Keep your eyes on the pies

Cindy Quinonez whipped her head up from a destroyed slice of chocolate cream pie and struggled to yell the words “Cowabunga dude.” This task proved nearly impossible as her mouth was filled to capacity with the dessert, and before she could get it out, two of her rivals popped their heads up from the table and shouted the magic phrase.

But that didn’t faze Quinonez, 26, of Valley Village, who still beat every other guy at the table during the contest held Sunday at the Orange County Fair while her husband and four step kids cheered her on.

“Yeah, and you got beat by a girl, too,” Quinonez rousted one of the competitors at the end of the chow-down.

Of course, Quinonez didn’t plan on diving into a piece of pie when the family made the drive to the fair that day. The decision was made when they first entered the grounds, grabbing a guide and each person picked their activity.

Her pride in winning third place was just barely concealed by splotches of whipped cream, chocolate and pie crust flecked across her face and in her hair.

Quinonez’s group was the last to go in the contest and event organizers threw in an extra challenge by blindfolding them. Just before they started, those running the event pulled the plates a couple of inches out from where the contestants last saw them, sending laughs through the crowd as they bumped heads searching for their food.

Rounds were set up by age, beginning with 5-years-old and under, then 6 to 12, 13 to 15 and finally, 16 and up. The champions of each round received a ribbon and coupon for a free slice of pie from Coco’s, who provided the sweets for the contest.

As the contestants got older the competition got sillier.

Some of the teens decided not to wear their plastic aprons in the traditional manner, opting instead for the more rugged Rambo look — tying the plastic around their foreheads like military headbands.

The competition may have been steep between the grown-ups, but things got personal in the youngest group when cousins, Junior Burruel, 5, of Downey, and Michael Melendez, 3, of Los Angeles, battled it out for the lead.

“I wasn’t nervous with the people but I was thinking my cousin was going to win,” Junior said, adding that being the older of the two he had to claim take the title. Eating his favorite flavor of pie made things much easier.

Things never got too serious, as Michael giggled before he could get the winning phrase out, chocolate smeared in his hands. In the end the boys came in second and third out of eight kids, which still thrilled their parents.

To see a related video, click here. To see staff galleries, click here.