By, Jessica Elgot
1 min read
It took 253 people, 648 pies and 200 litres of custard to launch one world record attempt by the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade for the biggest ever custard pie fight.
The Guinness World Records board drew up 14 pages of rules for the pie fight to qualify for a world record, including specifying the pies must be edible, at least eight inches in diameter and that each person involved in the fight must throw at least two pies.
The campers, on Mersea Island in Essex, smashed the previous record of 120 people in a pie fight from Los Angeles, California, in 2008.
More than 20 members of staff cordoned off an area of the camp to prepare the pies, made from pre-baked kosher flan bases and custard, which JLGB staff poured into the bases.
It took the staff nearly two hours to fill each pie base with the custard ready for the morning inspection by the Guinness World Records judge.
Fortunately, I’m quite short so I managed to avoid most of the pies. Steve Weller
But no custard pies remained to be devoured by the campers after the fight, every single one of the 648 pies was caked onto the faces of the participants and the floor of the basketball courts where the fight took place.
Marco Frigatti, vice president of Record Management at Guinness World Records, patrolled the fight checking the pies were valid, even disqualifying one or two pies which had broken before the fight commenced.
He said: "The record has to be done according to the official rules so I had to measure the pies, count them and check each person attempting the record had thrown at least two pies.
"There was such energy. Everyone was very engaged and the excitement was rising every second from the moment we started.
"I enjoyed this record very much; someone even threw a pie at me."
Steve Weller, activities coordinator for JLGB, who came up with the idea for a world record attempt, devised the plan in keeping with the circus theme of the JLGB weekend as a way of bonding the campers.
Mr Weller said: “This is our annual camp and we always like to do something different.
“Someone suggested trying to break a world record and we decided to go for a custard pie fight.
“It’s been totally worth the effort to do this. It’s been excellent and everyone has really enjoyed themselves.
“Fortunately, I’m quite short so I managed to avoid most of the pies.”