In his most recent blog entry, Kobayashi says he will be in Los Angeles starting on February 9th, but he does not plan to compete in the chili cheese fries contest. He might film another commercial.

PermalinkComments (7)

There will be a haggis eating contest at San Francisco University on Thursday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. An attempt will be made to set the record for the largest number of people eating haggis simultaneously. The contest was instituted to honor both SFU’s Scottish traditions and the university’s large Asian population.

PermalinkComments (1)

The official Los Angeles Dodger blog says that tickets in the all you can eat section will be $20 if purchased in groups of 30 or more (as compared to $35 or $40), so groups of eaters might want to take advantage of that rate:

The truth is, the majority of seats that are purchased in the RFP during the season go to large groups like Little Leagues, AYSO soccer, company outings, etc. For any group over 30, the cost of the AYCE seats are only $20 and I think we can all pretty much agree that at that price, the fan is getting a great deal that can’t be found almost anywhere else in the entertainment world (i.e. the movies, a hockey game, etc.)

PermalinkComments

The LA Times analyzes whether the new tickets to Los Angeles Dodger games which included all you can eat food are a good deal for the average eater.

PermalinkComments

(Thanks Brian Subich) MSNBC.com reports that a woman died after competing in a contest in Sacramento where the objective was to avoid going to the bathroom while drinking a 8 ounce bottle of water every 15 minutes. The winner would receive a Nintendo Wii.

PermalinkComments (11)

The second Queen Mary World Chili Cheese Fries Eating Championship will be held in Long Beach on February 17. The purse is $10,000. Last year’s chili cheese fries contest was the last time Sonya Thomas defeated Joey Chestnut in an event she won. There contest will be held in conjunction with the Scottish Festival and an amateur haggis contest will be held.

PermalinkComments

(from Deadspin) If an LA Dodger fan wants to attempt a hot dog eating challenge with stadium hot dogs, he or she can now do so without paying extra for each additional dog. The LA Times reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers will offer tickets in the right field pavilion that include all you can eat hot dogs and non alcoholic beverages. The tickets will cost $35 before the game and $40 on game day.

See also: Baseball Think Factory

PermalinkComments (1)

realfootball365.com reports that the USC football team defeated the University of Michigan’s team in the Beef Bowl prime rib contest, 630 pounds to 612 pounds. The contest is held at Lawry’s in Beverly Hills and teams dine in separate sessions. Freep.com has a report on Michigan’s trip to Lawry’s. Teams that win the Beef Bowl win the Rose Bowl 70% of the time, which held up when USC won the Rose Bowl yesterday.

PermalinkComments

Bear Silber has posted a video of the construction & consumption of the 5 pound Belly Buster Pizza at Pizza & Pipes in Santa Clara to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbmt9ZdSqSU and has listed it as a video response to the Gal Sone 40000 calories video

PermalinkComments

In a comment to a supersizedmeals.com post about Bear Silber finishing a 20 inch 5+ lb. pound pizza in 37 minutes at Pizza and Pipes in Santa Clara, Bear Silber mentions that Joey Chestnut completed the challenge on Wednesday in 15 minutes.

PermalinkComments (3)

The Wave Magazine of Silicon Valley has an interview with Joey Chestnut. Joey declares himself the greatest American eater and is quoted as describing pre-Kobayashi competitive eating “pretty much a joke.” Eaters who debuted before 2001 would probably disagree with that statement.

PermalinkComments (7)

The LA Times has a profile of Joey Chestnut with coverage of last month’s gyoza contest.

PermalinkComments

The Rafu Shimpo, a publication for Los Angeles Japanese Americans, has an article about last Saturday’s gyoza contest which contains an interview with Sonya Thomas. Sonya claims that her stomach capacity is now up to 18-20 pounds and that she never gets full. There is a funny picture of Queen of Nisei Week loooking at Sonya in disbelief. Joey Chestnut says he will do the rib contest in Reno on Wednesday.

PermalinkComments

There is an article about Joey Chestnut in his college paper, the San Jose State Spartan Daily.

PermalinkComments

(from ahamburgertoday.com) At The Counter in Palo Alto, CA, there are 54 possible toppings for a burger. imeem.com has an account of an attempt to eat a burger with every available topping in under 30 minutes. The extra ingredients brought the weight of the sandwich from one pound to about 5 pounds.

