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Competitive Eating


GordonCooks

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I happened to catch that food network special episode on Eating Competitions. They featured many of the guys as a sort of Food "Athlete". It was amusing watching this little Japanese guy cream the fat slobs in the Nathan’s hot dog contest. Now I’m sure we all have our little gorging stories albeit – Hamburgers, Pizza etc??? What would be he eGullet food eating contest theme be?

Who can devour the most duck sausage? Foie gras? Oysters?

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Cream Cracker Eating

It remains a benchmark of record-breaking prowess – how quickly can you YOU eat three Jacob's Cream Crackers? And on October 29, 2002, at the London offices of Guinness World Records, UK sports agent Ambrose Mendy smashed the existing record by more than 30 seconds, chowing down on three crackers in just 49.15 seconds.

"Everyone can do something well," said Ambrose, summing up the Guinness World Records philosophy. "It's all about concentration and telling your mouth to have saliva in it; then it's just bite and swallow, bite and swallow."

What's a Cream Cracker ???

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Cream Cracker Eating

It remains a benchmark of record-breaking prowess – how quickly can you YOU eat three Jacob's Cream Crackers? And on October 29, 2002, at the London offices of Guinness World Records, UK sports agent Ambrose Mendy smashed the existing record by more than 30 seconds, chowing down on three crackers in just 49.15 seconds.

"Everyone can do something well," said Ambrose, summing up the Guinness World Records philosophy. "It's all about concentration and telling your mouth to have saliva in it; then it's just bite and swallow, bite and swallow."

What's a Cream Cracker ???

Great Britain's Number One selling cracker! They are crisp and flaky, and perfect for anything you like to enjoy a Cracker with. Perfect for some thinly sliced cheese, with just a dash of Branston Pickle!

3009.jpg

Beyond that, I couldnt find much about them.

Ben

Gimme what cha got for a pork chop!

-Freakmaster

I have two words for America... Meat Crust.

-Mario

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But 3 crackers in 50 seconds ????????? C'mon

No, that actually sounds reasonable. They're big, maybe about 2.5" X 2.5", thick (about .25"), and DRY DRY DRY. And despite what the blurb says, they are NOT all that flaky. So don't compare them to, say, a saltine. They really need a lubricant to go down easily.

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I happened to catch that food network special episode on Eating Competitions. They featured many of the guys as a sort of Food "Athlete." .  . . What would be the eGullet food eating contest theme be?

Who can devour the most duck sausage? Foie gras? Oysters?

Nothing so gauche as a quantity-driven contest. We're all highly literate here. The eGullet eating contest would be quality-driven, and a marathon, not a sprint.

The contestants would go to various restaurants in New York and would be served without seeing a menu. They would then sample the various dishes and provide concise guesses as to exactly what they were eating: techniques, ingredients, etc. This process would be repeated in other restaurants over a period of three weeks. Whoever provides the best, most entertaining dining summaries would win.

I predict a three-way final championship among Shaw, Bux, and Cabrales. . . .

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Hey, great idea!  And if there were an entry fee, we could raise money for the site.  :wink:

Absolutely! Great fundraising idea. :biggrin:

We could even have a straight-up eGullet matzo ball eating contest, with side bets and everything. And recipe judging.

Or our own calendar, like the one those nice English church ladies did for charity. They were all topless, regardless of age and general, er, comeliness. It sold like nuts.

"The Women of eGullet."

Or "The men of eGullet with chinois."

But think...can you imagine how this bunch would argue about how the money got spent? :shock::blink:

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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I happened to catch that food network special episode on Eating Competitions. They featured many of the guys as a sort of Food "Athlete". It was amusing watching this little Japanese guy cream the fat slobs in the Nathan’s hot dog contest...

In Japan, this sort of competition is no joke. They train obsessively and they have their own televised contests in which the contestants (combatants?) are put through challenge after challenge until only one is left.

So they might start the show out by eating 20 rolls of sushi in a minute and as soon as that challenge is finished they'll all have to drink 2 liters of water within 10 seconds or so. Then they roll out the next challenge without much of a break. Any one of these challenges is usually met with very impressive skill, but when one stops to think about all the food already consumed, it's just mind boggling.

Oh yeah, and for some reason, the fat Japanese guys usually lose out to the skinny Japanese guys too! :laugh:

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I cannot believe that I didn't remember this sooner, given the thread's title. Probably belongs on one of our "how we ate growing up" threads, but is maybe mooter (word?) here.

When I was say, eleven, and my brother Ian was nine, my parents would have a kiddie New Year's Eve Party before they, glamorously dressed, coiffed and scented, would head off for their own diversions. We would be allowed to choose our menu (probably spaghetti and meatballs) and were allowed treats like potato chips and 7 Up. Plus,we could have Games.

My brother, (now a caterer) made up the Eating Contest. We would put out two baskets of dry salty things: pretzels, a few chips (hey, we were hoarding them for later!) saltines, salted nuts, etc. Our bemused parents were given two minutes in which to eat as much as they could. No beverages allowed!

I will always remember my father's handsome, loving face as he scarffed down as much as he could. He, at least, tried!. My mother, in her tiny Little Black Dress, was happy to nibble a couple of cashews. Daddy always won.

Where the heck did my brother's idea come from? At least, my parents had some ballast in their tums before the serious martinis and champers at the Country Club.

