Twenty-one competitors with an appetite for the Florida Keys' signature dessert stepped into the "limelight" Tuesday during Key West’s Mile-High Key Lime Pie Eatin' Contest.
Attorney Trey Bergman of Houston, Texas got a face full of filling and frosting and emerged victorious after devouring an entire Key lime pie in just 51.92 seconds, without using his hands.
Contestants were offered safety goggles to keep whipped cream out of their eyes, but Bergman added a bright yellow bathing cap to give himself a competitive edge.
"I wore the bathing cap for speed," Bergman said. "It helps cut through the whipped cream and through the Key lime pie so you can get to the crust faster."
He also planned his strategy carefully and reduced calories before the event, avoiding eating earlier in the day and not breathing while scarfing down the delicious dessert.
The southernmost answer to New York’s Fourth of July Nathan's hot dog-eating competition, the Key West consumption contest is a highlight of the annual Key Lime Festival, now in its fifth year.
"A lot of people like to eat apple pie on the Fourth of July because they think there’s nothing more American," said Key Lime Festival founder David Sloan. "We like to say there’s nothing more American than Key lime pie."
The Key Lime pie was designated Florida's official pie by the state legislature in 2006. Its primary ingredients are condensed milk, egg yolks and the juice of the tiny yellow Key lime, with the creamy filling typically nestled in a graham cracker crust and topped with whipped cream or meringue.
Other festival events included an offbeat Key Lime Pie Drop where contestants try to figure out creative ways to drop pies without causing them to break apart, as well as tastings of other foods and cocktails featuring the flavor of the tangy lime.
(Photo credit: Andy Newman)