Stu Hayler, 36, needed only three minutes to wolf down 36 Jaffa Cakes, making him the unofficial UK champion.
The British Eating League held the competition involving the fruity chocolate snacks at The George Pub and Grill on Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. It was the first time such a competition was held which may be surprising to some.
Nevertheless, the event attracted contestants from as far away as Derbyshire and Yorkshire. But Stu was a local who wasn’t about to let anyone else walk away with the cash prize. Not bad for three minutes’ worth of scoffing down 1,600 calories. That’s roughly one Jaffa Cake every five seconds.
But the British Eating League isn’t done and quite possibly the next heat will involve a competition involving a chocolate fudge cake.
Craig Harker, the landlord of The George Pub who organized the eating competition, said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to launch the British Eating League after creating some of the world’s biggest dishes here at the pub.
“We saw one man eat over 1,600 calories in three minutes which shows that the competition out there for speed eating is high.
“Eating is a sport and I’m proud to chair both the eating league and Ultimate Eating Championship to bring competitive eating to venues all across the country.
“Every event is overseen by the UK Competitive Eating Organisation which supports with safety planning, rules, and guidance to ensure every event is safe for all.
“I can’t wait for the next contest in March when each person is challenged to eat a whole double chocolate fudge cake to themselves.”
But if you’re a competitive eater, it takes a lot of effort not to become too big to compete later on.
One example is Nela Zisser who works out so intensely that she can eat 22 Big Macs in one hour but still weighs only 55 kilograms.
She explained: “I go to the gym five days a week, and I do intermittent fasting. I only eat one or two meals a day.
“Not all my challenges are unhealthy either. Last week I ate half a kilo of raw broccoli.”
Replaced!