The fragrant scent of apples, cinnamon, and sugar isn’t just a fleeting smell of autumn in Wenatchee; it’s an aroma woven into the very fabric of the city’s identity. As the self-proclaimed “Apple Capital of the World,” Wenatchee has long embraced its ripe heritage through ambitious endeavors and grand celebrations, like that of the Apple Blossom Festival. So, when the Wenatchee community set its sights on a different kind of apple-based achievement in 1997, a dessert of such epic proportions that it would break a Guinness World Record, the decision was as easy as, well, apple pie!
A Sweet, But Humble Beginning: The 1938 Apple-Pie Prelude
Long before the Guinness Book was a household name, Wenatchee was already dreaming in epic, pastry-clad proportions. In 1938, the community came together in Memorial Park to create what they hoped would be the world’s largest apple pie. The impressive dessert, weighing in at 2,200 pounds and measuring ten feet in diameter, was a marvel of local collaboration and ingenuity. The event drew a crowd of over 2,000 spectators, all eager to witness this spirited celebration of the town’s agricultural bounty.
While this early pie didn’t secure an official world record, it baked itself deep into Wenatchee’s identity, proving that a town fueled by fertile orchards and shared purpose could pull off something truly ambitious. More than a contest, this inaugural bake was a celebration of the land’s bounty and the collective courage of the hands that harvested it in the face of hard times, setting a golden-crisp foundation for all future feats. The spirit of that gathering never truly cooled; it settled like the perfect crust, patiently waiting for the moment to rise again and show the world what Wenatchee’s apple passion could achieve.
A Recipe for a Record in 1997 Wenatchee
The catalyst for a second, far grander attempt at apple baking perfection would arrive in the mid-1990s, when North Central Washington Museum (now Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center) employee Keith Williams who saw a golden opportunity to achieve two goals with one monumental project: get national recognition for Wenatchee’s claim as the “Apple Capital of the World” and raise crucial funds for the museum. He set his sights on breaking the world record held by a group from Chelsfield, England, who had baked a 30,000-pound pie in 1982. The Wenatchee team set their goal at an incredible 40,000 pounds, ensuring they would easily surpass the record and cement their place in history.
The project was a masterpiece of planning and community mobilization, taking six months of coordination by the museum volunteers. The project was structured as an innovative fundraiser where volunteers from nonprofit groups and businesses would form peeling crews, gathering pledges for every pound of apples they prepared. This approach ensured that 70 percent of the proceeds would benefit the museum, while the remaining 30 percent would support the participating organizations. This gave the entire valley a tangible stake in the project’s success and transformed an abstract goal into a shared, mouth-watering mission that promised benefits for all.
Gathering Ingredients for Baking a Behemoth
Transforming this vision into reality required a staggering list of ingredients and an even more impressive display of donated expertise from throughout the region. The official recipe called for nearly unimaginable quantities: 32,000 pounds of locally-grown apples, 3,175 pounds of flour, 3,500 pounds of sugar, and 100 pounds of cinnamon. Donating to the cause, Top Foods agreed to make the bottom crust in its bakery, using 5,300 pounds of flour and 4,200 pounds of shortening, mixed with almost 1,200 pounds of water and 160 pounds of salt.
The most formidable challenges emerged not in the pantry but in the engineering department, where conventional solutions were utterly insufficient. The museum commissioned a custom 44-foot by 24-foot pie tin designed by Kyle Rumble of Pacific Engineering and Design, while Stock Steel of Spokane donated materials for a custom-built, propane-powered convection oven framed in steel girders.
For six months, the museum coordinated this massive undertaking, creating a temporary village at Walla Walla Point Park along the Columbia River, where everything was prepared for the monumental bake day. The specially-designed pie tin had to withstand both the tremendous weight of the filling and the intense heat required for baking. At the same time, the custom oven needed to maintain even temperature distribution across the massive 44-by-24-foot surface.
The Big Bake Takes Place on August 16, 1997
At the crack of dawn, and with the literal cracking of eggs, the day of the big bake arrived on August 16, 1997, as over 600 volunteers gathered to begin the monumental task of slicing and coring the fruit and preparing the other ingredients to be unloaded into a crusted pan spanning 1,056 square feet. The scene at Walla Walla Point Park transformed into a symphony of coordinated action, with teams working in seamless harmony to prepare the enormous quantity of apples that would fill the custom-built pan. The atmosphere buzzed with a mixture of focused determination and festive community spirit as the massive undertaking heated up.
As the prepared apples filled the gigantic crust, the custom oven’s steel lid was lowered into place by crane, creating the world’s largest convection oven. For five hours, the propane-fired oven worked its magic under the careful supervision of museum coordinators and volunteers. When the moment of truth arrived, the official weighing confirmed their success: 34,438 pounds of apple pie that shattered the previous record and secured Wenatchee’s place in the Guinness World Records.
A Sweet Victory and a Lasting Slice of Wenatchee History Found in a Piece of Pie
While the pie itself was reportedly more of a spectacle than a culinary masterpiece, its impact was undeniably sweet. The event generated an estimated $15,000 in free global advertising for the Wenatchee Valley, showcasing its apple industry to the world. More importantly, it served as a powerful fundraiser for the museum and participating nonprofits, proving that a wild idea could yield very real community benefits. The giant pan itself went on a victory tour, including a featured appearance at the Puyallup Fair, now known as the Washington State Fair.
Today, the legacy of that August day continues to sweeten Wenatchee’s identity as the Apple Capital of the World, as it still proudly holds the Guinness World Record for the Largest Apple Pie. More than just a baking project or an entry in a book, the record stands as a testament to the simple, delicious truth that in Wenatchee, the sweetest ingredient is always community, and a passion for apples is at the very core of who they are.
