NORTHBOROUGH – Residents at Whitney Place broke out their mixing bowls and pie pans as they competed in a pie bakeoff on Nov. 18.
According to Community Relations Director Jim Priest, staff had the idea last year to have a resident and one of their family members team up and bake a pie. Staff worked to bring back memories of baking a favorite or traditional pie.
“It was meant to recreate that a little bit and come up with something delicious,” Priest said.
The first bake off was held last year. Priest said it was a “huge success,” and they decided to make it an annual event.
This year, the bakeoff featured four teams – Anita and Richard Hudson, who were the Hudson Hoofers; Carolyn Davis and her son, Gary, who were Berry Flakey Crust; Jeannine Gauthier and her daughter Denise Finch were the Pie Queens; and Robin Keyles and her son, William, were the Queens New York Bakers. After coming up with their name, the teams must share a story about the pie, a memory, tradition or photo. The teams construct their pie at a station, and the staff cook it according to their instructions. The contestants enjoyed a turkey dinner while they waited for them to finish baking.
Portions were dished out to four judges, who voted on the appearance, topping, filling, crust and taste of the pie. Awards were given out to the overall winner as well as for appearance and taste.
The best overall was a mixed berry pie made by Berry Flakey Crust. According to Priest, Carolyn Davis had belonged to a Framingham church, and as a fundraiser she suggested that they bake pies and sell them on the common. Priest said the fundraiser was successful and continued and grew for decades.
Other pies included a savory meat pie, a pineapple cream cheese pie and a honey pie.
“[The teams] shared some really fun stories … it was just great to hear. The look on the faces of our residents – they felt special. They were proud of the fact that they were doing this,” said Priest.
