Stanthorpe resident Kerry Stratford has retained bragging rights as the best apple peeler in the Granite Belt, winning the prize for longest continuous apple peel for the seventh time.
Stanthorpe resident Kerry Stratford will defend her title in 2020 for the ‘best apple peeler in the Granite Belt’, hoping to win the prize for longest continuous apple peel for the eight time and extending her 15 year reign as champion.
Kerry Stratford
Kerry’s 5.1 metre Granny Smith peel at the 2018 Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival’s Apple Daywas a personal best, and well ahead of the runner-up’s 2.7 metre peel.
As the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival is held every two years, Kerry has been unbeaten in this event for the past 15 years.
Apart from a brief practice run before the main event on Thursday, Kerry does not prepare for her biennial challenge.
“I only do it for this, once every two years,” she said.
Longest apple peel competitors work against the clock, with a strict 10 minute limit to complete their peel.
Apple Day, celebrating the Granite Belt’s best known produce, also featured cooking demonstrations by Queensland College of Wine and Tourism executive chef Andrew Simpson, using local apples from Nicoletti Orchards, teamed with wine from Banca Ridge.
On Friday, attention turns to grapes, with a community grape crush in Farley Piazza from 10am and Seasonal Feast Market from 8am to 2pm.
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