The famed Monte Cristo eating contest

The prepartion was arduous. The event was even more so. As with most things I am a legend in my own mind. I was running pretty high after winning the event last year (I ate 2 3/4 sandwiches in five minutes). For those of you who don't know, there is an annual St. Patrick's Day Monte Cristo eating contest at the Bennigan's in Plymouth, Michigan. I was determined to win it this year. I am not quite sure why I care but I suppose it is something to do. There is a prize of $250 that goes to the winner, and in my best Viper from Top Gun voice, "There are no points for second place." I drank 128oz of water on Friday in preparation. Prior to the start I wasn't feeling that good but I was rather hungry. I thought that I would best my record from last year but as fate would have it that was not the case.


Last year there were four people (including myself) in the contest. This year there were ten (again, including myself). Between the increased competition and the fact I wasn't feeling that great I was not very confident. This year they started each contestant out with eight pieces (each 1/4 of a sandwich) on their plate. After the contest I found out that they based that on how many I ate last year. A little over three mintues into the contest I was getting refills. Some of the pieces had just come out of the fryer and were very, very hot (my mouth still feels burned). I suppose I did slack a bit during the contest as I actually stopped at one point and kept raising my hands to get the crowd cheering. As it turns out all of my worry was for naught. I ended up eating nine pieces in five minutes with the next closest coming in at eight (the same as the closest last year). I retained my title and will be back next year to defend it.