This Edwards Pie fan served a big holiday gift with the dessert course
During the holiday season, families come together from near and far. Food is often the centerpiece of the gathering. For many people, the dessert course is the pinnacle of the feast. This Edwards Pie fan struck a special chord with the dessert brand, and it gave his family a special present.
Recently Edwards Desserts encouraged everyone to share their love of the brand’s sweet treats on social media. Winning the $10,000 grand prize was Phil Roberts of Knoxville Tennessee.
Check out his winning submission as the ultimate Edwards Pie fan.
While some people might be familiar with the tune, the lyrical twist definitely brings a few chuckles. More importantly, the sentiment is relatable. Many people have had those cringeworthy holiday moments or the times where the food does not live up to grandma’s standards. More importantly, the happy sentiments are always present.
The theme for the contest was Pie Lovers Unite. When asked about his submission, Roberts shared that he thought the topics would be fun. He said, “families uniting from long distances and despite differences around the one thing we can all unite on: Edwards Pie! The idea of eating pie together without being allowed to talk about politics, and where even a grumpy old dad and his daughter’s suitor can enjoy pie together, and where everyone can eat the Edwards pie they like the best…they just all seemed like fun themes, but ones that everyone can kind of relate to as well.”
Roberts continued to explain, “We have come up with some holiday family traditions over the years, and they usually just kind of happened/evolved. For instance, we eat tacos every Christmas Eve, go to a hibachi restaurant every New Year’s Eve, and we eat Edwards Key Lime Pie on Christmas. I’m not sure exactly when it started, but over twenty years ago we lived in Savannah, Georgia, where key lime pie is a big deal at restaurants, and that’s when I happened upon my first Edwards Key Lime Pie…and I loved it so much that I don’t think I’ve ever ordered key lime pie at a restaurant ever again, and I definitely have never tried to make it myself again. No reason to.”
That love of Edwards Pies runs deep. Roberts said, “I love Edwards pies because they’re always consistently delicious, made with great ingredients, way better than what we could make ourselves (sorry, moms and grandmas out there), incredibly convenient to buy and to prepare (just thaw), and they don’t break the bank. I made a key lime pie myself once, shortly before discovering Edwards, and it took me forever, was kind of expensive, and wasn’t all that great. So, Edwards is just perfect!”
That sentiment is one that many people appreciate. Sometimes it is best to leave the baking to the professionals. Whether it is a key lime pie, cookies and crème, or a special limited edition pie flavor, there are many choices to fill the table.
But, there are some people who might think that their dessert is worthy of a holiday baking champion title. When asked how he would respond if an Edwards Pie was not served at the holiday dinner, Roberts said, “If someone didn’t serve Edwards pie at a holiday dinner, I’d pretty much have two choices. Either I could feign an illness, ask to be excused, and make a quick run to my grocery store and get back in time to put an Edwards Key Lime Pie on the table for dessert. Or…I could say that I’m not hungry, and then hit the grocery store later and eat an Edwards Key Lime Pie by myself in the store parking lot (some situations are desperate enough to forgo the full Edwards pie thaw).”
While Roberts and his humor capture the holiday cheerfulness, the reality is that winning this contest is more than just big gift in the family’s Christmas stocking. He graciously shared his personal story.
“Our family is kind of unique. In 2004, we had a daughter Ashley, who is now 19 ½, and then in 2005, my wife nearly died from preeclampsia when she gave birth to our quadruplets Benjamin, Casey, Danielle and Emily at the end of their second trimester. They were all born under 2 lbs., and at 19 days old our daughter Emily passed away from the mrsa infection in the hospital. Benjamin, Casey and Danielle all fought for their lives for over 100 days in the NICU, and then each faced some big health and development challenges over the years that followed. This fall, they all turned 18, are all seniors in high school and honor students and excelling in music (vocal and instrumental) and will be headed to college next fall. This Christmas has been a particularly sentimental and rewarding one, and one where it has been really important to be together with our family, near and far. This Edwards contest helped highlight that theme, and winning the prize has been a fun and extremely helpful way to allow us to get together with our family who lives far away. Seeing our kids with my wife’s two great-aunts in Georgia who are now both 90 years old, and watching them adore the kids (and eat Edwards Turtle Crème Pie), was absolutely priceless. We were able to establish a nursing school scholarship at Milligan University in memory of our daughter Emily, and $1,000 of the prize money from the Edwards contest will be a donation to that scholarship. We are thankful to our Edwards friends for their kindness and generosity and helping us overcome any hurdles to unite with our family this Christmas!”
In many ways, Roberts’ sentiment captures the real meaning of the holiday season. Whether the pie gets cheers around the table or someone might need to stick a forkful of dessert in their mouth to avoid that gaff statement, being together and making memories is paramount. If eating a favorite pie every year brings back happy thoughts, it is time to thaw, slice and enjoy another Edwards Pie.