2019 Pie Competition Finalists
Commercial Entries
1st - Sarah Coppola for Husson University
2nd - Robin Chase
3rd - Kathleen Jenkins -Treworgy Family Orchards
Honorable Mention - Brian Chinn for Husson University
Culinary Students
1st - Lisa Jones for EMCC
2nd - Margaret Peckenham for EMCC
3rd - David Evans
Honorable Mention - Gabriella Morse
Home Cooks
1st - Meghan Collins
2nd - Danielle Morgan
3rd - Faye Harvey
Honorable Mention - Elizabeth Beardsley
Junior Cooks
1st - Alexandra Collins
2nd - Mikaela Perkins
3rd - Juliette Hiatt
Honorable Mention - Scarlett Hiatt
Fair Entries
Blueberry
1st - Sarah Harrison
2nd - Mary Blenk
3rd - Deidre Parlin
Honorable Mention - Faye Harvey
Apple
1st - Mary Blenk
2nd - Katie Labbe
3rd - Kevin Knapp
Honorable Mention - Deidre Parlin
Chef Cathy Speronis
Festival Pie Chairperson
Chef Cathy Speronis has cooked and baked for most of her life. She has been baking pies professionally since 2003.
Cathy is a self-taught chef who is constantly learning and creating recipes with the new ingredients and food products that she discovers. She runs a café, caters and teaches local cooking classes. Her true passion lies in teaching and passing along her knowledge inspiring others to set aside their fears in the kitchen and embrace the processes of cooking and creating. You can find out more about Cathy on her website, atastyadventure.com
Cathy truly believes that food creates the strongest connections between people and that the kitchen is the heart of the home.
JUDGES
Nathan Scott
Chef and Instructor, Culinary Arts
Eastern Maine Community College
After graduating from Paul Smith’s College School of Culinary Arts and Service Management, Nathan Scott moved to Florence, Italy where he was employed as an educator, cookbook publisher, and chef.
He later returned to the U.S. to work as a cookbook author, private chef and caterer, and host of his own televised cooking series, The Open Kitchen. He now serves as the Co-Chair of Culinary Arts at Eastern Maine Community College, where he brings his diverse experience in the culinary arts industry, as well as his classical French and Italian training, into the classroom to offer an all-inclusive look at the world of food.
Jim Bailey
The Yankee Chef
TheYankeeChef.com
Jim Bailey, also known as The Yankee Chef, is a third generation Maine chef, food columnist, highly sought-after food judge, author and an entrepreneur with a line of products in stores statewide.
His social media presence extends to the Food Channel as well as a wide arena of nationally known sites and companies, with emphasis on Maine and New England businesses.
His pink chefs coat is his signature, and silent, dedication to breast cancer awareness as he dedicates his time and talent to this cause, as well as children's hunger, homelessness and health.
Peter Geaghan
Owner
Geaghan's Pub & Craft Brewery
Peter along with his brothers Larry and Pat, and his nephew Andrew own and run Geaghan Brothers Brewery & Pub in Bangor and the Tasting Room in Brewer. Originally known as John Geaghan’s Roundhouse Restaurant the restaurant opened its doors in 1975.
Over the years, the Geaghan brothers learned their trade and have built Geaghan’s Pub into one of the most successful and longest established pubs in Maine. Today, GBB brews can be enjoyed across Maine, and right at 4-decade old Pub in Bangor, and the Tasting Room in Brewer. Both feature an extensive list of craft beers as well as delectable handcrafted menu items.
Kara van Emmerik
Sous Chef and Instructor - Culinary Arts
Eastern Maine Community College
Pastry Chef - Aragosta, Goose Cove
A 2014 graduate of Eastern Maine Community College’s Culinary Arts program, Kara van Emmerik has poured passion and dedication into her twelve years in the food service industry. She has worked as the Sous Chef at El El Frijoles where she learned the appeal of small business management and local, from-scratch cookery.
In 2015, she opened Dudley’s Refresher as the Chef de Cuisine. Following her first season, Eater Maine named Kara “Maine Chef of the Year.” With recognition from Food and Wine magazine and Cooking Light magazine, as well as many local media fronts, Kara continues to share her passion for real food made by real people with the students of EMCC and as the Pastry Chef of Aragosta at Goose Cove.
Elisabeth Dean
Chef/Owner
Fork & Spoon and Basil Creek Catering
Elisabeth's culinary exploration began when growing up in Northern California. She earned a BA in economics from University of California at Santa Cruz. Among other things, she worked for a caterer in New York. And that experience encouraged her to attend and complete the culinary program at Eastern Maine Community College. Since then she has worked at Primo, Lost Kitchen and Bar Harbor Catering Company. She has also worked for Martha Stewart. Her passion for food and it’s creative display is rivaled only by her love of her two girls.
Marilou Ranta
Chef/Owner
The Quarry
Marilou Ranta graduated from EMCC with a degree in Culinary Arts. She is the chef/owner of The Quarry, a fine dining restaurant in Monson, Maine. She caters to the residents and artists of Monson Arts year-round. She was featured in the food section of The Portland Press Herald and recently in the October issue of Maine Magazine.