21 pounds of grits in 10 minutes takes title
Chicago chef Bertoletti wins inaugural grits-eating world championship
Updated: 3:57 a.m. CT Oct 1, 2007
BOSSIER CITY, La. - He'll never want breakfast again.
Pat Bertoletti, a Mohawk-sporting chef from Chicago, gulped down 21
pounds of buttery, goopy grits in 10 minutes to win $4,000 in the first
World Grits Eating Championship at Louisiana Downs on Saturday.
The grits were presented in 2-pound trays, each about 8 inches by 6
inches and 1 1/2 inches deep, said Ryan Nerz, a spokesman for Major
League Eating.
Bertoletti, in a statement, said the race "tested our stomach capacity
like no other."
The buzz going in was that a lot of grits would go down because they are
so easy to eat, Nerz said. There were nine contestants, and the top
three ate a combined 60 pounds.
Tim "Eater X" Janus of New York was second, with 20 pounds. Joey
Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., who this summer ate a record-breaking 66
hot dogs in 12 minutes to become world hot dog-eating champion, finished
third, polishing off 19 pounds.
The top seven eaters split $10,000 in prize money.
Grainy grits — dried, ground corn that is then cooked back into mush or
the soupy consistency used for the championship — are a Southern staple.
They are often eaten for breakfast with butter or even sugar; sometimes
chilled and then fried in slices; and, for more substantial meals,
fortified with stronger-tasting foods such as cheese, bacon, shrimp.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21078077/?GT1=10450
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