More News

All you can eat wings — for eating stars

Federation of Competitive Eating holds local contest

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005

With an order for 150 pounds of Buffalo wings on Saturday, one would think the Union Jack’s kitchen staff is expecting the Washington Redskins offensive line.

It’s not the Hogs who are coming to dinner, but the new British pub in downtown Bethesda does have a reservation for some hungry dinner guests who are considered athletes in their own way.

The superstars of the International Federation of Competitive Eating roll into town Saturday night for the final qualifying round in the Verizon VoiceWing Battle chicken wing eating contest.

‘‘I can tell you that’s a heck of a lot of wings,” said Johnny Natoli, managing partner of Union Jack’s, the venue for the event. ‘‘Just imagine what a two-pound bag you’d get at Costco looks like and multiply that by 75.”

Two local radio contest winners will have the chance to take on 11 of the ‘‘best eaters in the world” — competitively speaking, that is — including record-holder Sonya ‘‘The Black Widow” Thomas, a 37-year-old, 90-pound woman from Alexandria, Va.

Thomas is ranked second overall on the circuit and holds world records eating 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes, 8.31 pounds of Vienna sausages in 10 minutes, 35 brats in 10 minutes, 80 chicken nuggets in 5 minutes and — take note, competitors — 167 Buffalo wings in 32 minutes.

‘‘Oh yeah, no doubt, I’m going to kill everybody,” Thomas said in a phone interview Tuesday. ‘‘Especially all the men. That’s why I’m the Black Widow, because I kill all the men.”

Thomas, a Burger King manager at Andrews Air Force Base, said she became involved in competitive eating two years ago after watching the Coney Island hot dog eating contest on ESPN. Back then, she said, she could barely get a single hotdog down in one minute, let alone wolf down 18 in 12 minutes.

A quick learner, Thomas watched the other competitors and picked up on some of the trade secrets, like separating the bun from the hotdog, swallowing the dog and then dunking the bun in water to soften the bread.

If you go What: The Verizon VoiceWing Battle qualifying event, a 10-minute Buffalo wing eating contest. First prize is $1,500 and entry in the finals next month in Boston. Who: International Federation of Competitive Eating champions including Sonya ‘‘The Black Widow” Thomas, wing-eating record holder with 167 wings in 32 minutes; Tim ‘‘Eater X” Janus, eater of 31 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes; Crazy Legs Conti, who holds a world record for eating 3 and 1⁄2 pounds of pancakes and bacon in 12 minutes. Where: Union Jack’s, 4915 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday Learn more: www.ifoce.com

‘‘You drink it like soup,” she said.

Thomas went on to shock the competitive eating world with her slight appearance and seemingly elastic stomach, winning an estimated cash and prizes of over $40,000 in the last two years. For setting the Buffalo wing eating record, she won an $18,000 Suzuki Verona sedan.

‘‘With my personality, anything I try, I have to be the best,” Thomas said. ‘‘If I’m not good, I don’t want to enter. But I win every time I do it, so I keep doing it.”

Also competing in the event Saturday is Tim Janus, a 27-year-old New York City day trader who transforms into ‘‘Eater X,” a 180-pound eating machine who paints his face like a professional wrestler on the competitive circuit.

‘‘I tell everybody that I do it to impress Jodie Foster,” Janus said in a phone interview. ‘‘I do it because it’s the most fun I can have. It’s a lot pride. It’s just a great adventure.”

Janus, a relative newcomer on the tour, holds the world record for eating grilled cheese sandwiches — 31 in 10 minutes — which belies the fact that he is good physical shape.

‘‘My cholesterol is 131,” he said. ‘‘I’m about 155 pounds, 5 [feet] 10 [inches tall], I run a lot, I lift a lot of weights.”

Defying conventional wisdom, many of the top 10 eaters on the circuit are relatively small in stature. Epicureans like Janus and Thomas are becoming the rule, while 409-pound Cookie Jarvis, ranked third in the world, are the exception.

One explanation on the subject is known as the ‘‘Belt of Fat Theory,” Janus said. The idea is that the more hefty competitor has a band of fat around his or her waist, which has an adverse effect on stomach capacity.

But Janus doesn’t buy it.

Contest officials will pay for the winner to travel to Boston on Nov. 12 to compete for the $3,500 first prize in the finals along with winners from two previous qualifying events in San Francisco and Seattle. The second and third place finishers in each of the qualifying contests are also eligible to compete in the finals.