Judith Adrian of Bellefontaine said a lucky try at a lemon pie recipe she found online garnered her a grand champion award in the one-crust pie category at the Logan County Fair open class pie competition last week.
The first-time grand champion winner said she “doesn’t bake much,” but has entered the pie contest several other times.
“I thought this pie sure sounded good,” she said of her lemon cream pie entry that included a graham cracker and almond crust.
The home products contest that day was a family affair, with Adrian’s great-grandson William Johnson of Bellefontaine winning a grand champion rosette for his chocolate cake entry in the youth baking contest.
The third-grader said he also entered a white cake and funfetti cake, and enjoyed baking under the guidance of his grandparents, Sam and Karla Johnson, who are longtime participants at the fair home products competitions.
“We tried recipes in a bunch of cookbooks that my grandparents have; it was a lot of fun,” the eight-year-old said.
Also in the youth baking and adult pie contest, a mother and her two children received top honors. Ashley Holtkamp won the reserve two-crust pie award for her mixed berry entry that incorporates strawberries, blueberries and red raspberries.
“It’s one that I often enter at the fair and it’s one of our favorites,” she said.
Her daughter, Karly, 8, received first place in the decorated cake contest and also a grand champion candy award for her buckeyes.
Contestants in the youth decorated cake contest at the Logan County Fair include, from the left, Karly Holtkamp, 8; and Kaleb Hurley, 9, and his sister, Makayla Hurley, 12, both of DeGraff, for their rainbow themed and beach themed entries. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
Karly’s brother, 5-year-old Alex, won the reserve candy award for his chocolate fudge.
Jase Thompson of DeGraff received first-place for his monster cookies in the contest as well.
Among the winners in the youth baking contest at the Logan County Fair include, from the left, Jase Thompson, 7, of DeGraff; Alex Holtkamp, 5, and his sister, Karly Holtkamp, 8, of Belle Center and Kenton; and William Johnson, 8, of Bellefontaine. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
In the pie contest, fellow winners included Terri Mees with a grand champion two-crust pie award for her rhubarb entry. She entered a total of 11 pies in the baking competition.
Karen Wisse received the reserve grand champion one-crust pie honors for her pumpkin pie that she enjoys making for her family for Thanksgiving and other special occasions.
“It’s a pie that I’ve made a lot, but this time for the fair, I incorporated a streusel topping that I thought sounded pretty good.”