For the first time in its 36-year history, a competition seeking the man who most looks like literary giant Ernest Hemingway was won by a man called Hemingway.

Dave Hemingway was named the winner of the “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest on Saturday in Key West, Florida. The winner said he was not related to the late author.

The husband of celebrity cook Paula Deen – Michael Groover of Savannah, Georgia – finished in the top five for the second straight year. It was the sixth time he had participated.

The contest, which attracted 140 entrants, is the highlight event of the annual Hemingway Days festival that celebrates the author’s legacy. It was held at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, a frequent hangout of Ernest Hemingway’s during his Key West residency in the 1930s.

Dave Hemingway, who won the contest in his seventh attempt, wore a wool, cream-colored turtleneck sweater similar to that favoured by the late author.

“Even though this sweater is really hot, it was part of my strategy,” he said. “And I think it worked really well.”

Like the author, Dave Hemingway said he liked to fish and drink a little. “And I like women,” he said. “I like having a good time. I do feel like Ernest because I’m in the town he lived in so many years.”