Lake County pie eating champ: Time to pass baton
Joe Schwan says he's created something at the Lake County Fair that he hopes will continue for years to come with his family's involvement.
He and his 9-year-old granddaughter, Addison Schwan, took two of the three heats in Saturday afternoon's pie eating competition at the county fair's Front Porch Stage in Grayslake. The fair will end its annual run Sunday.
"I trained my grandchildren to come on out," said Schwan, a resident of unincorporated Ivanhoe. "I had to show them this is a family tradition now, that the Schwans will always be in the pie eating contest in Lake County. It's probably going to be my last one. It's the third (victory). I've won two other ones, and I think it's time to pass the baton on to the family and let them come carry forward."
Winners were determined by who ate the most cherry whipped cream pie in 30 seconds. Lovin' Oven Cakery from Round Lake Beach and Libertyville supplied the pies.
Former ABC-7 meteorologist Mike Caplan of Gurnee was the pie eating contest's host and selected 16 participants from the crowd. While no prizes were at stake - just pie eating pride - Caplan joked the winners would receive all-expenses-paid bus tours for two in Berwyn.
"The key here," Caplan told the crowd, "is we've got to have great audience participation and cheer these pie eaters on."
Addison, whose family recently moved from Virginia to Lake Forest, clearly looked ready in her first competition to grab the pie eating baton from her grandfather. She credited her grandfather and father for providing the knowledge that led to her topping two women and a child for the victory.
"He told me to move my face up and down, just get it on my face," Addison said, referring to her father's wisdom on how to win a pie eating contest.
Christie Sommers of Wauconda participated in her first pie eating derby, but didn't have enough to get past Addison. Sommers said she's a pie lover and thoroughly enjoyed the contest.
"I went with my hands instead of my face because I knew that I would get more in my mouth with my hands, which I did," she said.