Best of Show, by year.

Rhonda Hull

Rhonda Hull of Little Rock, Arkansas, won amateur Best of Show in 2019, from 185 entries, with Denali Caribou Crunch Pie from the new My Favorite Vacation category, as the APC’s 2019 results table prints it; the APC’s press release heads the category “Best Vacation Pie.” The APC’s 2019 table credits her with seven amateur first places that year, including Blueberry, Cherry, Cream, Cream Cheese, Pumpkin and the Dobla Summer Orange Creamsicle category.

chocolate cookie crust · white chocolate mousse · chocolate-covered caramel cups

Jennifer Nystrom

Jennifer Nystrom of Clarksville, Ohio, won amateur Best of Show in 2018, out of 185 pies, with Chocolate Caramel Turtle Sundae Pie, first in the Guittard Chocolate Cream category. Snack and Bakery reported she had competed for nine years and entered seven pies that year, earning four ribbons.

chocolate graham cracker crust · Guittard 66% semisweet ganache · caramel with salted peanuts

Christopher Taylor

Christopher Taylor of Atlanta, Georgia, won amateur Best in Show in 2017 with his Checkerboard Peanut Butter Pie, which also placed first in Peanut Butter. Perishable News and The Shelby Report noted that 2017 was the first year in the championships’ history that both Best in Show winners were men. In 2019 he won the professional Dobla Summer Orange Creamsicle category with Tropical Orange Cream Pie.

butter and shortening crust · peanut butter pretzel fudge · chocolate peanut butter checkerboard filling

Grace Thatcher

Grace Thatcher of Delta, Ohio, won amateur Best in Show in 2016 with Totally Biscoff Pie, first in the Open category. The APC’s recipe archive spells the pie Totaly Biscoff Pie.

Biscoff cookie crust · Biscoff spread filling · whipped cream

Patricia Lapiezo

Patricia Lapiezo of LaMesa, California, won amateur Best in Show in 2015 with Chocolate Buzz Pie. The APC’s 2015 category results list the pie first in Open; its Best in Show table gives the pie’s flavor as Chocolate Cream. Her name appears in APC amateur results from 2005, when she won the Citrus category with Double Lemon Cherry Marble Pie.

Milano and Oreo cookie crust · semisweet chocolate · coffee ice cream

Amy Freeze

Amy Freeze of Avon Park, Florida, won amateur Best in Show in 2013 with Sittin’ On The Sandbar Key Lime Pie, first in the Citrus category, from 289 amateur entries. The APC noted it was her first Best in Show after six years of competing, following two first places in 2008, a second in 2009, a second and a third in 2011 and a third in 2012.

vanilla wafer crust · cream cheese · lime juice

John Sunvold

John Sunvold has won amateur Best of Show three times: in 2008, his first year in the competition, with US Route 1: Florida Key Lime w/Maine Blueberries; in 2012 with Peg’s Banana Cream Supreme Pie; and in 2014 with Park Avenue Chocolatier Pie. In 2012 he won from 237 amateur entrants, per Grit, and also placed first in Apple with The Apple of My Eye Pie. The APC lists his hometown as Winter Springs, Florida in 2008 and 2014 and as Orlando, Florida in 2012; Grit gives Winter Springs.

banana cream filling · graham cracker crust · tall, top-heavy build

Phyllis Szymanek

Phyllis Szymanek of Toledo, Ohio, has won amateur Best of Show twice: in 2009 with Category Five Peanut Butter Pie and in 2011 with Royal Macadamia Raspberry Pie. The APC reported 301 amateur entries across 17 flavors in 2011. Each win carried $5,000 and a Sears Kenmore range, per the APC’s releases.

