The “Sweet and Salty Banana Split” was the winner of this year’s fifth annual Banana Split Master’s Competition.

With the sizzle of bananas sautéing in butter, the addition of crushed pretzels, neopolitan ice cream, freshly diced pineapples, home made raspberry sauce, and white chocolate flakes the split created by Pete Kramme, had the winning ingredients.

First place of the Masters competition was awarded to Pete Kramme of the Roberts Convention Centre. His presentation included sautéed bananas, crushed pretzels, Neapolitan ice cream, fresh diced pineapples, home made raspberry sauce, whipped cream cheese spread, with a garnish of white chocolate flakes, fresh berries and pretzel rods. The banana split was called the “Sweet and Salty Banana Split.”

Second place went to Billy Kong of No. 1 China Buffet and third place went to Melanie Evans of The Cambridge of Cape May.

All of the contestants were congratulated by the crowd.

The annual Banana Split Master’s Competition was held Saturday at the Banana Split Festival in Wilmington. The lineup of judges included Jerry Allison, chef for Winedog Fine Wines and Catering and food columnist for Brown Publishing; Mark Branham, media consultant for Over The Back Fence Magazine; Ed McMasters, marketing manager for CincinnatiUSA.com Regional Tourism Network; and the 2008 Master, Scott Lamphear, executive chef for the Roberts Centre. The Judges also welcomed to the table a special guest judge - Jim Adams, a thirteen-year-old from Waynesville.

“It’s his birthday,” his siblings said proudly as they volunteered him to judge the Master’s Competition.

The shelter house had an air of anticipation as the competitors were introduced. The banana splits ranged from the familiar to the exotic, and from complicated to simple.

The first chef to construct his version of the banana split was Carl Pritchard of Damon’s. His banana split featured blue Hawaiian sauce, fruit flavored whipped creams, marinated grilled pineapples, toasted almonds and blackberries. The final product was called the “Grilled Tropicana Banana Split.”

The second chef to compete for first place was Billy Kong. The banana split he created featured a martini glass rimmed in white chocolate with rainbow sprinkles, a fried banana cannoli with banana mousse, banana chips dusted with cinnamon and sugar, banana mousse made using very small Asian bananas, ice cream, whipped cream, and raspberries stuffed with banana truffle mousse, all topped with shaved chocolate and garnished with glazed caramel. Kong’s creation was called the “No. 1 Banana Split”.

The third chef vying for the prize was Sharon Testa of the Mediterranean Restaurant. Her banana split inspired dessert was called the “Banana Tiramisu”, which is offered on their menu at the Wilmington restaurant. The dessert featured rum soaked lady fingers which were layered with cream cheese and coffee. Fresh bananas and coffee flavored ice cream were also added.

Melanie Evans was the fourth chef to present her dessert to the tireless judges. Creating something a bit more exotic, Evans used pineapple coconut ice cream, crystallized ginger, freshly grated cinnamon, toasted hazelnuts and used magnolia leaves and day lilies to round out her presentation. The creative dessert was named the “Ginger Hazelnut Banana Split.”

Following Evans was the eventual first-place winner, Pete Kramme.

The sixth chef to compete was Beth Staehling of Ettalee’s in Blanchester. Hers was a unique approach to the banana boat idea. Staehling used blue whipped cream to create a “sea” with a fried tortilla for the banana boat. In it she placed ice cream, caramel, chocolate syrup, Ettalee’s famous New York cheesecake chunks, sliced bananas, strawberries and maraschino cherries. For the boats sail she used fried tortillas dipped in chocolate.

The seventh chef was Kimble Grant of The Dairy Corner and D & K Catering. His straightforward dessert was called “Back to Basics,” but the presentation was anything but basic. Using a hand-carved wooden sailboat with a custom-fitted ceramic banana boat plate, and a decorated sail, Grant filled his plate with familiar ingredients: three flavors of ice cream, caramelized bananas, chocolate fudge, rum pecans, salted caramel, and grilled pineapples.

The final contestant was David Soale, sous chef at the General Denver. His dessert was called the “Black Forest Trifle Grilled Banana Split.” The dessert featured home made banana ice cream, grilled baby bananas, black forest chocolate brownie bits, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and grilled glazed pecans.

If the crowd was any indication, there were a lot of “oohs” and “ahs” heard throughout the competition, the presentations made an impact.

“This is one of the best competition’s we’ve ever had. It’s very tough on the judges,” said Billy Arehart, master of ceremonies.