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Amateur Pie Bakers Vie for Dough at American Pie Council/Crisco® National Pie Championships in Orlando April 18-20

ORLANDO (Feb. 20, 2008) — The nation's top amateur pie bakers will converge in Orlando April 18-20 to vie for top honors at the 14th Annual APC/Crisco® National Pie Championships.

Presented by the American Pie Council (APC) with event sponsor Crisco®, the competition is presented in conjunction with the 2008 Great American Pie Festival, held April 19 and 20 in downtown Celebration, Fla.

Amateur bakers can compete in one or all 15 pie categories: apple, Crisco classic chocolate, Crisco classic cherry, citrus, cream, custard, fruit/berry, nut, peanut butter, pumpkin, open, Splenda sweet potato, and new categories this year, California Raisin and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. The Amateur baker whose pie transcends all categories will take home the prestigious "Best of Show" honors and $5,000 in prize money. First place winners in each category will receive $200 cash, second place winners in each category will receive $150 cash and third place winners in each category will win $100 cash.

Amateur bakers aren't the only ones vying for bragging rights and prize money — pie makers will compete in Professional, Junior Chef and Commercial divisions, all of which will take place at the Orlando Sun Resort by Lexington in Kissimmee. Baking competitions are open only to participants, but awards will be presented at Celebration's Lakeside Park as part of the Great American Pie Festival activities.

Baking in the Amateur division will take place on Friday, April 18 at the Orlando Sun Resort by Lexington with a maximum of three hours kitchen time allowed per baker. Amateur pie registration will be held Saturday, April 19 from 6 to 9 a.m. at the hotel, followed by a brunch at 10 a.m. Brunch tickets are $10/adult and $5/seniors 65+ and children 6-12. Pies will be judged on Saturday, April 19 with winners announced at 6:45 p.m. at the PieCaso Demonstration Stage at Lakeside Park in Celebration.

Among the pie judges are award-winning celebrity chef Gale Gand, the executive pastry chef and partner in Tru, a four-star, five-diamond dining establishment in Chicago. Gand has worked behind the scenes and appeared on "Oprah" and has hosted her own Food Network show, "Sweet Dreams" since 2000. The cookbook author and creator of her own bake-ware line also has won numerous culinary accolades, including being named best pastry chef by "Bon Appetit" and winning the highly coveted "Wine Spectator" Grand Award.

Also judging the Great American Pie Festival is Orlando's own Jon Ashton, the Mad Chef, an English-born culinary artist who had his own nationally syndicated cooking show in the U.K. and now cooks on Orlando's mid-day FOX newscast. Ashton has made cooking appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Today Show," "The Daily Buzz" and NBC's "iVillage Live."

The 2007 winner in the Amateur division was Carol Socier from Bay City, Michigan for her Strawberry Cream Delight Pie.

To register to participate, visit the APC website, www.piecouncil.org, and download the Amateur registration form, which includes official rules and guidelines. Pre-registration per pie is $15 for members and $35 for non-members. Pre-registration must be received by April 9, 2008. Registration at the door is $35.

The Great American Pie Festival has been hosted by Celebration since 2002. The highlight of the family-oriented festival is the Never Ending Pie Buffet, a smorgasbord of an anticipated 50,000 award-winning slices from local, regional and national commercial bakeries, restaurants and markets. Between trips to the buffet, festival attendees can enjoy the Schwan's Bakery pie-eating contest (by participating or cheering on contestants), baking demonstrations by professional pie makers on the Bakers Square Village Inn PieCaso Demonstration Stage, food and beverage vendors, more than 20 craft vendors and live entertainment. Young pie enthusiasts can make their own pies at the Crisco® Kids Creation Station, make pie tin art, make a "PieCaso" painting or play in inflatable bounce houses, a rock climbing wall or the world's largest pinball machine. All festival events will be held both days.

The host hotel, Orlando Sun Resort by Lexington, a 919-room, AAA Three-Diamond award-winning hotel and convention center located just 1.5 miles from Walt Disney World Resort, is offering a special $89 per night room rate for those attending or participating in the Great American Pie Festival. For more information or to book a room, visit www.osrbylexington.com or call 877-467-5786.

Baking competitions are not open to the public. However, the award ceremonies for the Amateur and Professional divisions will be held at Celebration as part of the festivities, with the Amateur awards presented at 6:45 p.m., April 19; and Professional and Junior Chef awards presented at 2 p.m., April 20. Commercial division awards will be presented in an industry-only ceremony on April 18.

The 2008 Great American Pie Festival will be held at Lakeside Park in downtown Celebration. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, April 19; noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 20. Admission to the festival is free. Costs for the Never Ending Pie Buffet are: $10 adults, $7 ages 65 and up; $7 ages 6-12.

For more information, visit the Front Porch Celebration Community Web Site at www.celebration.fl.us; or the American Pie Council®, www.piecouncil.org.

The American Pie Council® (APC) is the only organization committed to preserving America's pie heritage and promoting American's love affair with pies. Designed to raise awareness, enjoyment and consumption of pies, the APC offers Personal, Professional and Commercial Memberships.

Crisco is a registered trademark of The J. M. Smucker Company.

The American Pie Council® is the only organization committed to maintaining America's pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America's love affair with pie. The APC offers personal, professional and commercial memberships. For more information, please visit www.piecouncil.org.