Crisco crust with ground macadamias · macadamia cream cheese filling · Cool Whip

Kate Stewart Ronver

Kate Stewart Ronver of Plano, Texas, won amateur Best of Show at the 2010 championships with her Lemon Swirl Cream Cheese Pie. The APC’s 2010 results page and The Daily Herald print her surname Ronver. The APC’s 2010 amateur PDF prints Kate Rovner, and Baking Bites, whose author judged the Best of Show round, prints Kate Stewart Rovner.

vanilla wafer and almond crust · homemade lemon curd swirl · lemon cream cheese filling

Jeanne Ely

Jeanne Ely of Mulberry, Florida, won amateur Best of Show at the 2005 APC Crisco National Pie Championships with her Pina Colada Pie. The same pie took first place in the Cream category, and her Ultimate Strawberry Pie placed third in Fruit/Berry. The APC published the winning recipe.

butter-flavored and regular Crisco crust · egg and vinegar in the dough · Coco Goya piña colada mix

David Eaheart

David Eaheart of Kansas City, Missouri, won professional Best of Show in 2019, from 145 entries, with Iceland’s Café Loki-Inspired Rye Bread Cream Pie, entered in the new My Favorite Vacation category, as the APC’s 2019 results table prints it; the APC’s press release heads the category “Best Vacation Pie.” Seaboard Foods lists earlier placings: first in the professional 6-inch Chicken Pot Pie category in 2017 and second in 2018. He placed first in Florida Beef Council Savory Beef in 2024 and in Savory in 2025.

rye bread steeped in pastry cream · toasted cinnamon-sugar rye bread · cinnamon and coriander

Katheryn Hanson

Katheryn Hanson of Orlando, Florida, won professional Best of Show in 2018, out of 107 pies, with I Love a Great Love Pie, first in the Royal Wedding category, which the APC had also offered in 2011. Snack and Bakery, which calls her Chef Kathy Hanson, reported she had competed since 2007, first as an amateur, and placed first four times in 2018 in addition to Best of Show. The APC’s archived 2018 results list three of her first places: Hollywood Movies, Pumpkin and Royal Wedding. In 2019 she took five second-place ribbons.

milk and honey cookie crust · toasted almonds · vanilla bean pastry cream

Andy Hilton

Andy Hilton of Davenport, Florida, won professional Best in Show in 2017 with Dreamy Lemon Pie, which the APC’s recipe archive files under the Comstock category. In 2019 he won the professional Peanut Butter category with De Leche Peanut Butter Pie.

lemon cookie crust · coconut cookies · cream cheese filling

Evette Rahman

Evette Rahman of Orlando, Florida, won professional Best in Show three years running: in 2014 with Sensational Strawberry Cheese Pie, in 2015 with Peanut Butter Satin Pie and in 2016 with Super Crunch Pecan Pie. In 2006 she placed first in the amateur Apple category with Orchard Fresh Apple Pie.

peanut butter cookie crust · cream cheese and peanut butter filling · whipped topping

Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle of DeBary, Florida, won professional Best of Show in 2012 with Coffee Toffee Crunch a Bunch Pie, her Open category entry. Grit reported she had won 15 first-place awards at the championships since 2007 and that this was her first Best of Show. The same year she placed first in Innovation with Going Bananas Pie and in Crisco Classic Chocolate Cream with Chocolate Trifecta Pie.

coffee · toffee made from scratch · revised crust

Bryan Ehrenholm

Bryan Ehrenholm of Modesto, California, won professional Best in Show in 2011, out of 142 entries, with Engagement Ring Pie. The pie also won the Royal Wedding category, in which professionals created a pie for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The APC offered a Royal Wedding category again in 2018. In 2012 he won the professional Raisin category with “Raisin” the Roof Pie, listed from Riverbank, California.

English walnuts · dates · meringue crust

Andrea Spring

Andrea Spring of Bradenton, Florida, has won professional Best of Show three times: in 2007 with Gold Coast Key Lime, in 2010 with Chocolate Raisin Walnut Pie and in 2013 with Peanut Butter and Cracker Pie. The 2010 win came in the first year the raisin category was open to professionals, and the release on her win called it the first time a raisin-category pie had won Best of Show. That year she also placed first in Cream with Hula Hula Pineapple Cream Pie with Fried Crust.

California raisins · milk chocolate chips · chopped walnuts