Sweet Victories in Pie Contest

Stuart Faber and Mollee Share’s sour cherry pie took the top spot at this year's pie bake contest at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market on Sunday.

Vice Mayor Dr. William Brien announced the winners and presented each with an oversized check.

Kira Kosoue took second place with her summer fruit pie and third place honors went to Abey Rey Clark for her Cali lime pie. Nicolle Briscoe took home the prize "Most Beautiful Pie," for her strawberry-rhubarb pie.

In addition to Brien, the distinguished panel of judges for the event included Evan Kleiman, host of Good Food on KCRW radio, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold of LAWeekly and Teri Hiles, the .

“One of the characteristics I look for in a good pie is the ratio between filling and crust,” Kleiman said before tasting the 20 pies entered in the contest. “There has to be a tenderness to the crust.”

Gold also said the texture of the crust was key to a good pie, but added that he was looking for flavor that gave him “a burst of summer.”

As outlined in the official guidelines for the contest, only amateur bakers were permitted to enter. This year, a new rule was stipulated in which contestants had to use fruit that is native to California and that may be found at a farmers market.

Netanya Perluss and Anai Finnie were victorious in the "Pieathelon Race," where they juggled objects such as an egg and a sack of flour across the finish line. There was also a pie-eating contest that saw Jag Terry win first place honors. 

The master of ceremonies for the afternoon was Mike King, who entertained the crowd by juggling balls, knives, fire and even a small child.

Editor's Note: This article has been edited to reflect that the name of the pie-eating contest winner is Jag Terry, not Jack Terry.

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