A young Orillian is hoping to eat his way to fame.
Darrien Thomas will be flexing his stomach muscles at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 at Coney Island, New York.
“The record is 74 hot dogs by Joey Chestnut,” said the 20-year-old. “If I'm able to eat 30, I'll be happy.”
Thomas said he currently sits at a personal best of eating 26 hot dogs in 10 minutes, which is exactly how much time he will have at the contest, too. This is the number he has been able to devour so far during his weekly practice runs, but hopes to beat his own best at the contest.
“You have to train your body to get through all those flavours,” said Thomas, talking about preparing for the event and his strategy. “The way I do is that I separate two hotdogs from the bun and then eat half of each of them at the same time. And while I'm eating those, I dunk the bun into water. It soaks it all up and then I eat those. It pretty much becomes a drink.”
Strategy also depends on the type of food he is eating, he said.
With hot dogs, you'll taste everything, because you have to chew it up — and chewing wastes precious time, noted Thomas.
Shortcake, on the other hand, is easier because it's softer.
“I fast for about 20 hours before the contest and drink a lot of water,” he said. “It helps with digestion and makes sure the stomach isn't tense before the contest.”
Thomas said after the contest he usually goes home and eats a salad to top it all off.
When he isn’t eating to compete, he said he tries to keep his usual diet as healthy as possible; he considers the contest a huge cheat meal.
“I'm really really nervous because I put a lot of effort into it, but I try to keep myself relaxed,” said Thomas. “(Being nervous) dries up my throat and that doesn't help. So I'll take a sip of water and just get myself in the zone.”
Thomas has only been taking part in professional eating contests for about 18 months - it's something he started by accident.
“My first contest was in Barrie,” he said. “It was an amateur contest against Takeru Kobayashi. I was picked out of the crowd to compete, and I ate three large 14-inch pizzas.”
He then participated for two years in the amateur Poutine Eating Contest in Toronto.
“I came third my first year and won it the next year,” said Thomas, who works as a cook at the Leacock Retirement Home. “My work helps with the preparation. I know how to cook the large meal I will be eating.”
Other contests he has participated in include a strawberry shortcake eating contest in New York (he secured second place), wild rice casserole eating contest in Minnesota (he stood fourth), cheese curds eating contest in Wisconsin, and sweet corn eating contest in Florida.
Thomas’s inspirations are Torontonians Furious Pete and Matt Stonie.
“I just want to do the best I can, really,” he said. “I'm just pushing myself to new heights. I'm No. 1 in Canada with and number 27 in the world Major League Eating.”
The contest will be aired on TSN 1 and TSN 4 at high noon on July 4.
