Meet the 1st grade pie baker who won top prize at the State Fair of Texas
It turns out not everything is bigger in Texas.
A pint-sized baker has proved the popular turn of phrase wrong after taking home the grand prize blue ribbon with his homemade blueberry pie at the State Fair of Texas.
Seven-year-old Texas native Allen Gage knocked out all the adult bakers at the State Fair of Texas' Battle for the Blue Ribbons earlier this year, and now he's the youngest person ever to qualify for the fair's "best of show" award in October.
"When I heard I won best pie, I was so happy," Allen told ABC News.
Sara Smith, who came in third place, told ABC News, "I got a blue ribbon for a peach pie many, many, many years ago -- I think I was 11 -- so Allen is beating me by quite a few years by getting this at 7 years old, that's so awesome."
Allen first learned the tricks of the baking trade from his grandma Penny, who taught him how to use a rolling pin to make the perfect homemade pie crust.
"This is kind of like a generational thing," Allen's mom Roseanne Parsons told ABC News. "My mom started out doing the state fair when she was young, and she did baking as well. Then I did baking, and we both placed."
She continued, "Grandma heard about the state fair entry and asked [Allen] if he wanted to do it, and he's like, 'Yeah, let's do it.'"
Allen previously won $750 at the Kaufman County Fair with a blueberry pie that he baked with his grandma.
With his positive pie-winning stats, thanks to the Battle for the Blue Ribbons, where he was one of nearly 240 pies in the 2024 bakeoff, Allen is in prime position to taste sweet victory later this fall.
