eating challenges
(All Louisiana eating challenges and contests in database)
MLE crawfish contest April 10
The MLE facebook announces that a crawfish eating contest will take place at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans on April 10.
Daniel Strickland: Humble Bob wins LA Downs grits
update #2 Daniel Stricklands videos are on CNN’s ireport and appeared on CNN.
update The Shreveport Times has a contest report
Crawfish has the top 5
1) Humble Bob Shoudt 18.98 lbs.
2) Tim “Eater X” Janus 17.52
3) Joey Chestnut 15.88
4T) Pat Bertoletti
4T) Hall Hunt
Daniel Strickland reports that Bob Shoudt won the grits contest with a total of 18+ pounds.
Crawfish is at the contest site and will have results & pictures on his twitter.
twitter: Sonya Thomas reclaims Acme Oyster title
update NewOrleans.com has a gallery
3:49 Official top 3 from http://twitter.com/gcshea/status/1552869281
1. Sonya Thomas, 29 dozen in 8 minutes
2. Pat Bertoletti 26 dozen
3. Tim “Eater X” Janus 22 dozen
3:22 Ginger Gibson reports that Sonya has won with 29 dozen in 8 minutes.
3:14 The contest has started
3:00 The contest has yet to start, see http://twitter.com/annawhitlow
for pictures
update http://twitter.com/gingergibson is posting updates on the contest. The contest is just about to start as of 2:45 pm eastern
The Acme Oyster website has been revamped. The online Wall of Fame for the 15 dozen club (which had not been updated since 2005) has been dropped and Adam Richman is the only member currently mentioned on the new 15 dozen club page.
ScozzyBone on MTV last night

Last night’s episode of How’s Your News did not include footage of the main Acme Oyster eating contest won by Pat Bertoletti, but Scott “ScozzyBone” Zukowski, billed as the New Orleans oyster champ, did compete against one of the program’s reporters in a short oyster contest. A video clip of the segment can be viewed online.
Oyster contest on “How’s Your News?” Sunday
Knoxville.com has an article about How’s Your News?, an MTV program starring seven disabled reporters produced by South Park co-creator Matt Stone. Each episode documents a stop made during a cross-country trip. In New Orleans, the reporters visited a pirate convention, a prison rodeo and an oyster eating contest, which was probably the Acme Oyster competition since the other two events took place in April.
TV Guide reports the New Orleans episode will be televised at 10:30 pm on Sunday, March 1.
Man vs. Food January 28 (New Orleans) episode links
- Acme Oyster House Challenge (15 Dozen Club) restaurant: Home page (the website has an online wall of fame – click on Contest, then Leader Board – which has not been updated since 2005. Pat Bertoletti set the record in early 2007. A screen capture of the Wall of Fame is available after the jump
- 15+ Dozen Club in the eatfeats database
- #5 entry on the Travel Channel’s list of best places to pig out – video clip from that program
- Reviews: yelp | citysearch
- Mother’s Restaurant home page | yelp | citysearch
- Deanie’s Seafood home page | yelp | citysearch
update: commercial | gallery
Read the rest of this entry »
Eater X wins Louisiana Downs grits
Grits eating contest results from the Shreveport Times:
1. Tim Janus 13.9 lbs.
2. Pat Bertoletti
3. Joey Chestnut
4. Hall Hunt
5. Damon Serignet
September 13 IFOCE contest previews
The Shreveport Times has an article about the grits eating contest to be held at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, LA. Joey Chestnut, Pat Bertoletti and Tim Janus are listed as expected entrants. The article does not mention the possibility of the contest being cancelled due to hurricane Ike.
The Nashville Krystal qualifier entrants have been posted on the Krystal Square Off blog:
Juliet Lee
Eric Booker
Erik Denmark
Juris Shibayama
Nathan Biller
Pete Davekos
Bill Myers
Dave Goldstein
Andrew Wong
Steve Larson
Gulf coast contests in jeopardy due to Ike?
An anonymous comment claims that the kolache eating contest at the Houston Astros game Friday night and the grits eating contest in Louisiana on Saturday will be cancelled due to hurricane Ike. No official decision appears to have been announced, but the Houston Astros website does report that the Astros game on Friday will be played at 1:05 pm if it appears that Ike will threaten Houston.
