On Friday, July 4, those who share a passion for pie and Florida’s most sensational citrus are invited to the sandy shore of the Southernmost Beach Café, 1405 Duval Street, where the 2025 World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship will take center stage.
A tart and tangy twist on New York’s classic Fourth of July hotdog-eating contest, the Key Lime pie showdown has grown into a tradition since its 2013 launch. Each year, up to 25 contestants plunge face-first into 9-inch whipped-cream-topped Key lime pies, racing against their competitors and the clock, with no hands allowed.
Last year’s champ, Hector Rodriguez of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, devoured his pie in an impressive 1 minute, 58.52 seconds. But the record to beat remains a blistering 40.57 seconds, achieved in 2018 by attorney Trey Bergman of Houston, who also claimed victory in 2017 with a time of 51.92 seconds. Key West locals have seen their share of triumph too: Chris Shultz in 2022: 74 seconds; David Johnson in 2019: 58.2 seconds; Steve Carr in 2015: 78 seconds; Tony Mantia in 2014: time not recorded; and Gary Delos Santos in 2013; time not recorded.
“There are eating contests all over the world, but none match the mess — or the magic — of ours,” said Nadene Grossman Orr, Key Lime Festival director/CEO of We’ve Got the Keys. “It’s the Southernmost in the U.S.A. and the most spectacularly sloppy.”
Key lime pies, declared the official state pie in 2006 by the Florida Legislature, are traditionally made with condensed milk, egg yolks and the juice of Key limes within a graham cracker crust and topped with whipped cream or meringue.
The contest at the Southernmost Beach Café kicks off at 1:30 p.m. but the attractions begin at 10 a.m. with the opening of the Key Lime Vendor Village, and music, games and activities starting at 11 a.m.
The pie-eating competition is the centerpiece event of the festival, which runs July 2-6. Presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys, admission to the competition is free. The cost to compete is $30 with online pre-registration or $50 on the day of the event. It is open to those aged 18 and up. More information is at keylimefestival.com.
