Food challenge tips from a competitive eater

If you’re taking on a New England food challenge, Mass. man with top-notch credentials has advice

IT TAKES AN IRON STOMACH TO SHOVEL IN MORE THAN 6 POUNDS OF BARBECUE AND INSATIABLE APPETITE TO EAT MORE THAN A DOZEN JUMBO DOGS CRAVING A GIANT PILE OF POUTINE. THESE CURD COVERED FRIES AWAIT. OR HOW ABOUT A BREAKFAST BOWL WITH SO MANY TATER TOTS, ONLY A TEAM CAN TACKLE IT. NEW ENGLAND IS HOME TO ALL KINDS OF CRAZY FOOD CHALLENGES. BUT BEFORE WE GIVE YOU A TASTE, WE CALL IN A MASSACHUSETTS MAN WITH TOP NOTCH CREDENTIALS. JEFFREY ESPER, THE NUMBER TWO RANKED EATER IN THE WORLD. OXFORD’S JEFFREY ESPER HAS AGREED TO OFFER US POINTERS ON HOW TO PUT DOWN GIANT PORTIONS. WELCOME TO CHANNEL FIVE. THIS IS OUR CAFE. BUT TODAY THIS IS OUR TRAINING FACILITY VERY NICE. SHAYNA AND I ARE SET TO BEGIN THIS EATING EXERCISE WITH A MASSIVE MEAL. JEFF CRUSHED NICK’S PLACE. 30 INCH PIZZA. I HAD HAM AND CHICKEN ON THIS, AND IT WAS. IT WAS REALLY GOOD. PIZZA, ACTUALLY. I LOVE PIZZA CHALLENGES AND AND CONTEST PIZZA. THAT’S MY FAVORITE THING IN THE WORLD. JEFF BEGINS WITH THE BASIC BASE STAY IN SHAPE IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF MASS OVER YOUR MIDSECTION, IT CAN’T STRETCH. SO A LOT OF COMPETITIVE EATERS TRY TO DO STAY THIN, NEVER SLOW DOWN. YOU WANT TO TRY TO GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN RIGHT OFF THE BAT. YEAH. YOU DON’T PACE YOURSELF. IT’S EITHER GOING TO FIT OR IT’S NOT GOING TO FIT. CONSIDER BREAKFAST. I MAKE SURE TO TRY TO EAT SOMETHING. FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE CONTEST IF I CAN, BECAUSE I’LL JUST GET TIRED AND SLEEPY IF I. IF I DON’T. AND WHEN WORKING AS A TEAM, TRUST YOUR PARTNER. IF BOTH INTERESTED IN DOING IT AND YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT IT, I THINK THAT’S WHAT THE MOTIVATION REALLY HELPS. STAY HYDRATED. THANK YOU. HERE WE GO. OOZING CONFIDENCE. WE STRIDE INTO NICK’S PLACE IN BURLINGTON. TOWN. A SECOND LOCATION FOR NICK HOUVARDAS, WHO FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS HAS BEEN SLINGING PIES IN LEXINGTON. YOU GUYS LOOK LIKE YOU’RE READY FOR THIS TO BUILD THE GIGANTIC GREEK STYLE PIZZA THAT IS THIS CHALLENGE. NICK HAD A CUSTOM PAN BUILT SIX LARGE DOUGH BALLS IS IN THE 30 INCH FOR US. THIS IS ABOUT 6 POUNDS OF DOUGH. THE CHEESE MORE THAN DOUBLES THAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT 7 POUNDS? I’D SAY WE PUT A LOT AND THE GRAND TOTAL WITH THE SAUCE, 14 POUNDS, 14 POUND PIZZA. YOU CAN DO IT. USUALLY ONE PERSON GETS ONE HOUR TO FINISH. NICK GIVES US 35 MINUTES. YOU CAN’T GET SICK. OBVIOUSLY. NO THROWING UP, NO DOING NOTHING LIKE THAT. READY TO SEE THIS THING? I KNOW. NO, NOT AT ALL. OH. HERE WE GO. LOOK AT THESE PIECES. OH, WAIT. MAYBE WE DO NEED THOSE PLATES. NICK, SHOW ME THE SLICES ARE MORE LIKE SLABS. CHEERS. THE DOUGH IS DELICIOUS, BUT OH, SO DENSE. ALSO, NICK, YOU DO MAKE A GOOD PIZZA. WE QUICKLY REALIZE WE’VE BITTEN OFF MORE THAN WE ALONE CAN CHEW. LUCKILY, NICK’S PHONE IS RINGING NICK’S PLACE. BURLINGTON, CAN I HELP YOU? GOOD PLACE. GO, LADIES. OKAY. YOU GUYS ARE GOOD SPORTS. I THINK JEFF WOULD BE IMPRESSED. REALLY? NICK HAS HIS SUSPICION. DEVENS ABOUT OUR SPEED. I GOT MY EYES ON YOU. YEAH, BUT THE LUNCH RUSH CANNOT BE IGNORED. TWO SLICES OF PEPPERONI. YOU ARE A PUBLIC SERVANT. YOUR. YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I’M NOT GONNA EAT MY OWN LUNCH AFTER THIS. COOL. BY THE TIME THE BUZZER SOUNDS, THE MASSIVE PIZZA PAN IS CLEAN. GOOD JOB, LADIES, BUT SOMETHING’S FISHY OVER HERE. DESPITE OUR OBVIOUS ANTICS, NICK GIFTS US HIS COVETED PIZZA CHALLENGE TEAMS. THERE’S YOUR SHIRTS. WHICH FOR US SHOULD READ FAIRLY S█URVIVED. ALL RIGHT, SO I HAVE TO SAY THE PIZZA WAS REALLY GOOD. IT WAS A THICK CRUST. AND OBVIOUSLY NICK KNEW WE WEREN’T GOING TO EAT THE WHOLE THING, SO HE WAS KIND OF ON BOARD WITH WHAT WE WERE PLANNING TO DO. BUT WE DID SHARE SO WE IT WOULDN’T GO TO WASTE. GOOD. AND WE SHOULD POINT OUT AS WELL THAT IT’S A TOUGH TIME FOR A LOT OF RESTAURANTS, HARD TO FIND EMPLOYEES. COSTS HAVE RISEN QUITE A BIT. AND SO THESE CONTESTS, THESE GIMMICKS, IF YOU WILL, ARE REALLY WAYS TO GET PEOPLE IN AND GET A LITTLE PUBLICITY FOR THE RESTAURANT. AND IT WAS FUN HANGING OUT WITH

