A 120-pound mother of four on Friday downed 28 hamburgers in 12 minutes to take home the $1,500 prize at the seventh annual Burger Eating Championship at Tenleytown’s Z-Burger.
Molly Schuyler, 36, of Sacramento, averaged one hamburger every 26 seconds to beat out the dozen other professional and amateur eaters.
Standing 5’7″, Schuyler credits her four children with keeping her in shape during her three years in competitive eating. She worked at an Applebee’s in her home town, but when she found out she could make money just by eating, she quit her job and now travels around the country competing for cash prizes.
Schuyler’s goal was “not to choke, though you can control your body more than amateur eaters can.”
During the competitive eating season, which runs during spring and summer, Schuyler competes about once a week, but during the off season, she only competes about once a month. She says burrito eating contests are the easiest because of their soft texture. Wing eating is the toughest.
The Tenleytown event has gained popularity over the years. Several news stations, including those broadcast to Japan and Russia, crowded around the eaters.
Peter Tabibian, founder and owner of the burger chain in Washington D.C., started the competition in 2009 holding it every year except one.Tabibian has made an effort to include locals in the competition to make it a true community event.
“The competition started very small and every year it grew,” Tabibian said.
The competition boasts around eight to 10 competitors every year. The clock was set for twelve minutes and whoever ate the most quarter-pound burgers including the bun within the time period won the grand prize. Other contestants received a smaller cash prize or a gift card to Z-Burger.
Tabibian’s biggest concern regarding the event was health and safety.
“A lot of gross stuff is happening and my biggest fear is someone choking but we have EMS here,” Tabibian said.
The technique of the eaters was meticulous and thought out. The key to their success was water. Some contestants chose to continuously drink while others chose to soak their burgers in water to soften them up to make them easier to chew and digest.
In previous years, the competitors were giving opaque pitchers of water, but some individuals were cheating by spitting burgers into the pitchers which resulted in the transition to clear plastic water bottles.
In order to make the event a community gathering, Tabibian provided free burgers to the local observers after the event.
Tabibian founded Z-Burger in 2000 after working at a Burger King.
“I want to grow this company and make it into a big chain some day, but you have to go slow because I want to satisfy everyone who walks through our doors,” Tabibian said.