WHOOPIE!

The scene was the annual Whoopie Pie Festival in Lancaster. It was a breezy, overcast day and somewhat chilly. I parked my car and 10 feet in front of me was Gooey Sean Gordon, two time amateur round shoofly pie champ and a man who had eaten 22 mini whoopie pies during last year's contest. After we chatted, I headed toward the festival. Sitting in the front row on an old backless wooden bench facing an empty stage was Ian Hickman and his brother. In 2006, Ian ate a record 36 whoppie pies in three minutes.

Ian and I talked about whoopie pies, AICE, IFOCE, strategy, movies, our next contests, and his fondness for Asian women while we killed an hour before the contest started.



It was time for the 12-years-and-under round. The kids filed up onto the stage three at a time. There was, after all, only one table. The announcer was able to keep the crowd engaged through the first few three-minute heats, but by the 12th heat (no kidding, those kids just kept lining up), the announcer and the crowd had cooled, much like the gusting wind that was blowing half full plates of mini whoopie pies off the table every so often. The winning junior was a 10-year-old from New Jersey named Kyle (above) who ate 17 pies.

Seventy minutes after the kid's round started, the "seniors round" began. Ian had discussed the details with the contest organizer: he, I and Sean Gordon would eat together and last. In all, 11 adults competed, with Ian, Sean and I being the top finishers. One guy tied with me, but I can't remember his name. If you're reading this, leave a comment!



Here we are getting ready. Each eater was given a choice: milk or water. Ian went with water, Sean and I chose milk. Before making my decision, I turned to Sean and asked an important question: Is it whole milk? I was, after all, concerned about extra fat and calories. Thankfully it was skim.



And then it was over. I would eat 30 pies, a few more than I thought I would. Sean downed 46 to take second place and Ian put up a monster performance by downing one pie every three seconds for a total of SIXTY whoopie pies. The crowd was stunned. We were sticky. Thirty minutes later, Ian and his brother spent part of his prize by hitting the country-style buffet at the hotel restaurant which hosted the contest.

A full set of pics can be seen here. Ian's brother got a video of the winning performance (with me to his right). I'll post that as soon as they upload it to YouTube.