If you’re taking on a New England food challenge, Mass. man with top-notch credentials has advice

It takes an iron stomach to shovel in more than 6 pounds of barbecue. An insatiable appetite to eat more than a dozen jumbo hot dogs. Craving a giant pile of poutine? In Manchester, N.H., curd-covered fries await. We also found a breakfast bowl with so many tater tots only a team can tackle it.New England is home to all kinds crazy food challenges. So we called in a Massachusetts man with top-notch credentials. Geoff Esper is considered the number two ranked competitive eater in the world, according to Major League Eating.”I love pizza challenges and contest pizza,” Esper says. “That’s my favorite thing in the world.”The challenge at Nick’s Place, with locations in Lexington and Burlington, Mass., is for an individual person to finish a 30-inch pizza in an hour. The prize? The eater gets the meal for free and a free T-shirt.

LEXINGTON, Mass. —

New England is home to all kinds crazy food challenges. So we called in a Massachusetts man with top-notch credentials. Geoff Esper is considered the number two ranked competitive eater in the world, according to Major League Eating.

“I love pizza challenges and contest pizza,” Esper says. “That’s my favorite thing in the world.”

The challenge at Nick’s Place, with locations in Lexington and Burlington, Mass., is for an individual person to finish a 30-inch pizza in an hour. The prize? The eater gets the meal for free and a free T-shirt.

Daily News

Food challenge tips from a competitive eater

Leave a Reply Cancel reply