Winners of the Serious Eats Pumpkin Carving Contest
Thank you to everyone who entered the second annual Serious Eats Pumpkin Carving contest. It was a tough call, but without further ado, we bring you the three favorites. Check them out, after the jump.
First Place
Winner: "Dr. Frankenstein's Lab" by stike
Prize: Viking Professional Chef's Cutlery Starter Set (includes: 5-inch flexible boning knife, 8-inch chef's knife, 4-inch paring knife).
This one was so intense, at first we weren't totally sure it was an actual pumpkin. But this photo of the carving job, minus all the mystical shadows, seems to confirm it is—and a darn impressive one at that.
Second Place
Winner: "Where the Wild Things Are" by hmw0029
Prize: 8-inch Viking Professional Chef's Knife
We had to create a separate category just for all the entries inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. It was a tough call but this one of Moishe wins for utilizing non-pumpkin supplies: face fuzz from dog hair and eyes from egg shells.
Third Place
Winner: "I Am the Walrus" by Tommy K
Prize: 4-inch Viking Professional Paring Knife
Wow, those walrus tusks. Did they come from another pumpkin? Did you listen to the Beatles on repeat while carving?
Honorable Mention
Hat Tip to: "Hungry Hungry Pumpkin and Pumpkin Pie Seeds" by Dianasaur
As proven by last year's results, we're suckers for pumpkins ingesting other pumpkins. Sorry we can't give you any knives, but way to go.
Thanks to everyone who entered. This was a really tough decision, but we can all agree that one of the best parts about carving a pumpkin is roasting the seeds after.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
10 Comments:
Yay! thanks!!
maybe I can give my old but decent chef's knife to somebody... @jo_wang, have you gotten a good knife yet? ;-)
hmw0029 at 5:49PM on 11/02/09
thanks guys. after narrowly missing out last year, i feel redeemed! lots of tough competition out there. i know perhaps the editors are trying to steer it to a decidedly 'food' related entry, but don't forget, these carvings everyone did are done in food itself. like frosting a cake, maybe, where the food is the medium, without the "story" or idea itself necessarily being about food. that's what i like about doing them, anyway. trying to turn the limitations of the pumpkin itself into it's strengths: the ability to carve to different depths.
also glad i included a pic of the pumpkin with the room lights on, so you could see it was really just a pumpkin, not a drawing. i appreciate you sorting that out. would hate to be DQ'd for a non-pumpkin entry when it really was a pun'kin after all.
for what it's worth, i was lucky enough to score the 2nd place chef's knife last year, and it is one heckuva great knife. heavier by FAR than most german knives at the same price, and really well balanced and great to use. it's my favorite knife in the everyday kitchen.
looking forward to the starter set!
thanks again. i was sweating it, frankly. seems the level of competition goes up ten-fold every year. i may retire. it's getting nerve-wracking!
-stike
stike at 6:10PM on 11/02/09
@hmw0029 No, I have not gotten a decent knife. I plan on getting one when I have better access to a kitchen so I can cook more often. Thanks for remembering me, though.
jo_wang at 6:23PM on 11/02/09
Wow... soooo impressive.
Awesome art work everyone, I had a hard time cutting a proper triangle eye on mine haha.
AyeEat at 6:30PM on 11/02/09
Wow, honorable mention is pretty kick a--. Well done Dianasaur.
lemming299 at 6:52PM on 11/02/09
Aww bert and ernie didnt win, I'll recover, and practice my craft until next year. Maybe it'll be the sweedish chef to tie into the food theme. Dr. Frankenstein was the best one there though, great use of light.
val1s at 7:07PM on 11/02/09
@tommyk--at first glance your (awesome) pumpkin looked like a woman bent over. In my mind's eye, tusks turned into legs and mustache into a lifted skirt.
I blushed, then realized what was what.
BananaMonkey at 7:31PM on 11/02/09
BananaMonkey - me too. Reminds me of those kitschy yard decorations of a woman bent over with a dress.
lemonfair at 6:43AM on 11/03/09
i didn't even know there was a contest-i made a kickass pumpkin this year, before it got all gross and moldy. a hand crank drill is very handy for carving, as my sister and i discovered.
gastronomeg at 11:56AM on 11/03/09
I remember stike's from last year. It was amazing. I didn't think it was an actual pumpkin either until I saw the room lights on picture.
wunami at 1:09AM on 11/04/09