SEPT/OCT 2005

  In the News

10/30/05- Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Michael Myers, the Addams Family, and Coondog O'Karma, were some of the monsters that danced, dined, and drank the Halloween night away at a spectacular monster mash, called "Fright Night" at Park Lake Pavilion in Coshocton, Ohio.
The event, sponsored by Ray Hardesty's Blue Sky Productions, was another successful fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
AICE is proud to be a part of the community fellowship and generosity of the people Coshocton in making these entertaining events a success.

10/29/05- Congratulations to AICE for reaching its 25,000th hit.
Thanks to all the eaters and sponsors that have contributed to make AICE the fastest growing competive eating organization in the country.

10/29/05-Tonight is Fright Night in Coshocton, Ohio. Rumor has it that this will be a howling good time. Celebrity judge Coondog O'Karma will be on hand to judge the chili cook-off contest; asked if he will be in scary costume, Coondog replied: "I'm going as me, won't that be scary enough?"

10/27/05- AICE and Zan's Kosher Deli are proud to announce The First Annual National Potato Latke Eating Championship on Dec 11th, 2005. Zan's is also planning other activities to celebrate the Hanukkah season. The Eating Contest will be 8 minutes long with the winners receiving $200, $100 and $50 dollar prizes respectively. These delicious Potato Latkes weigh in at 1/4 lb a piece.This is an AICE sanctioned event which means ALL ARE WELCOME! On-Line Registration form

10/26/05- Congratulations to Skinny Scott Soifer on the recent birth of his son Kyle William Soifer who weighed in at 9lbs. 7oz. Scott has reported that Kyle is already showing that he has the appetite of a champion.

10/19/05- Coondog Rushed to Dentist- "My wife notished my fashe was schwollen and I didn't have my normal enormoush appetitie at bweakfash." were the slobbery mumblings of champion eater, Coondog O'Karma, after returning from an emergency root canal procedure for an abscessed molar.
"I havsh to take it easy for a few daysh, but Doc saysh I should be good as new and weady for competition in a few weeks."
Here's wishing a speedy recovery to one of competitive eating's more colorful characters!

10/18/05- See what Sour Patch kids are modeled after, head to Hardee's for their Monster Burger and pucker up for a pickle-eating contest (this is the last Carnegie Deli competition).  Unwrapped Episode CW1202 on the Food Network. Air date and time: 10/21/05 at 7:30pm.

10/15/05-Schnack Dogs 1st Annual Fall Hamburger Eating Contest was held at its new location Brooklyn Lyceum. In

addition to a top notch eating competition, eaters and fans were treated to a viewing of Hamburger America (HA).  HA is a documentary featuring the American Icon known as the hamburger. Documentarian George Motz also served as honorary MC for the contest.  There was a qualifying round for eaters to advance to the final 8 minute competition.  The qualifying round was a speed eating contest where eaters had to gobble down two 3.5 ounce Schnackies. ChowHound Chapman amazed the crowd as he gobbled down two burgers in a mere 18 seconds, and seemed to be the odds on favorite.  Gentleman Joe, the 2nd fastest qualifier completed his two burgers in 35 seconds.  Eaters were allowed to dunk but were prohibited from deconstructing the delicious Schnackie burger.   

The finals featured GJoe, ChowHound, NJ Cherry-pie Eating Champion Carl "Galacticus" Kramer and Chris "The American" Schlesinger. In a scene reminiscent of GJoe's many victories, he got out to an early one hamburger lead, increased his lead to three hamburgers by the second plate and comfortably finished with a comfortable 21 burgers. Second place went to ChowHound with a total of 18 burgers (he received a one burger penalty for chipmunking and mismanagement of debris).  Third place was "Galacticus" with 13, followed by "The American" with 12.5 hamburgers. Congratulations to Roger (please call us with your last name) who in his first ever eating contest finished with a respectable 12 hamburgers.

On a final note, Schnack Dog, the Brooklyn Lyceum and AICE are in discussion regarding a possible NYC Polish Sausage Eating Contest to be conducted at Schnack Dogs second location within the Brooklyn Lyceum. Stay tuned...