Link Buffet: September 8, 2008
- Kobayashi interview in Thrillist (from Val Bromann)
- Sonya Thomas hopes to break 20 lbs. in the Louisiana grits eating contest
- Report on Ghirardelli Square ice cream eating contest
- NYC IFOCE Pizza prizes: 1st- $10,000 , 2nd – $2,500 3rd- $1,000 (from email)
- NYC Falafel eating contest video
- Astroland amusement park in Coney Island closes
- Paul Barlow’s website hits 50K visits (from email)
2008 IFOCE grits contest September 13
(From comment) IFOCE.com has been updated with information about the return of the Harrah’s Louisiana Downs World Grits Eating Championship to Bossier City, Louisiana on September 13. Like last year, the purse will be $10,000. Registration will open on Wednesday, August 13 at 1pm eastern.
After having no contest with a purse larger than $5,000 in the first half of 2008, five IFOCE contests in the the third quarter will award total prizes of at least $10,000 (Nathan’s, Krystal, OK BBQ, kolaches and grits)
Link Buffet: August 8, 2008
- Krystal qualifier registration opens at noon eastern (limit 3 qualifiers per person)
- Floria Lee an expected entrant at the Goya National Black Bean Eating Championship
- Video of interview with organizer of Saturday’s Baton Rouge, LA rib eating contest (purse $400). The ribeatingcontest.com URL mentioned in the interview does not work
- Arizona State women’s basketball team members compete in Battle of the Bone qualifier
- Blog entry about 3.5 lb Homewrecker hot dog challenge in West Virginia
- Signup info for the Taste of Hamburg-er eating contest on megamunch. Prize money will be based on the number of “professionals” competing.
- Malaysian article (in English) about the Singapore showdown
Link Buffet: June 16, 2008
- Article about James Howell and his performance in the New Orleans qualifier
- Jill Stoler has posted the pictures she took at the Three Brothers Pizza contest
- Video from Hartford qualifier
- Article about local Bartolini’s Meatballs qualifiers
- NY Post on Nathan’s shortening
- Kansas City hot dog contest Friday night at Tengo sed, $200 prize
- No MLE video game release this week
- Kobayashi finds Japanese hot dogs wanting
- Articles promoting Tomoko Mikaye’s book of PG rated photographs: Sanspo.com, NikkanSports
2008 NO – the Dr. is in (Coney Island)
New Orleans qualifier results from Dr. Bigtime comment & IFOCE.com report:
1. Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama – 28
2. Peter Parker – 17
3. Damon Serignet – 16
Dunno after that.
Link Buffet: June 6, 2008

- Short preview of New Orleans qualifier: Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama, Chris MacVicar and Steve Ulness are expected
- Final batch of bios for MLE game characters – also includes profile of bunnette and paramedic. Juliet Lee’s nickname is listed as “The Lovely”
- End of school year White Castle eating contest for Kentucky teachers. Joey Chestnut is listed as the White Castle record holder
- Pancake contest for Cincinnati area high school students – contest video
- Eating contest from Hey Arnold cartoon (Kobayashi has called Hey Arnold his favorite American TV show
- Tomoko Miyake videos on yahoo: at the department store buffet promo, wearing bikinis with friends, eating big burgers with friends
Bayou Blue resident trains for New Orleans qualifier
HoumaToday.com has an article about James Howell preparing for the June 7 Nathan’s qualifier in New Orleans by eating hot dogs at Big Eddie’s Café. The article has the following information about the field for that contest:
The Metairie competition pits Howell against eight other Louisiana residents as well as sport eaters from Alabama, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee and New York, Reed said. The contest includes first-time sport eaters like Howell as well as experienced competitive eaters like Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama of Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Link Buffet: May 26, 2008
- Article and gallery of crawfish eating contest at the Mudbug Festival in Shreveport, LA
- Report about Niko Niko’s gyro eating contest in Houston
- Pat Bertoletti’s May 16 appearance on the Steve Dahl show is praised
- Man with Mohawk wins shoo fly pie eating contest held on Amish Night at Wilmington, DE minor league game
- http://swallowyourpridemovie.com/ appears defunct
- Geeling Ng, who co-starred in David Bowie’s “China Girl” video, competes in oyster eating contest in New Zealand