Las Vegas-based competitive eater Derek Hendrickson guested last week on the City Cast Las Vegas podcast. In case you missed it, here are a few excerpts.
🫔 What’s the eating title you’re most proud of?
“I've only won one contest because I have to go against Joey Chestnut, who is the greatest eater of all time. I mean, the guy lives it and breathes it. I have a wife and a day job. So it’d be the world tamale-eating champion, which I currently still am. I go back to Lewisville, Texas, in September to defend my title. It's 10 minutes in 105-degree, humid Texas heat. You just eat tamales. There's no better time.” (Note: To win he ate 50 tamales in 10 minutes.)
🌯 So what’s an easy food challenge in Las Vegas?
“At La Salsa Cantina in the Miracle Mile. It's like a 32-ounce burrito. And you have to finish the rice and beans and the margarita. But that's very doable. Burritos, as long as they're not dry, they're fairly easy to eat. I've eaten a 5-pound burrito in four minutes ’cause it was nice and saucy. That's just an enjoyable eating experience. That's (something we hear) all the time: You guys don't even taste it. Well, we taste it. And if it's bad food, it's a long day at the office.”
🥞 And what’s a hard one?
“No. 1 would probably be Stacks & Yolks, and its Get Stacked, Get Yolked challenge. Again, people think it's the easiest challenge ever. Ten pancakes, 10 (scrambled) eggs. What they don't realize is that they are about eight pounds of pancakes. (See photo.) Imagine that amount of dough going in there, and you're drinking water to help you swallow, you take tons of syrup and whatnot. It's a monster.”
