Candied Peppers

I'm a sucker for novelty food products. Salt & Straw, with two locations in Portland, features special flavors of ice cream every month.

Last month, when I was traversing Oregon, one of those seasonal flavors was "Sweet Heat Apricot." The sweet heat comes from candied scotch bonnet peppers. Scotch bonnets pack a punch, but after being all sugared up you can hardly tell. The apricot was balanced.

I visited the shop with Aaron Wakamatsu and we went to town. He got a sensible portion, and the quart for $8 called my name. Video upcoming.

Casket Full of Confection

Would you eat a coffin filled with dougnuts? I know I would. At Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, OR, you can get such a coffin for $100.

They'll even let you keep the coffin. It sounds like a great way to spend Halloween. Or, any other day of the year for that matter.

And while you're here, check out my video from the last time I visited their shop.

Farrells Ice Cream Heating Up Summer

The 3rd installment of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor's annual Ice Cream Eating Challenge returns this July. As usual, it is a charity event benefiting Children's Hospital of Orange County. The contest itself is going to be a little different this year. For one thing, the championship is going to be contested on the street outside the new downtown Brea location. The other exciting element is the development of a "professional eater" category.

Eaters will qualify for the professional category by consuming a "Pig Trough" during the qualifier period (pictured above, basically a large banana split). At the final, contestants will be required to eat a 6 lb Zoo Sundae. The pro division will also offer a cash prize for the first time in the contest's history.

Matt "Sweet Tooth" Cohen won the 2011 Farrell's Ice Cream Eating Challenge last Summer. He's moving into the new professional division as its defending champion. Matt's skill with sweet, dairy, and cold is well-known, but no doubt other contenders will step up to battle him in 2012.



The qualifying period for all categories of the contest begins June 18 and runs through July 8. Finals will be held on July 15, 2012 in Brea.

More details will be released shortly. Do you have what it takes to become the 2012 Farrell's Ice Cream Eating Champion?

Month of Mayhem

In seeking votes for the new July 4th hot dog contest, I offered a huge dare to my supporters last night.

It's right there on the Facebook page for Wreckless Eating: if the voters can put me over the top, I will give the public a new eating challeng video everyday until the contest on July 4.

That's a ton of videos, you're thinking. I already have over a dozen in possession ready to go. My YouTube presence is on heavy delay, usually limiting myself to updates once or twice a week. This time an exception will be made. The voters/viewers now have a big incentive to vote me into the contest.

Can I release 33 challenge videos in the next 33 days? There's one way to find out. Vote for me.

Moving to Brooklyn

Last weekend's trip to Oregon was an amazing success. I met up with Aaron Wakamatsu, completed five food challenges, and appeared in the Statesman Journal for my big win against a 12 lb pizza.

Aaron is a great friend, an awesome supporter of competitive eating, and an emerging champion of all things spicy. He helped establish two of the eating challenges I dominated, and the groundwork has been set for new challenges in the coming months.

Video material from the trip is still being edited. I'll post it as soon as time permits, along with blog coverage of my individual challenges with photos. There will also be reports sent to www.bestfoodchallenges.com



Image courtesy http://crifdogclassic.com/ 

But as time rolls on, new opportunities emerge. My name is listed as a candidate for the new Crif Dog Classic Hot Dog Eating Contest slated for this July 4th in Brooklyn, New York. Though I didn't ask for it, I recognize that it's an incredible opportunity and I'm campaigning hard for votes.

I need all the help I can get, as I'm up against qualified competition. Just go to their website and vote for the "Freak8r" to send me to Brooklyn!