10/10/05 - Schnack Restaurant (122 Union, Brooklyn) is proud to announce our 1st Fall Hamburger Eating Contest on October 14th. The contest is sponsored by Schnack and the Brooklyn Lyceum. Master of Ceremonies will be independent Film Maker and Hamburger documentary, George Motz. Additional sponsors include: NY Water Taxi and Water Taxi Beach, Jever Pilsner Beer.
 
The winner will be the person who eats the most Schnackies (burgers) in 8 minutes.  Schnackies are 1.5 oz burgers (total with bread 3.5), rated by George Motz as one of the top 4 burgers in America. The contest will be @ 8pm. The screening of Motz's movie, Hamburger America (a documentary about some of the best burgers in America, and the people behind them) will follow.

The winner will receive prices from Schnack $100 Gift Cert, Four free tickets to a musical or stage event, New York Water Taxi / Water Taxi Beach

t-shirt and a free 2 hour party for 6 people during the 2006 season, Jever Pilsner GIFT (TBA).

10/10/05-Menchetti meets his match- Congratulations to Carlos "The Real Big Man" Tapia gets his revenge on "Gentleman" Joe Menchetti by squeaking out a victory by just over 1 oz. 34.5 to 33.3 oz's in a 3 minute contest held at Wings Over Springfield, Ma. Gjoe recently battled the Big Man in a similar wing eating contest and have beaten him. "The Real Big Man" thanked Gjoe for the technique he used to beat him. Apparently, all those Frank's Red Hot Clinics were worthwhile.

10/6/05- Congratulations to Pete "Broken Wing" Maurizzio on his deep-dish pizza eating victory in Cranberry, PA. Pete consumed an entire Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizzaria Uno's pizza in 4:47.  Chris Hake of the Pittsburgh Steeler was on hand signing autographs and also competed in the competition. The Pittsburgh Steeler lineman was no match for Pete. When realizing Big Pete had the victory at hand, Hake stopped eating and cheered on Pete to his easy victory. The manager of Pizzaria Uno's said he never seen anything like this before.

10/6/05- "Gentleman" Joe Menchetti wins 3 minor contests in one day! The 1st was a seated, no hands Apple Pie eatting contest. The 2nd was an Apple Fritter eating contest. Both were at the Southington Apple Festival. The 3rd was the Rossol Hot Dog Eating contest at the Berlin Fair.

9/27/05- Congratulations to Gentleman Joe Menchetti for winning the Baltimore Pasta Eating Championship held in Baltimore's famous little Italy. Big Joe destroyed the previous record held by Tony "Hustle" Harrison by eating approximately 3lbs of pasta and sauce in 1:21 seconds. The old standard was 1:53 seconds. Joe wins over $1,000 gift package. Apparently, GJoe also scored high in the "good manners" contest which also offered a $1,000 gift package and only finished 5 votes behind the winner of that contest (amount eaten was not a factor). GJoe may have won that contest as well if he did not compete in his Nike running shoes which he wore for a five mile road race several hours prior to the eating contest. Menchetti commented: "I left my $300 dress shoes at home and was forced to wear my bright orange running shoes. Nike Running shoes and a Tuxedo don't work well as a combination...I think that impacted on the judges final decision regarding the "Good Manners Contest."

8/24/05- Congratulations to Ian "The Invader" Hickman for snatching the World Chicken Wing Eating title at the 16 th Annual World Chicken Festival.   For the last 9 years the same local eater has won this competition. Shiloh's, a local steak restaurant, provided each of the 25 contestants with buckets weighing in at 3 1/2 pounds apiece.  Eaters had 10 minutes to dig through the bucket to devour as much as possible in the allotted time.  Once the competition was over, each bucket was weighed to determine the amount eaten/left in the bucket. 

Prize structure was 1st place-$100, $25 gift certificate to Shiloh's, 2nd $50 and t-shirt, 3rd $25 and t-shirt.  Hickman ate his way to a victory leaving less than 1/2 pound in the bucket with the next person in line having a little over a half pound more to eat.  The Invader cleaned the meat at about the 6:30/7 minute mark with the remaining time spent trying to drink the grease (he was not taking any chances after SpiceFest) and eat leftover gristle from the bones!!