The Eating Contest was a New Year's Eve tradition for a couple of years.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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I happened to catch that food network special episode on Eating Competitions. They featured many of the guys as a sort of Food "Athlete". It was amusing watching this little Japanese guy cream the fat slobs in the Nathan’s hot dog contest. Now I’m sure we all have our little gorging stories albeit – Hamburgers, Pizza etc??? What would be he eGullet food eating contest theme be?

Who can devour the most duck sausage? Foie gras? Oysters?

The best 3 minutes (my maximum single dose) of reality tv I saw this year is Man vs. Beast. The Japanese fellow whose the two time Coney Island hot dog eating champion represented humans in a interspecies hot dog eating contest.

He represented our species admirabley. His opponent was ..... ..........................

a big, brown bear. 800 lbs. at least.

Guess who won?

The bear lapped up the dogs like a dog lapping water. Each flick of the tongue was a dog or two. The human might as well been trying to outrun a race horse.

beachfan

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I happened to catch that food network special episode on Eating Competitions. They featured many of the guys as a sort of Food "Athlete". It was amusing watching this little Japanese guy cream the fat slobs in the Nathan’s hot dog contest...

In Japan, this sort of competition is no joke. They train obsessively and they have their own televised contests in which the contestants (combatants?) are put through challenge after challenge until only one is left.

So they might start the show out by eating 20 rolls of sushi in a minute and as soon as that challenge is finished they'll all have to drink 2 liters of water within 10 seconds or so. Then they roll out the next challenge without much of a break. Any one of these challenges is usually met with very impressive skill, but when one stops to think about all the food already consumed, it's just mind boggling.

Oh yeah, and for some reason, the fat Japanese guys usually lose out to the skinny Japanese guys too! :laugh:

Eating contests are HUGE here in Japan, These guys are celebrities!

I rarely watch TV but when Thursday night's TV Champions is having a eating contest, I'll never miss it.It is amazing the amount of food these tiny people can shove into their bodies. And it isn't just one single contest, it is usually 3 to 5 usually with only a short bus ride in between the gorgings.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 7 months later...

In this weekend's NY Times Magazine, they profile Carson Hughes, competitive eater, who can eat 2.5 pounds of collard greens in 17.5 seconds and is currently ranked 17th on the planet. But Hughes still trains hard, taking cues from top-ranked Japanese chow-hog Takeru Kobayashi, who can down 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi "works out three times a day, eats 10 packs of Ramen every night and talks to his stomach."

I've been in crawfish eating contests, drinking contests (those pesky college years), and the like, but have never even considered stretching my stomach with ramen.

Anyone here been in an eating contest? Any pros among us?

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America's best hope at the moment is Ed (Cookie) Jarvis. . . .When I called him recently, he said he ''just happened'' to be cooking up a vat of 10 hot dogs to use for a ''10-dog sprint.'' He was going to eat them without the buns, however, because, as he said, ''I'm on the Atkins.''

I thought this was hysterical.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Never been in an eating competion except with my brother as a kid. Often had to compete with him to get the biggest and/or last piece of whatever dessert. :wink:

This topic elicits a litle social commentary, though. A friend recently told me that their idea for an eating competition at a family fundraiser was shot down because it would be politically incorrect. We're supposed to be setting good examples for the kids.

Then with people suing fast food places for making them fat and everything, where does that leave competitive eating in the world of sports?

Somewhere between boxing and knifethrowing? (I know I'll probably offend someone with the first one, and don't know for sure the second is really a sport - but you get the idea!)

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  • 8 months later...
America's best hope at the moment is Ed (Cookie) Jarvis. . . .When I called him recently, he said he ''just happened'' to be cooking up a vat of 10 hot dogs to use for a ''10-dog sprint.'' He was going to eat them without the buns, however, because, as he said, ''I'm on the Atkins.''

Apparently the Atkins diet is over for Cookie, because he just won Carnegie Deli's sixth annual pickle eating contest.

[Jarvis] scarfed down nearly 3 pounds of pickles. Jarvis, who stands 6-feet-6 and weighs about 400 pounds, inhaled eight pickles in 45 seconds at one point, attributing his win to a new method of eating.

Actually, apparently this is Cookie's second recent victory. A few days ago he also qualified for the big Nathan's National Championship Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, with a hot dog eating victory last Sunday in Boston.

Another up and coming American hope is East Village local Crazy Legs Conti.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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  • 1 month later...

The story

Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual ritual and the star in the newest idiosyncracy, competitive eating contests. And, believe it or not, this contest is only one of many which have their own array of "stars." There even was a headline about a championship eater who weighs a mere 100 pounds! Here is one of the the contenders:

Sonya Thomas  Alexandria, VA

5’5”, 100lbs, 36 Years, 26 ½ Hot Dogs (Philadelphia Qualifier)

o Female Nathan’s Famous hot dog record holder

o Hard boiled eggs are her favorite food

o She has eater 65 hard boiled eggs in under 7 minutes

o Cheesecake champion with 10 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes

The IFOCE:

Shea, 35, is one half of the brains behind - or to blame for - the IFOCE. He and his brother, George, 39, established the so-called governing body of all stomach-centric sports in 1997 and have since turned a pastime once reserved for fairs and frat parties into a national craze with a growing following.

Just how big has competitive eating gotten? On the Fourth of July, at the Super Bowl of Scarfing, the Augusta of Gorging, ESPN plans to go live - from New York's Coney Island, for a one-hour broadcast of the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

list of true champions and their "accomplishments" which I actually found rather interesting ... mostly in what they consumed, not so much as the "records" nor their "speed" of ingestion ...

Opinions on this so called "sport"? :rolleyes:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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