August 31, 2006 Issue                                       

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mt. Airy pie-eating contest should be a piece of cake
by CAROL SILVERMAN

With one hand on a stopwatch and the other holding a fresh-baked apple pie, pastry chef Jim Flail does a practice run for the Big Day. Andrea Berger-DiDonato and her son, Max, look on, in front of the High Point Café where the World’s First Organic Pie-Eating Contest will take place Sunday, Sept 10, at 1 pm.

It may be a contradiction in terms, but that hasn’t stopped the High Point Café from cooking up The World’s First Organic Pie-Eating Contest — a high-stakes, high-calorie, low-pesticide event if ever there was one. The contest is one of several dozen activities scheduled for the upcoming Mt. Airy Village Fair, itself a first-time venture.

On Sunday, September 10, pastry chef Jim Flail will rise at his usual 4 a.m. to begin preparing the fine confections the café has become known for. He’ll then go on to bake an extra 10 nine-inch organic fruit pies – centerpieces for what is anticipated to be a riveting contest at 1 p.m., in front of the café.

“This will be a no-hands competition for speed,” explains café owner Meg Hagele.

“We’ll accept the first 10 people who sign up here at 11 a.m. At this moment, we can’t yet commit to peach, apples or berry. This is an in-between season and we prefer local produce, but we do guarantee organic fruit. Jim will have his stopwatch, so we can track the winner’s time … for historic reasons.”

All competitors will receive a pie-friendly T-shirt. The winner, obviously a pie fan, will receive a prize commensurate with the achievement: a gift certificate for a Jim Flail / High Point Café pie, to be eaten with friends at leisure.

Glorious excess being more appreciated in some quarters than others, minors entering the contest must provide proof of the support and encouragement of first-degree relatives of the senior sort. “This is especially important in a health-conscious neighborhood like Mt. Airy where some people think sugar is White Death,” says Hagele.

What “support and encouragement” looks like will be up to the judges, but it won’t hurt to have a family support team in place. Short of that, a letter from Mom will suffice. If Mom is out of the country, a notarized letter from the family dentist can be submitted.

The pie-eating contest is one of several dozen events scheduled for the Mt. Airy Village Fair, a street festival planned for the two blocks of Carpenter Lane that straddle Greene Street.

The fair is being organized by the ad hoc Mt. Airy Village Merchants Association, a group of five local businesses that are working for sustainability, community and ecology. Despite that mission, it’s still a day for “fun, not flyers,” according to organizers. Joining the café and Weaver’s Way Co-op are the Big Blue Marble Bookstore, the (nonprofit) Maternal Wellness Center and the Moving Arts studio.

High Point Café (215-849-5153) is at 602 W. Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy. That’s two blocks west of Lincoln Drive. The fair will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Queries can be emailed to VillageFair@erols.com.