Laredo - The Grandaddy of Jalapeño Eating

Tomorrow at 7:00 pm (CST) in the El Metro Park and Ride, I will be competing in Laredo, TX for the most well-renowned jalapeño eating contest in America. The contest has become a tradition as part of the Jalapeño Festival in conjunction with the Washington Birthday Celebration in Laredo, Texas. I believe this is the most authentic jalapeño eating contest there is in America. The fact that Laredo has unified with the MLE is a great move in my opinion. I competed in Laredo two years ago before I was an MLE member in the non-sanctioned contest and finished second with 98 jalapeños in 15 minutes (Gentleman Joe took first with 105). This was the first competitive eating contest that I won money in - $500 for second place and a three foot trophy.


With trophy after my 2nd place finish in 2006 - my first cash in CE

This year, I expect to do much better than 98 jalapeños. I can't really predict what my capacity is for jalapeños, there are many factors that could affect the totals on any given day. My biggest discomfort with pickled jalapeños is the vinegar - I really detest the "pickled" part, the heat of the jalapenos is actually soothing to me but when combined with the acidic vinegar, the reaction is often tumultuous in my stomach. This is why I have not been able to win any of the jalapeño contests I have entered although I have faired well and won money in all that I have entered.

Foes Pat Bertoletti and Sonya Thomas will make the difficult trek down to the Texas-Mexico border this year in search of the Laredo title. Both Pat and Sonya have beaten me in past jalapeño contests but I feel the format of the Laredo contest gives me as good of a chance as I will ever have to beat them.

The contest will be 15 minutes long, nearly twice as long as the previous contests where Pat and Sonya have been involved (8 minutes at the Texas State Fair; 6:40 minutes in Chicago). They will use La Costeña peppers that are stored overnight in plastic bags soaking in their spicy vinegar - they will not be the small dried out peppers that were used in Texas resulting in inflated totals. And possibly the biggest factor; there will be a limit to the amount of liquids that can be consumed - only 3-12 oz. liquids are allowed during the entire contest (any liquid of your choice).

The extreme length of this contest and the limit to liquids greatly emphasizes the need to be able to tolerate the spicy and acidic jalapeños - 8 minutes is short enough to where you can eat at almost top speed without feeling totally uncomfortable - 15 minutes guarantees their will be difficult moments.

Though, I still wouldn't consider myself a favorite in this contest, my mind set going in is to win and nothing else. Ray the Bison has endorsed me on the IFOCE website, which has given me extra motivation. I am excited for this one, it's going to be hard to sleep tonight.

Click Here to read today's (2/22/08) articles in the Laredo Morning Times promoting the contest tomorrow. (direct link to PDF: Here)

For those interested in the results tomorrow, I will update my blog remotely with the totals immediately after the contest (around 8:00 pm CST).