the Saturday morning baking takes place on
Aug. 4.
Not too long ago, Mike Maske, Deb Rohrer and Janet Dahmm met at
the fair office to hash out the final rules for the contestants.
When asked who had come up with the idea of a pie contest, Rohrer
and Dahmm laughingly pointed at each other. But regardless of who
came up with the idea, Maske said it was a very good one.
"There are a lot of really great cooks in Logan County, and we
really want them to come out and show us all what they can do,"
Maske said.
The idea of a pie contest came up a little too late to make it
into this year's fair book, but everything you need to enter your
favorite pie in the "My Favorite Pie" contest can be found through a
link at the end of this article.
There is no entry fee for the event. Instead, the committee is
asking that each entrant bring one already-baked pie from the recipe
they intend to use in the competition. That pie will later be
auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the Logan County Fair
Foundation.
The barn where the baking contest will be held will open its
doors at 8 a.m., and contestants can come in as soon as it opens.
There will be only three ovens available, so pies will be baked in
shifts, with the first three pies expected to be in the oven by 9
a.m.
Rohrer said all the pies will have to be baked varieties, and
because of health department rules, the pies cannot contain dairy
products. In other words, they need to be fruit pies.
According to the rules, contestants cannot use canned pie
filling, canned fruit or store-bought pre-made crust. However, due
to the time constraints, they may make their crust ahead of time and
bring it to the competition ready for the rolling pin.
Pies may be single- or double-crust and must not require
refrigeration before serving.
Rohrer said the judge's name will not be announced prior to the
competition, but she is hoping to find someone from outside Logan
County to come in and do the judging.
At the end of the contest, first through fourth places will
receive monetary awards with an accompanying ribbon.
In addition, the pie committee will give all the contestants a
gift related to their craft.
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Maske said he wanted to make sure everyone knows how much the
Logan County Fair board appreciates the support of local businesses,
such as McEntire's Home Appliance. McEntire's will supply the ovens for
the pie contest as well as for the Logan County Cake Classic on
Sunday.
After the judging is complete, the pies will be taken from the
kitchen area to the site of the Chili Cook-Off. There the pies will
be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Rohrer said she expected
that event to happen at approximately 1:30 p.m. She also noted that
some plates and plastic utensils will be there, and she thinks it
would be great fun for everyone to sit down and dig into a homemade
pie.
Dahmm and Rohrer also noted that they are hoping this will bring
in a new group of cooks. Dahmm explained that while it may seem odd
to some until they really stop and think about it, most cake bakers
don't bake pies, and most pie bakers steer clear of cakes.
"It is odd, but you'll see it all the time," she said. "We see
that cake bakers also are the ones most likely to make candies,
while pie bakers enjoy making breads."
Regardless of what you enjoy baking, we're sure you'll find
something at the Logan County Fair that you'll enjoy eating. From
the food on the midway to the new pie baking contest, the Chili
Cook-Off and of course the Cake Classic, there will surely be
something that your tummy just can't resist.
To read the official rules of the pie contest
and print off an entry form to enter your favorite pie,
click here.
[By NILA SMITH]
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