"record" news and stories

I haven't posted anything about competitive eating in a while, but, for a number of reasons, this is too good to pass up. A recent post to the International Federation of Competitive Eating website mentioned next weekend's World Posole Eating Championship at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, New Mexico. I'm a big posole fan, but I never knew it was something that was eaten competitively. If you've visited the IFOCE site in the past, you might be familiar with competitive eater Rich "The Locust" LeFevre. Rich will be competing next weekend, but it turns out that his wife Carlene (right) was the star of the competition two years ago, when she became the "world posole champ" by eating almost 110 ounces of of the spicy pork and hominy soup in 12 minutes. Her husband finished with about 10 ounces less than that. Carlene won't be competing this time around, but her husband Rich will, along with competitive eater Pat Bertoletti.

Pernod Ricard is launching a new champagne at a price that will make Cristal and Dom Perignon look like two-buck Chuck, as $400 per bottle price tags seem small when compared to this one. The wine and spirits group said that it would be launched under their Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque brand and it will be priced at $1,270 (€1,000) per bottle. This makes it the most expensive champagne in the world. Unfortunately, aside from the price tag, the company was fairly quiet about the other details of the release, though chairman Patrick Ricard did say "We won't do many cases and won't be offering it in France."

The group is actively pursuing ways to increase the perception of their brands as very upmarket, so perhaps this will be the first of many releases from the company. Regardless it will certainly set a benchmark in the champagne industry.

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For once, it's nice to see that we have a world record in something that doesn't involve a giant hamburger or someone eating their weight in brats. The British company Duerrs is celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of world's most expensive marmalade. The special edition preserve is a one-off product, made with Seville oranges, 62-year-old Dalmore whisky, vintage Pol Roger champagne and enough edible gold to give it a tantalizing gleam. It tastes "more tangy than usual and distinctly boozier." The 1 kg of the marmalade has been packed in a crystal jar, specially designed to hold the product and will be auctioned online to benefit the Manchester Kids charity. The estimated value of the product is at least $9,500.

And if you're going to eat marmalade - the most expensive or even an everyday brand, Duerr's has a bit of advice on hot to properly enjoy it: (1)it must be on white bread, not brown (2) and spread with butter, not margarine.

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We already heard about the world's largest pizza party, but this gallery has pictures of some of the biggest pizzas in the world. It's not complete, since we don't know what some of you are doing in your homes when the record keepers aren't there to measure your creations, but it definitely gives you a reference point the next time you walk into a pizzeria that serves unusually large slices.

The world's record for largest pizza belongs to a 122.6-ft. pizza that was made in Norwood, South Africa in 1990. This monster pie used almost 10,000-lbs. of flour, 3,968-lbs. of cheese, 1,984-lbs. of tomato puree and 200-lbs. salt. For perspective, 4 cups of flour is the equivalent of one pound, and that would make plenty of dough for a large pizza. That means that the record setting pizza could have fed a slice or two to at least 40,000 people.

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A 13-year-old girl in the U.K. beat several grown men in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest this week, setting a British record in the process. Emily Cotterill consumed 26 ears of corn in 20 minutes, watching while "male opponents began vomiting and dropping out." Her parents seemed proud of their daughter's achievement, and her father even remarked that he considered entering the contest, but did not think he would stand a chance against Emily.

Emily said that she felt a little ill after the competition, but it soon passed. She also noted that she probably wouldn't be eating corn again anytime soon, but did not make a comment indicating whether or not she was interested in pursuing a career as a competitive eater in the future.

At least she was eating something relatively healthy, and not brats or hot dogs.

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