The first to devour the whole pie wins.Īfter the pie eating extravaganza, you can make your way down Duval to the Key West First Legal Rum Distillery (107 Simonton St.) for Hooker Pie with Chef Paul Menta, where local celebrity chef and rum distiller Paul Menta will teach you how to make your very own Key lime pie while regaling you with tales of the fascinating history behind the earliest version of the dessert as it was prepared by the local fishermen (who, FYI, were known as “sponge hookers” in the Florida Keys). At the start, they dive in head first, attempting to slurp their way to victory via assorted kinds of scarfing strategies (popular techniques include the “faceplant” and the “lawnmower”). Audience members can watch for free as ticketed competitors are lined up with their hands tied behind their backs and a 9-inch pie placed in front of them. The contest, which has received national media coverage, promises to be a profoundly immodest and delightfully messy good time for all. And though the Fourth of July is typically associated with backyard BBQs and fireworks, the highlight of the day for many Key West residents has to be the Mile-High Key Lime Pie Eating Contest, scheduled to kick off at high noon on Thursday at the Southernmost Beach Café (“It’s the Southernmost City’s answer to Nathan’s hot dog eating contest!” says Sloan). on Thursday, July 4, with a Kick-Off Party at the Southernmost Beach Café at 1405 Duval St. The Festival officially begins at 11 a.m. There are self-paced pie samplings that wind through town, raffles, a pie-eating contest (duh) and more. The Festival consists of a wide spectrum of citrus-celebratory activities spread across four days, with events ranging from intimate culinary classes to the hugely popular Key Lime Sip & Stroll, where ten bars will compete for the honor of calling themselves the purveyors of the best Key lime cocktail on the island. Together, they’ve produced the new and improved Key Lime Festival, now in its seventh year.Ĭrystal Villegas and Paul Menta show off their First Legal Rum Distillery Key lime cocktail. Together, the two agreed to resuscitate the long-forgotten festival, modernizing the events so as to attract a new group of fans. The pair were so perfect for this project not even Nicholas Sparks could have invented the whimsical serendipity of the arrangement. He reached out to Pierson, whom he knew suffered from a not uncommon Keys-specific affliction: a love of Key limes so strong he cooked his breakfast with them every morning. Being a fan of all things historic and odd about Key West, Sloan’s interest was sufficiently piqued. And during his research on Key West’s haunted history, he’d gone searching for ghost stories at the Curry Mansion and instead discovered a yellowed and faded Key lime pie recipe card, claiming to be the provenance of the celebrated dessert. It was a good fit: Sloan had worked as a professional baker in his youth, so he certainly knew the power of a good Key lime pie. Sloan had already published his book, “The Key Lime Cookbook,” when a friend suggested that he try to resurrect the old Key Lime Festival, which had died out decades ago. Key lime cocktail sauce? Pass the Key West pinks.ĭeanna Kay Cox mixes up a Key lime cocktail at First Flight Restaurant during last year’s Key Lime Cocktail Sip ‘n Stroll. Key lime sea salt? Most food could use a little extra citrus anyway. Key lime beer? The folks over at the Waterfront Brewery would agree that it’s as natural as pairing peanut butter and jelly. Culinarians here in the Keys will throw Key lime into anything that can take it, standard culinary usage be damned. Pies may be a serious business but when it comes to the limes themselves, we’re far more equal opportunity gastronomes. A tip from an expert who’s been there, heard that: just agree with the invective and then back away slowly and respectfully, as you would from a rabid Key West rooster, and hopefully you won’t get pecked. Ask a local on the proper way to top a pie - is it a dollop of whipped cream or a colossal mound of slightly toasted meringue? - and you might be there all day, trapped in an endless lecture about just how wrong the “other side” is. There are two schools of thought on how the top of a perfect Key lime pie should be crowned, and each school is vehemently convinced that theirs is the truest, purest way of pie-making. COURTESY PHOTOĪnd things get even more heated when the topic of topping arises. Key lime lover and Fest co-creator David Sloan with a slice of his favorite pie.
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