Amateurs versus the pros jalapeno eating contest

by Nicole Weston, Posted Oct 9th 2006 @ 10:01AM

"There's nothing like putting yourself through a lot of pain for no reason."

Truer words were never spoken - especially not if you're an amateur about to enter a Jalapeño-eating contest sponsored by the International Federation of Competitive eating, pitting yourself against professional gurgitators. The contest was held on Sunday at the State Fair of Texas and included 6 amateurs against pros Rich LeFevre, Sonya Thomas, Pat Bertoletti and Erik Denmark. Jalapeños are a particularly difficult food to eat because, although they are small, they can be quite painful. Some eaters reported a loss of feeling in their faces and a general dizziness, in addition to sickness, after the competition was over. The pros used some tricks that they picked up on the circuit, including drinking Pepto Bismol before the competition and using milk, rather than water, to dull the burn of the peppers' oils. Unsurprisingly, the well-prepared pros came out on top:

First place: Rich "The Locust" LeFevre, 247 jalapeños
Second: Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 239
Third: Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, 226

For comparison, the amateurs seemed to average around 50 or so.

Source

Filed Under: Food Oddities, Ingredients
Tags: america, bertoletti, contest, contests, eating contest, hot, jalapeno, lefavre, oddities, pepper, peppers, sonya thomas, vegetables