8/24/05- Texas Salsa Festival Page 3 photos of Eat-off. (we apologize for the delay)

9/24/05-The Dog and the Patriot are Conquered by the Mighty Bethpage Burrito- When you visit Piñata's Mexican Grill on Hicksville Road in Bethpage you will undoubtedly encounter some of the area's finest Mexican food. You will find the setting very comfortable and the Staff and owner Chris Kletsidis will work hard to make your dining experience enjoyable. However, if you decide to take their M onster Burrito challenge you may have entered a completely different zone.   Such was the case for the Dog and the Patriot (Arnie "Chowhound" Chapman and Chris "The American" Schlesinger) who had predicted that they would easily finish the challenge in 30 minutes.

According to Chapman "it's just a matter of how much time also added Chapman. Unfortunately, both Eaters ended their quest unceremoniously (or ceremoniously depending on your perspective). Chris "The American" Schlesinger took a more conservative approach then the rabid Chapman, by pacing himself throughout the challenge.   "The American" had completed his first Burrito at10:54 minute mark, and entered his second Burrito utilizing a steady and consistent approach.   "Chowhound" sailed through his first 3lb Burrito in 5:21 seconds loudly proclaiming: "One down, baby!" Chapman maintained a good pace and got through the first pound of the next Monster Burrito with the clocking ticking at 9:00 minutes.   At this point "Chowhound" began to feel the legendary power of the Monster Burrito and took a two-minute break, standing in place and hoping to make room for the remaining amount.    After returning to the sitting position, Chapman doggedly attempted to eat the next pound of Burrito and was only able to nibble his way through the next pound clocking in at the 5lb mark at approximately 15:00 minutes.   At this juncture the Monster Burrito had left the Veteran Challenger, Chapman wide-eyed and Broken Bellied.   After taking a three-minute break standing in place, the Chowhound returned to the sitting position and experienced unhappy returns.if you know what I mean.  

9/18/05-"I've been in this sport for 25 years and never in my life seen such total dumpling devastion." were the words of celebrity MC

, competitive eating great. Coondog O'Karma, at the conclusion of the 1st Annual Potato Dumpling contest at Geauga Lake Park's 25th Annual Octoberfest celebration.

"A blitzkrieg of ravenous appetite! These guys took no prisoners!" were the words of wily veteran eater and co-host, Eddie "The Geek" Vidmar at the conclusion of the potato carnage.

The contest was an "All Amateur' event sanctioned by AICE's Geekdog Productions morphed into a full fleged Oktoberfest event when 4 brats were added to the plate of dumplings in an effort to raise the bar for this group of surprisingly strong eaters. 1st place went to Joe "The Potato Pro"Nathan /(pictured left)/ of Akron, Ohio, who ate who ate his 4 1/4 bratwurst and 6-quarter pound potato dumplings to edge out the aptly named James "The Hillbilly" Duncan of Coventry, Ohio, by a bite and a swallow. Third place went to Jerry "Gorilla" Schreiner /(pictured right)/ of Toledo, Ohio.
The dumplings were provided by Mozart's Restaurant in Canton, Ohio, and generous cash prizes were awarded to the top 8 contestants by Warsteiner Beer Company.    Congrats--- and welcome to the club guys!

9/18/05-Berea, KY held the 9th annual Spoonbread Festival this weekend. Tourists and locals alike came in droves to get a taste of the bread you traditionally eat with a spoon and took part in all the festivities. However, one Lexington man broke all tradition by eating with his hands. Professional eater Ian "the Invader" Hickman took part in the festival's competitive eating competition chewing-up all the contestants. Ian was the only competitor to complete his 10-inch pan in the contest's 5 minute limit in a mere 3 minutes, 15 seconds. The three inch deep spoonbread didn't have too much time to cool but that didn't slow "the Invader" from taking first place. He beat out the past few years winner, Margaret Rappart, who has been eating spoonbread since the 60's. Only 22 years old, this rookie phenom is currently ranked 12th in the nation by the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters. Don't be surprised if this young man breaks into the top 5 by 2006.

9/12/05- World’s largest burger- Clinton Station Diner will introduce the world’s Largest burger tonight. This burger was named MT. Olympus by 238 of the Clinton Station Diner customers and it will make the “belly buster” the world's current record holder look like a baby!!!!!!! The introduction of this Mega burger will be at 7:00 pm at Clinton Station Diner.

