Competitive eating contests are strangely enthralling, and many people see them as the 21st century’s ultimate circus side act: no matter how nasty you find it watching elite competitors pig out like animals, for some reason you just can’t look away. From hot dogs and enormous ‘slugburgers’ to oysters and quarter-pound sticks of salted butter, we’ve tracked down 13 (morbidly) fascinating eating contests worth marvelling at.
World Oyster Eating Championship – At the New Orleans Oyster Festival, nearly 400 people gather every June to slurp down as many mollusks as they can in only 8 minutes. The winner takes home USD 1,000 from Major League Eating (MLE), not to mention the title of the world’s fastest oyster eater.
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The World Slugburger Eating Championship – Not a burger made of slugs (thank goodness), a typical slugburger consists of deep-fried beef, onions, pickles and mustard. Every July, the small town of Corinth, Mississippi hosts the World Slugburger Eating Championship. Number 1 competitive eater in the world Joey Chestnut is the current champ (2016) after devouring 41 slugburgers in 10 minutes. [Photo: Southern Foodways Alliance/Flickr]
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La Costeña “Feel the Heat” Jalapeño Eating Challenge – There are many spicy food competitions around the world, but none of them comes close to the prestige of this one. Held in San Antonio, Texas, the 2011 competition produced an incredible world record when champion Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti ate an unbelievable 275 jalapeños in just 8 minutes.
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The National Fried Mushroom Eating Championship – The annual Fried Mushroom Eating Championship takes place every September in Pennsylvania, where professional competitive eaters and aspiring amateurs compete in an event that tests their gastronomical boundaries. Can the epic world record of 11.5 pounds (5.2 kg) of delicious fried mushrooms devoured in 8 minutes be broken this year? We can’t wait to find out. [Photo: Chris Herring]
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The PB&B Sandwich Eating World Championship – The Isle Biloxi PB&B Sandwich Eating World Championship has been held on Elvis Presley’s birthday (8 January) for the past few years to honour a favourite meal of the King’s: the peanut butter and banana sandwich. In case some of you feel confident that you can consume 30 of these in less than 10 minutes, then test your luck at this unique event. [Photo: Paige Filloon/Flickr]
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The Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship – This year marks the 11th instalment of this Los Angeles-based championship that has slowly become one of the biggest attractions for top competitive eaters. On 26 August, Matt Stonie – who ate 323 of these Japanese delicacies in 10 minutes last year to claim victory – will try to defend his title against Joey Chestnut, who looks to be unstoppable lately.
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Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest – Undoubtedly the most popular and prestigious eating competition in America, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is held each year on Independence Day (4 July) in Brooklyn. The contest gained global recognition earlier this century when legendary competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut won multiple times each.
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The U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship – About to enter its 16th year, this festival celebrating the Buffalo chicken wing is recognised as one of the most exciting and decorated in the United States. Over the last 15 years, the festival has drawn nearly one million people and served over 4.6 million wings. Taking place in early September, the event supports local charities, donating more than USD 325,000 since it began. [Photo: David Marino]
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Mayonnaise Eating Competition – Your average person will most likely eat a spoonful or two of mayonnaise in a sandwich in most cases. However, that’s not the case in this contest. Part of the Glutton Bowl, a 2-hour competitive eating special broadcast by Fox, the mayonnaise eating competition challenges its competitors to guzzle as much mayonnaise as they can. The winner usually has to consume 4 vast bowls – or about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) – of mayo. [Photo: Stacy Spensley/Flickr]
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The Baked Bear World Ice-Cream Sandwich Eating Championship – Ice cream is arguably the most enjoyable treat on the planet, but consuming large amounts of it in just a few minutes can cause extreme pain to your head, stomach and throat. This, however, didn’t stop Joey Chestnut from devouring 26 of the frigid, sticky treats in less than 8 minutes to set his 44th world record in competitive eating. The competition took place in June 2017 at Petco Park in San Diego, California.
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World Crawfish Eating Championship – Held annually in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the World Crawfish Eating Championship has produced one of the wildest world records in eating competition history. In one of his victories, Chris Hendrix, the holder of the record for this event, consumed a whopping 331 of these crustaceans in just 12 minutes. We don’t think this record will be broken anytime soon.
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International Kimchi Eating Championship Chowdown – Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made from salted, fermented vegetables – and if you’ve ever smelled it, then you know it takes a special person to be able to handle its pungent odour at length, let alone consume mad portions of it. However, the top competitors in this championship held in Chicago’s Koreatown devour around 8 or 9 pounds (3.5-4 kg) of it in 6 minutes in order to become champions.
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Butter Eating Competition – If you thought eating 4 bowls of mayo was bad, then you might not want to hear about the butter eating competition. Or maybe you do. Sounding more like torture than an eating contest, this competition is part of the Glutton Bowl as well, with record holder Don Lerman putting away 10 quarter-pound sticks (approximately 1.13 kg) of salted butter in about 5 minutes.
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