Key Lime Pie Eating Championship 2024 in Florida will be chaotic

The Fourth of July Eating Contest is still New York City's hot dog eating contest, even though its most famous champion was disqualified.

But here in Florida we like sweeter things.

Hector Rodriguez, 19, of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, gobbled down a 9-inch Key Lime Pie (with whipped cream) in one minute, 58.52 seconds on Thursday, besting 24 competitors in the world-famous Key Lime Pie-Wishing Championship during the annual Key Lime Festival.

And all this without forks and spoons. Or hands. The participants simply pressed their faces into the delicious sweets and got started.

“It was dirty, it was messy, but,” Rodriquez said after his victory, still dripping, “if you don't try to get your face dirty with cake, you're not doing it right.”

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His prize? “A trophy and a championship belt, as well as fame and glory,” according to the Key West Chamber of Commerce.

However, he did not set a record. That was an incredible 40:57 seconds, set by lawyer Trey Bergman from Houston, Texas in 2018.

What is Key Lime Pie?

Key limes are smaller, have more seeds, and are more tart than the usual Persian limes you find at Publix, and have a thinner peel. Juice from the limes combined with egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and a graham cracker pie crust (whipped cream or meringue optional) makes a fresh, sweet, and zesty dessert that tells you you're in the tropics.

And no, it's not green. A real Key Lime Pie is yellow.

Key lime pie was named Florida State Pie in 2006, beating out pecan or sweet potato pies. However, the pie's actual origin is disputed.

Pastry chef Stella Parks tells us in her book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts that in 1931, the Borden Milk Company published a recipe that originally used lemons to market its condensed milk. Locals then modified it.

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Key Lime Pie Eating Championship 2024 in Florida will be chaotic

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