9/11/05-Mark Lyle "the human vacuum" would like to personally thank the kind folks at the Millersport Sweet Corn Festival for their hospitality and for their organization of such a great Festival. Thousands were on hand to enjoy the great atmosphere at this small town located just east of Columbus, OH.

Thanks to their efforts a crowd of over 200 individuals got a quick look at the world of competitive eating.This was an all ages event with all previous qualifiers (men, women and children) slated to eat in one final. The adults wholeheartedly agreed to allow the kids to compete for the big trophy. After the children were done the adults took the stage and stared down at their 5 juicy and prebuttered  ears of corn. The rules were simple: The first eater to COMPLETELY clean cobs of ALL corn kernels and shrapnel wins. Mark was pressed by first time competitors Doug Craiglow and another individual who's info was discarded by his housekeeper.(If you are that person please contact AICE) The contest was heated with Doug Craiglow jumping out to an early lead but the Vacuum battled back displaying his gritty toughness and  unrelenting desire to win to complete his ears in 1:32. Doug and his fore mentioned counterpart were close behind. It was a great contest between two up and comers and a competitive eating regular, we hope to see those two at a sanctioned table soon.

Mark thanks the kind and generous people at The Gahanna Grill for their time and efforts put forth during his recent eating display. 30+ people watched slack jawed as the Vacuum ate 3, two pound "DOUBLE BEANIE" burgers in 22 minutes. He is the only person to accomplish this feat. Couple this with the fact that Mark had eaten a substantial meal 2 hours prior to his impromptu attempt makes this an even greater accomplishment.

In most burger challenges the burgers are less than desirable but Lyle tips his hat to the cooks who prepared these burgers because they were delicious and cooked to perfection. Mark got a free t-shirt and his picture on the Beanie Burger Wall of Fame (they had to make a new spot for a triple double feat). Thanks again to the fine people at The Gahanna Grill.

9/11/05- Great Irish Fair Photos-page 1

9/10/05- Angel "Troglodyte" Chiriboga wins decisively at the 2nd Annual Peggy O'Neill's Brooklyn Corned Beef Sandwich Eating Contest sponsored by J. Freirich Company.   Angel danced his way through the 6 minute contest and while eating 4 7/8 1/2 pound corned beef sandwiches. The spectators were amused by Trogdolite's approach and style to eating.   In 2nd place was  Chris "The American" Schlesinger who made a valiant effort and completed four corned beef and rye sandwiches. Tied for 3rd was Brooklyn native Jack Sullivan and Tom Farrell of Bensonhurst. Fourth place went to Joel "The Cannon" Podelsky followed by Roger Morrissey of Ireland, Jonathan Punzone, John Nugent, William "Silly Billy" Lilly, John Williams and Franklin"Opey" Stanley.

Jim Venturni from Freirich Foods was on hand along with James Quigley, Owner Peggy O'Neill's to present cash prizes to the top finishers. Special thanks to Freirich Foods for supplying the delicious corned beef and to Peggy O'Neill's staff for all their help and hard work.

9/10/05-The Invader breaks Red Lobster store record for shrimp eating. The store record was 260, Hickman's old record was 220 with the potato and salad, but that changed when he ate 335 with potato and salad in 1 hour and 10 minutes.  While waiting for his additional plates, he started eating his buddies orders!! 

9/9/05- Congratulations to Mark Lyle "The Human Vacuum" for his corn eating victory at the Miller's Port Ohio Sweet Corn Eating competition. This was a speed eating cob contest requiring eaters to eat 5 ears.  Lyle was the first eater to complete the allotted 5 pieces of corn in 1:32. Kudos to 25 year old Doug Craiglow from Lancaster, OH who placed second at a 1:42. Don't be surprised to see this rising star in future events.

9/9/05- Join Coondog O'Karma and Eddie "The Geek" Vidmar for Bratwurst, Brands, and Brew Ha-ha's, September 17th and 18th as he hosts the 25th annual Geauga Lake Park Oktoberfest's "AMATEUR Dumpling Eating Contest."  A total of 24 contestants will be selected to compete in four three-minute qualifying rounds on Saturday, September 17th at 2PM. The top two qualifiers from each heat will advance to the six-minute finals on Sunday, September 18th at 3PM. You'll enjoy authentic German dumplings provided by Canton's award winning Mozart's Restaurant. Winners will be determined by the number of dumplings consumed.

