World Pie Eating Championship facts for kids

The World Pie Eating Championship is a fun and unique competition held every year in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. People gather at Harry's Bar to see who can eat a meat and potato pie the fastest! This exciting contest has been happening since 1992. In November 2006, a special competition for vegetarian pies was added too.

In December 2006, the meat and potato pies used in the main contest were about 12 centimeters (5 inches) wide and 3.5 centimeters (1.5 inches) deep. The vegetarian pies were a bit smaller, around 10 centimeters (4 inches) wide and 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) deep.

Champions of Pie Eating

This section lists the amazing winners of the World Pie Eating Championship over the years. Many champions have set new records for speed!

1992: The First Champion

The very first contest in 1992 was won by Dave Smyth, a painter from Hindley. He managed to eat four pies in just three minutes!

1995: Preston's Winner

Dave Williams from Preston, Lancashire took home the title in 1995.

1998: Scott Ormrod's Victory

Scott Ormrod from Aspull, Wigan, won in 1998. He ate eleven pies in thirty minutes.

2005: The Anaconda's Record

Anthony "The Anaconda" Danson, a weight trainer from Lancashire, set a new record in 2005. He ate seven pies in three minutes!

2006: Rugby Star Wins

Matt Dunning, a famous Australian Rugby Union player, won the championship in 2006.

2007: Adrian Frost's Fast Finish

Adrian Frost, from Wigan, set an amazing new record in 2007. He finished his pie in a super-fast 35.86 seconds!

2008: Fred Wyatt's Win

Fred Wyatt, a sixty-one-year-old warehouse packer, won the 2008 Championship. This event was even shown live on the internet!

2009: Barry Rigby's First Title

Barry Rigby, a warehouseman, won in 2009 by eating his pie in forty-five seconds.

2010: Neil Collier's New Record

Neil Collier, aged 42, set a brand new World Record in 2010. He finished his pie in an incredible 23.91 seconds!

2012: Martin Clare's Quick Win

Martin Clare won in 2012, setting yet another new record time of 22.53 seconds.

2013: Ian Coulton's Victory

Ian Coulton from Wigan won the title in 2013. His winning time was 1 minute and 6.61 seconds.

2014: Barry Rigby Returns

Former champion Barry Rigby won again in 2014, showing he still had the fastest time.

2015: Martin Appleton Clare Regains Title

Martin Appleton Clare, the 2012 champion, won back his title in 2015.

2016: Third Win for Martin Appleton-Clare

Martin Appleton-Clare made history in 2016 by winning for a record-breaking third time!

2017: A Hat-Trick for Martin Appleton-Clare

Martin Appleton-Clare won for the third time in a row in 2017, showing his amazing consistency.

2018: Chicken and Carrot Champion

Martin Appleton-Clare won a new "Chicken and Carrot" category in 2018 with a time of 19.6 seconds after a close "Pie Off" challenge.

2019: Ian Gerrard's Triumph

Ian Gerrard won the contest in 2019 with a time of 34.5 seconds.

2022: Barry Rigby's Third Crown

Barry Rigby, aged 49, won his third championship in 2022 (which took place in January 2023). He ate the pie in 35.4 seconds. He had previously won in 2009 and 2014.

2023: Ian Coulton Wins Again

Ian Coulton from Wigan won the competition in 2023, bringing the trophy back to his hometown. This was his first win since 2013.

2024: New World Record Holder

The 2024 contest, held on December 12, saw Michael Chant, 43, from nearby Bury, break the world record! He ate his pie in an incredible 17 seconds, beating Martin Appleton-Clare's previous record of 23 seconds. The event was filmed by Channel 5 for their TV show 22 Kids and Counting. The show's star, Noel Radford, even supplied the pies. The championship's organizer, Tony Callaghan, accidentally dropped and partly broke the trophy, but the event was still a big success!

Why Wiganers are Called Pie Eaters

People from Wigan are often called "pie eaters," and they are proud of this nickname! It's thought that this name comes from the 1926 General Strike. During this time, miners in Wigan had to go back to work sooner than miners in other towns because they were very hungry. They were "forced to eat humble pie," meaning they had to accept a difficult situation.

Remants of pies from losing contestants in 2024