Fresno Marie Callender’s hosts first 4th of July pie eating contest: ‘Dream come true’

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – The Marie Callender’s on Fresno’s Cedar Avenue and Shaw Avenue is the first location in the history of the company to host a Fourth of July pie-eating contest, filling bellies and handing out cash to celebrate America’s Independence Day.

Rich Shields, the general manager at Fresno’s Marie Callender’s, says he was visiting New York when he came up with the idea to host a pie-eating contest.

“A couple of years ago, Fourth of July, I was out in New York in Brooklyn over by Coney Island watching the Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest,” Shields said. “It just made sense to kind of showcase out beautiful pies and kinda do the same thing.”

After calls with Marie Callendar’s corporate, Shields discovered that he was the first general manager to come up with the idea. He quickly got the green light to host the event.

Shields and his staff set up chairs, canopies, tables, water, panchos, and most importantly pies. According to Shields, the rules were simple:

• Competitors could not use their hands to eat the pie, only to drink water
• Competitors were each given four pies to eat and a five-minute time limit
• Competitors could get more pie if they finish the four pies in front of them

The winner would be decided by weighing what each competitor had left over after the contest: whoever had the least amount of pie left would win. Shields says each competitor had over eight pounds worth of pie in front of them.

First, second, and third-place cash prizes were awarded and competitors could keep whatever pie they had left over. The event saw competitors at all different levels of competitive eating, including first-time competitors and eating veterans.

“We had 40 sign up,” said Shieds. “We did have a couple drop out, so I think we’re going to end up with 38.”

Non-competitors could enjoy a special promotion of $5 off every pie as they cheered on the contestants. Once the competition was underway, contestants stuffed their faces in hopes of winning the grand prize, throwing caution to the wind with the spirit of Independence Day in their hearts.

“I was just in the zone as soon as I woke up this morning; I started listening to Eye of the Tiger,” contestant Clifford Cromer said. “This is a dream come true. I’ve been training for this my whole life, man – God bless America.”

When winners were finally announced it was Fernando Fernandez who came out on top, eating 5.3 lbs of pie.

Fernandez says it was his first competition and he wasn’t sure he’d done enough to win, especially since the contestants around him seemed to have done a lot.

“I feel like I didn’t win that, to be honest,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez walked away with $500 and a Fourth of July to remember.

Management at Marie Callender’s on Cedar Avenue and Shaw Avenue plan to bring the event back next year for anyone looking to take home their own slice of success.

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