TAPPAN, NY, Caribbean Food Delights added quite a bit of flavor to the 8th annual Merritone Family Fun Day, held earlier this month at the exclusive Lake Quassy in Middlebury, CT, with their 5th annual Patty Eating Contest.
Featuring their signature spicy Jamaican beef patties, and a list of colorful contestants including champion patty eaters “Gentleman Joe” Menchetti and Clifton “Mr. Biggs” Higgins, Royal Caribbean’s zesty competition was one of the featured highlights of the day’s events.
This year’s event featured competitions in both amateur and professional categories, where a total of 11 very hungry contestants vied for the first place cash prizes, and host of other gifts, including digital cameras and DVD players.
Gentleman Joe claimed his fourth championship and $500 in cash, beating four other competitors by demolishing nearly 12 patties in less than five minutes in the professional category. A crowd pleaser, Joe, decked in his signature tuxedo and top hat, came equipped with an arm full of roses for the ladies and stuffed animals for the children.
“One year I came with autographed pictures of myself to hand out to the crowd, my wife thought I was crazy,” laughed Joe. “She kept saying, ‘who in the world would want those?’ She had a lot of apologizing to do when I ran out of pictures.”
A regular contestant at local eating competitions, the Italian-American native of Wallingford, CT, is a lover of Jamaican cuisine and also a regular participant in Royal Caribbean Bakery’s Bun and Cheese Eating Contest.
“You’ll keep seeing me at these contests until somebody finally beats me,” states Joe, jokingly.
Gentleman Joe Menchetti receiving his prize and Sabrina HoSang, Chief Operating Officer, Caribbean Food Delights
Jamaican national Mr. Biggs took home the $400 cash prize for the amateur competition, defeating five other contestants by eating 8 fiery patties in under 5 minutes. Not an easy feat for amateur spice eaters according to contest judge Sabrina HoSang, Chief Operating Officer of Caribbean Food Delights and Royal Caribbean Bakery.
“One contestant actually threw up in his plate,” exclaimed HoSang. “The funny thing was, after he threw up, he still wanted to eat some more.”
Arnie Chapman, Elliot Cowley (third place), Sabrina HoSang, Gentleman Joe Menchetti (first place), Chris Schlesinger (second place)
Arnie Chapman of the Competitive Eaters Association served as the contest MC, engaging onlookers with trivia questions about Caribbean Food Delights, and handing out company T-shirts to trivia winners. Company mascots, Mr. and Mrs. Patty, were also on hand, cheering on contestants and posing for photos with young patrons.
