Participants in the first annual BoJangles competitive eating contest did….and a lot of them. BoJangles, famous for their Chicken ‘n Biscuits decided to host the event to expose UCF students to a real southern staple. Forty-five hungry contestants assembled in the restaurant’s parking lot on Saturday afternoon for the chance to win a $500 cash prize. That’s a lot of dough.
To be eligible to compete, interested entrants’ names were placed in a bowl, and 44 lucky men and and one woman were randomly selected and officially eligible to enter. Hopefuls were split up into three groups and each had five minutes to chow down as many biscuits as they could. Each contender was given a platter containing approximately 30 biscuits and 2 cups of water.
As the first half began, participants chewed effortlessly; but as the clock ticked, the pace slowed and the heaviness of the meal began to set in. After each group was finished, a five minute “quarantine period” was put in effect. Eaters had to keep all their food down during this time to be qualified to win.
At the end of a long afternoon, judges tallied up the scores and the award ceremony began. The 2nd place winner Ricky Montero ate a whopping 15 biscuits earning him a $100 dollar gift card to BoJangles. Being one of the smallest contestants, strategy played a major role in his 2nd place victory. “It’s a mind over matter thing; if you put your mind to it you can do it.”
The first place winner Kasey Kees winning by just a bite with 15 and a half biscuits was shocked and thrilled to be the biscuit champion. When asked how he prepared for the contest he said, “Last week my brother and I split a 6lbs can of ravioli…and I ate 10 ounce hamburgers with extra 10 ounce patties; I made a hobby of eating a lot as quickly as possible.”
After shaking hands with restaurant employees and proudly displaying his giant check to onlookers, Kees reveled how he will spend his $500 prize money. “Utility bills.”
