Genoa woman seeks to set world record

Molly Holbrook rolls out another pie crust in her kitchen in Genoa, Ill., on Friday June 5, 2009. Holbrook plans on making 100 pies to set the record of the largest pie fight on their farm on Saturday June 13. (Beck Diefenbach – bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com)

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While peering out at her farmland on Derby Line Road in Genoa, Molly Holbrook envisioned the perfect use for her property.

A pie fight.

“It’s just for fun,” Holbrook, 31, said with an ear-to-ear grin. “Just absolute fun. ... I’m one of those people who tries to stay positive and I think this would be a really good release away from stress and into happiness.”

The event is meant to be recreational, but does have a dual purpose. Holbrook hopes not for just any pie fight, but the pie fight with the most participants of any that’s ever been documented in the Guinness World Record.

And breaking such a record is no simple feat.

Specific guidelines must be adhered to and ample documentation must be provided in order to qualify for the official book.

The only standing pie fight logged – it included 120 people and was credited to the band, Weezer, in 2008 – is specific to custard pies, said Jamie Panas, spokeswoman and public relations assistant for Guinness World Records.

Rules for surpassing the standing statistic include ensuring the pie fight lasts at least one minute, that all custard-filled pies are at least 6.5 inches in diameter and have a pastry or sponge crust. If a hopeful record-breaker, like Holbrook, wants to create a new category, she must apply for it and it’s subject to approval, Panas said.

“When you enter a category that we don’t already have, we will send you our suggestion that is closest to your request,” Panas said, adding that there is typically one specific record in a given subject area.

Holbrook, who has been corresponding with Guinness representatives since last year, was working feverishly to create a new category last week.

She didn’t realize the organization was expecting her to exclusively use custard pies, she said, but hoped to get the ordeal all sorted out by her event on Saturday. After all, she has been baking pies daily in preparation.

She has also been devising a game plan to keep the bound-to-be-messy fight as organized as possible.

“They’ve said the more documentation you have, the better chance you have of getting in the record book,” she said. “So I’ll be preparing a box of evidence.”

Holbrook will have a sign-in sheet at the event, where participants can document their attendance. She must also appoint two, unbiased witnesses to monitor and time the fight.

She plans to take an abundance of pictures and may even figure out a way to count the number of pies thrown, even though the record is based on the number of people.

The option to get a world record approved on the site of an event comes with a price, Panas said, because it requires the presence of a Guinness World Records judge. Such judges’ accommodations and travel must be paid for by those hoping to break a record, and there is also an added fee of about $3,000.

“The benefit of having a judge at the event is that they validate the record right there,” Panas said. “You don’t have to send in any documentation and you are able to say right away, ‘Yes, we broke the record’ or, ‘No, we didn’t.’”

Without a judge, the validation process takes between four to six weeks, she said, because Guinness World Records is headquartered in London.

Holbrook hopes her efforts pay off. She is devising ways to ensure safety at what she calls a, “family-friendly, BYOP” event and so far, has 20 pies stock piled in her freezer – she wants to have about 100 for her family, she said.

Her preliminary estimates indicate that anywhere between 150 and 200 people will be present to throw the delicious desserts, she said.

“The best part of it is to have other people involved,” Holbrook said. “Even if there were 20 people that showed up, the pie fight will be fun. But breaking the record would just be ... the filling in the pie.”