They’re not only looking for the apple of your eye, but also the apple in your pie.
The Barrhead IGA is running a special fundraiser for the Sparrow’s Hope women’s shelter involving trying to find out who in the community makes the best apple-based dessert.
“February for us is apple month,” said IGA manager Aaron Coutts, adding he thought it would be a good idea to combine apples with helping the larger community.
“We thought we wanted to do something for the community,” he said. “So we talked to Sparrow’s Hope and we’re going to do a fundraiser for them.”
The fundraiser is very simple, Coutts said. People are invited to make any sort of dessert they wish – pie, cobbler, cake, you name it – “as long as it has apple in it.”
The desserts will then be auctioned off, with all the proceeds going to Sparrow’s Hope to help keep the facility running.
“All the money that we raise goes directly to them,” Coutts said. “We’re not keeping a cent.”
Sparrow’s Hope director Ben Kellert – an experienced auctioneer – will run the auction.
In addition to benefiting Sparrow’s Hope, Coutts said the people who submit a dessert will have a chance to come out winners as well.
Each dessert will be tasted by a panel of judges to determine whose dish is worthy of being called the best apple dessert in Barrhead.
Of course, the judging process is highly unscientific, Coutts said. It will be up to them to decide what qualities they’re looking for in a dessert — appearance, taste, smell, style, etc. Plus, with several judges on hand, there will likely be dissenting opinions on what is the best.
Once the judging is complete, the winner will be announced and awarded $500 in gift certificates. Second and third place will win $200 and $100 respectively.
In order to enter the contest and submit a dessert for the auction, people are asked to pick up an entry form at the bakery counter. Each contestant is asked to make two desserts — one to be judged and one for the auction. A copy of the recipe is not required.
There are virtually no rules for the contest, Coutts said. While he prefers that the dish is a personal concoction, he said it’s OK to follow an already publicized recipe.
And naturally no one is expecting to see something like would be found on one of those high-end cooking shows.
“We don’t care if you’ve never made a dessert before,” Coutts said. “It’s all for fun and it’s all for charity.”
The deadline to submit a dish is 10 a.m. on March 3. Coutts said they plan to start judging by 11 a.m., with the auction slated to start at 1 p.m.
