Munchies crowned 14th winner of Pepperoni Roll Bake-off; Baker's Nook wins Queen's Choice
May 27—FAIRMONT — While Palatine Park rocked with a concert on the main stage, Three Rivers Festival royalty were judging pepperoni rolls.
Friday night, Munchies Eats & Sweets was crowned the winner of the 14th Annual W.Va. Three Rivers Festival Pepperoni Roll Bake-off. Nine bakeries from around the region submitted their best rolls for a chance to be awarded the traveling trophy and have their name etched onto the trophy's base.
The Baker's Nook, of Farmington, won the Queen's Choice Award for being a favorite of the festival royalty.
The festival's six queens along with three volunteers engaged in a blind taste test of the nine submissions. Each of the judges was given a score card where they'd carefully scrutinize each fold of the rolls.
To enter, all that's required is that a business sell pepperoni rolls on their menu. As long as that box is checked, a bakery is eligible to compete. While there is a prize on the line and bragging rights up for grabs, the competition is low-stakes and that's the way the festival organizers like it.
"It's just for fun and that's why we do it," Festival Board member Mike Swearingen said. "Each of the judges has their own taste so it's always up in the air who will win."
The three main categories each roll is judged on are appearance, texture and, of course, taste. This year's judges were the festivals six queens — Festival Queen Erin Wellman, Senior Queen Susie Colvin, Teen Queen Kourtney Jones, Junior Teen Queen Micah Smith, Junior Miss Ava Hinkle and Little Miss Ava Woods. Three volunteers from the crowd also judged.
The pepperoni roll is a storied tradition and legendary history in West Virginia. It's said that the first pepperoni roll was sold at Fairmont's own Country Club Bakery in 1929.
The food itself is said to have originated from the lunches of Italian coal miners who needed a quick snack made with available food.
In the judging, each of the queens had different qualities they were looking for.
Wellman, for example, was particular about the bread's consistency.
"I was really looking for moist bread. If the bread was too dry or crumbly they just we're as good as the pepperoni rolls that were as the ones that focused on the bread," Wellman said. "One of the rolls tasted almost like a sourdough, that one was at the top of my list."
Jones on the other hand, focused more on appearance and was on the lookout for a roll with that perfect spiral of pepperoni and bread.
"I was looking for a pepperoni roll that was well put together and tightly packed and well balanced," Jones said. "Some of them had a really nice swirl in them so I was really looking for something like that."
The Three Rivers Festival will continue into its final day Saturday with a packed schedule of activities. For a full list of events, visitwww.wvthreeriversfestival.com/events.
Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.