9/9/05-As fall approaches ghosts and ghouls are stirring as are the members of Blue Sky Productions and the Coshocton County Make-A-Wish® affiliate. On Saturday, October 29, 2005 an event like no other will take place at the Lake Park Pavilion in Coshocton, Ohio.

“Fright Night” will be the culmination of many hardworking volunteers who give their time freely to help our affiliate in the power of a wish! The evening will consist of ghoulish entertainment, themed basket raffles, a LCD TV raffle, lots of food, fun and laughter. To top off the evening, the third annual Blue Sky Chili Cook-Off   will showcase 22 of the hottest chili cooks in the area with awards for the people’s choice, celebrity judged (none other than AICE' Coongodg O'Karma) winners , and best presentation. All in the hopes of granting a special wish to a child of Coshocton County with a life threatening illness. The guests will be masked, but the objection is clear!!!

To date the Coshocton County affiliate has raised nearly $25,000 and granted more than four wishes. The members along with their army of “wishmakers” have a special place in their hearts for these wonderful children and give freely of themselves to reach their goal…making a wish come true

9/7/05- Photos from World Jalapeno Speed-Eating championship- Westward Ho,  Eaters

9/7/05-Tempting salsas trump rainstorm. Written by Michael D. Hernandez~ El Paso Times

9/6/05-Tough Road for AICE Eaters at World Jalapeno Speed Eat Eating Championship.

Warning to all Pro Eaters: If you think you are going to make a trip to the boarder towns of Mexico and the United States and have a cake walk to victory in a Chile Pepper Eating Contest you will learn a very hard lesson; Such was the case for Chris the American Schlesinger and Gentleman Joe Menchetti. Both Food warriors enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness they encountered during the boarder crossing journey’s into New Mexico, Juarez Mexico and El Paso Texas. Mexican Americans, long known for their toughness did not make it Easy for these North Easterners who had to go two Eat-Offs to determine the top three winners.

Contestants were required to eat fresh Jalapeno’s (do not confuse these with pickled Jalapeno’s). Gentleman Joe known for his stoic, non-flinching style of eating looked as though his eyes were going to pop out of his head and into his champagne glass. There were two Eat-offs that were conducted in order to determine a winner. Congrats to Gentleman Joe, Chris 'the American' Schlesinger, Jesus "the Pepper Ranger Rangel, Cruz Olvera, Sam Guerrero for making it into the 1st round eat-off by downing 17 fresh jalapenos in 5 minutes. Lovely Luz West and  Lauro ate 11 jalapenos each- muy bien! Kudos to Arturo "Munch Monster" Martinez, Brandy Martinez, Lazaruz, Juan "Rough Rider' Rivera, Nichole "Never Stop" Sanchez and Christopher Pacheco on trying their hand at this 'hot, hot, hot' contest. All of these contestants braved the torrential down pour, street flooding and lightening storm waiting for the contest to begin, proving once again their stamina and bravery

After receiving his trophy and $400 first place G-Joe proclaimed; “This was my first and will be my last fresh Jalapeno Eating Contest, ever!

Also, of note Gentleman Joe entered the Juarez 10K where he completed the course in 48:30 setting a world record for 300 lb runners. The previous record was 50:17 by a body builder from Arizona.

Final Standing at World Jalapeno Eating Championship:

1. Gentleman Joe Menchetti 17 + 7 in first Eat Off total=24 Fresh Jalapeno’s
2. Jesus “Pepper Ranger” Rangel 17 + 5 in 1st Eat Off and 5 in 2nd Eat-off total=27 Fresh Jalapeno’s
3. *(tied) Chris ‘the American’ Schlesinger 17 + 5 in 1st Eat Off and 3 in 2nd Eat-off total=26 Fresh Jalapeno’s
3. *(tied) Sam Guerrero 17 + 5 in 1st Eat Off and 3 in 2nd Eat-off total=26 Fresh Jalapeno’s

AICE: A competitive eating organization with a heart ... as big as its stomach!