By Andrew Amelinckx
Appeared in The Register-Star, August 31, 2007
Back in the early days of the 20th century, competitive eaters like Charles Sylvester Carter, famous for devouring pancakes, and Stan Libnitz, hot dog eating champ, were practically household names. On Thursday at the Columbia County Fair in Chatham a new group of competitive eaters stepped up to the yellow-clad table to put their mark on the record books for chomping down hot dogs and gobbling up blueberry pie.
Shane Cassidy of Chatham, who won the fourth annual hot dog eating contest beat his personal best of last year by two, with a total of six dogs downed in three minutes in Thursday’s competition.
The secret to his success? “Just eat fast,” he said.
Cassidy did well enough to beat the competition but would have had to choke down 10 1/2 more dogs in the allotted time to equal the current world champion, Joey Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., who ate 66 dogs in 12 minutes at the 2007 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on July 4, the 91st year for the Super Bowl of competitive eating.
There were many different eating strategies adopted in the competition, with Patrick Kervin of Ghent, the second place winner, using a liberal dose of water poured over the top of five and a half hot dogs he devoured, much like the former world champion and six-time winner at Coney Island, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan.
“You must have been watching the competitions on T.V.,” said Steve Berninger. the master of ceremonies for the competition. “Yep,” answered Kervin, last year’s champ.
Peter Nykorchik of Pittsfield, Mass., third place winner, used the tactic of tearing up his hot dogs and buns into small bite size pieces.
An “eat off” was required to determine fourth place , with John Moller of Niverville walking away with that spot, after a moment of looking queasy. Moller’s brother, Brian Moller, received honorable mention. Aurora Joblow, of Ridgefiled, Conn., the youngest competitor at seven, won an CHATHAM Contests give new meaning to the phrase ‘fast food’ Please see Food, page A14 award for her age category with three dogs eaten by the young champ.
According to the International Federation of Competitive Eaters Web site, competitive eating has been around a long time and is an American tradition associated with fairs. A silent film from 1897 called “Pie Eating Contest” illustrates the contests’ longevity. In the short film two men with hands tied behind their backs eat huckleberry pies with messy results.
The competitors in the Thursday’s blueberry pie eating contest, which followed the hot dog eating contest, could probably relate to the two messy men in the film. The rules were much the same as they were back in 1897, with no hands allowed in the competition, as well as no standing. The winner was the first to completely finish the pie down to the tin it sat in.
The contest, which was sponsored by Columbia Memorial Hospital and Kinderhook Bank, was split into three categories, with children eight and younger up first. A small but vociferous crowd cheered on the youngsters, who dug into the large pieces of pie with relish and aplomb.
Marilyn Barry, who judged the competition, walked behind the contestants, checking their progress, as the children’s faces quickly became a combination of blueberry filling, pie crust and smiles.
A common problem seemed to be blueberries finding their way into the nostrils of the contestants, which appeared to be slightly uncomfortable for those involved, but they ate on.
Giarvina Padule, 7, of Colonie — whose favorite kind of pie happened to be blueberry — won the competition. Finn Green, 7, of Chatham, finished second, raising her arms above her head in victory when she received her trophy.
In the second contest, for 9- to 13-year-olds, Shoshona Malfatto of Chatham came away the first place winner.
“I ate a little too much,” said Zachary Tashman, the second place winner from Irvington, who added that he thought the pie, which was provided by Price Chopper grocery stores, was “good.”
In the 14 to adult category, 17-year-old Burton Andrews of Livingston walked away the champ, something he predicted would happen before the competition began.
Jack Potrosky of Valatie — who said he didn’t particularly like blueberry pie — came in second.
Angelo Nero, the fair manager, said he enjoyed watching the competition but had not and would not be a participant.