PermalinkComments (2)

from IFOCE.com

Indiana State Fair Toyota Trucks Chowdown Championship
Indiana food products: pork sandwiches, beef ribeye, turkey legs, and grilled cheese sandwiches

1. “Humble” Bob Shoudt
2. Jim “the Hammer” Hamrick
3. Kevin Carr

updated 8/20 8:13 am – indystar.com has an article about the contest

updated 8/20 10:59 pm – wishtv.com has an article

from dukerustfield’s myspace blog
GoldenPalace.net World Gyoza Eating Championship Los Angeles, CA
1. Joey Chestnut 212 gyozas
2. Sonya Thomas 210
3. Rich LeFevre 162
4. Hall Hunt 107
5. Erik “the Red” Denmark ?

results updated 8/20 4:25 pm from ifoce.com

from that blog:

They held the world gyoza eating championship. Steamed dumplings. The winner got $2500. I guess there’s this whole league of professional eaters. They all knew each other and fly around…eating. The people who came in 2nd and 3rd ate 10 percent of their body weight in 10 minutes!!! f***ing incredible. The winner was a bit larger though. You might think that chick wouldn’t do so well, but she came in 2nd. They had all these strategies like covering their mouth so air wouldn’t get in and dipping them in water to help them slide down, and they’d hop around a bit to settle it and get out any burps. Some amatuers competed along with the pros, I mean some fat ass dudes. They amatuers ate like 40 or so (I’ve eaten maybe 24 and I’m stuffed). The record they set was 162 if I remember correctly.

Updated 8:20 pm mikeyhateseverything went to the contest and has a blog entry about it

PermalinkComments (11)

losanjealous has a blog entry about the Los Angeles Tofu Festival, which claims that “the word on the street” is that Jooshin Kim, the executive chef of Koi Restaurant, won the tofu eating contest and a trip to Asia by eating a 14 ounce block of tofu in 25 seconds.

PermalinkComments (1)

The London Telegraph has a long profile of Sonya Thomas that includes an account of her appearance at the Asparagus Festival in April. The article implies Sonya won that contest and does not mention that Joey Chestnut was victorious in overtime.

PermalinkComments

The Los Angeles Times reports that Joey Chestnut will do a gyoza (Japanese dumpling) eating contest in Los Angeles Saturday. The contest is part of the 9 day Japanese festival. The tofu eating contest was also part of that festival.

PermalinkComments

From Mike Wooldridge – The Oakland A’s are having a hot dog eating contest on August 16. The registration deadline is August 7th (Monday)

PermalinkComments

A hands-free tofu eating contest will be held at the Tofu Festival in downtown Los Angeles on August 12. The winner will receive an 11 night tour of Asia.

PermalinkComments (1)

The Guinness Book of World Records called Eddie “Bozo” Miller (born June 11, 1909) of Oakland, California the “world’s greatest trencherman” before the eating records section of that publication was excised in 1990. The 1981 edition of Guinness claims that Miller had been undefeated in eating contests since 1931, resulting in a fifty year winning streak. Despite a diet consisting of up to 25,000 calories a day (which was reflected in his former 5′ 7.5″ 280-300 pound physique), Miller turned 97 in June 2005. Miller has retired from competitive eating and currently weighs considerably less than he did during his gurgitating heyday.

Miller believes he received his nickname when his father, who travelled the country with Bozo’s mother in a vaudeville show, was performing as a clown. He married a former Princess of the Pasadena Rose Bowl. Miller worked as a restauranteur and then as a liquor distributor. Miller’s drinking ability was almost as impressive as his gastronomic feats. He once literally drank a lion under the table. Miller is an avid horse racing fan and witnessed many of the major races of the legendary horse Seabiscuit.

Eddie “Bozo” Miller’s eating records:

• 27 2 pound chickens Trader Vic’s, San Francisco, 1963
• 324 ravioli (first 250 in 70 minutes) Rendezvous Room, Oakland, 1963
• 63 Dutch apple pies in an hour, 1961

It is surprising that many of the country’s greatest eaters have hailed from Northern California (the LeFevres are originally from that area.) It would be interesting if Bozo Miller and Joey Chestnut could get together and possibly do a joint interview.

PermalinkComments (2)

LA Weekly’s calendar lists a hot dog eating contest in Chinatown on July 2 with a first place prize of $500.

PermalinkComments (1)

OC Weekly has an article about Anaheim resident Merwin Barrientos’ completion of a 26(patties)x26(cheese slices) sandwich from In N Out Burger. He had to finish his meal at an outside table because the restaurant closed before he could complete it. Like Kate Stelnick, Barrientos does not intend to use his successful consumption of a megaburger as a springboard for a competitive eating career.

PermalinkComments (2)

The San Jose Mercury has an article about Joey Chestnut’s record breaking performance at the goldenpalace.net grilled cheese contest Saturday which ends with a message to Takeru Kobayashi:

“I hope he knows I’m working hard, and if I do beat him, he’ll know I was coming to get him.”

(Does anyone know what the prize money for the grilled cheese contest was? Joey won $2,500, but I have been unable to find what the other prize amounts were.)

PermalinkComments (5)