Iowa Man Wins Florida Key Lime Pie Eating Contest

While the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has become a fixture of the Fourth of July holiday, down in Florida, they have a different eating contest to celebrate Independence Day. It's a sweeter, albeit even messier one.

The Key Lime Pie Eating Championship in Key West, FL, where Key lime pie originated and is dubbed the "state pie," is held annually. Contestants are tasked to devour a nine-inch Key lime pie topped with whipped cream with their mouth. No hands allowed!

This year's championship belt and title were claimed by a local boy! 38-year-old Joshua Mogle of Altoona, IA  devoured his pie in three minutes and 35 seconds, faster than the other 24 rival competitors who all were in attendance for Key West's five-day-long Key Lime Festival, per The Des Moines Register.

Mogle's strategy was an ostensibly simple, but practical one:

Eat… eat… eat… always have pie in my mouth.

The competition took place less than a day after a Key lime pie measuring 13.14 feet in diameter was submitted for certification as the world's largest of its kind. The pie was prepared and curated for the Florida Keys' festival. July 3rd, 2023 also marked the 200th anniversary of the Florida Territorial Legislature's establishment of Monroe County, per The Des Moines Register.

Key lime pie is known for its richly tart taste. It's made with condensed milk, egg yolks, and the juice of yellow Key limes, and boasts a graham cracker crust with whipped cream or meringue topping. Personally, it's one of my favorite pies. In 2006, it was designated as Florida's official state pie.

A big congratulation to Joshua Mogle, a tire manufacturing manager in Altoona, for winning the Key Lime Pie Eating Championship. Read the full story on The Des Moines Register.