MILWAUKEE — For a moment on Thursday, Milwaukee was the center of the Major League Eating world. Deer District played host to the first-ever World Burrito Eating Championship.
Competing in the tournament was the man many consider the greatest eater of all time - Joey Chestnut. He holds 55 world records and won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 15 times.
The rules of this competition were simple. Eight contestants tried to eat as many one-pound Qdoba burritos as possible in 10 minutes. minutes. Officials said each burrito is slightly over 1. They were filled with chicken, rice, beans, queso, salsa, and guacamole.
These eaters are the best of the best. The top four eaters in the world were all in Milwaukee looking to take the crown. Despite their best efforts, Joey Chestnut proved once again why many consider him the greatest of all time.
He ate 14.5 burritos in 10 minutes. That’s one burrito roughly every 41 seconds. In total, all those burritos weighed about 16 to 17 pounds.
“I feel like I could have eaten more if I needed to. I’m happy I got the win, and yeah, I’m really happy," Chestnut said.
This was a redeeming win for Chestnut after taking third place in the cheese curd eating contest at the State Fair in 2018.
Second place put down 13.5 burritos, and third place ate 11.25 burritos.
Leading up to the contest, Chestnut has been on a primarily liquid diet.
“I had a little bit of salad yesterday, but it was a liquid protein diet. Pretty much a cleanse. All liquid from all day yesterday to today. Just getting ready and getting loose and empty," he said.
Not everyone competing today was a professional eater.
“This is my lunch break, you know," Peter Klepacz said.
He is a rookie and only participated because he filled out an online submission form.
“You know, apply for it thing (sic) on the Qdoba website, so I tossed my name in the ring and got picked," he said.
Klepacz is an attorney in Milwaukee. He isn't used to going up against people like Chestnut. But that didn't matter.
"I've always seen it on T.V., the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition and whatnot, so being alongside Joey Chestnut, and trying to do his thing was a lot of fun," Klepacz said.
He still had a smile on his face despite nearly throwing up twice during the 10-minute contest. He finished with a total of 3.75 burritos eaten.
“Oh, I thought I was going to humiliate myself in front of a big crowd here, but I was able to drink some water and keep it down and keep going.”
That gives a good perspective for how great Joey Chestnut is and the dominance he has had on the eating world for more than a decade.
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