Location: Houston, Texas
The Berryhill Baja Grill held a tamales-eating contest on May 6, 2006, in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
The 12-minute contest took place in Houston, TX, and the list of competitors included tamale-champ Levi Oliver, Rich "the Locust" LeFevre, Eater X, Pat Bertoletti, and Chip Simpson.
Bertoletti was leading the pack with an unbelievable 48 3.5-oz tamales, but that last one was stubborn and came back up in one of the most tragic reversals in competition history, and cost him $2500.
That cash went to young Chip Simpson, who happily took away his first title. It was a victory to be proud of, finishing ahead of LeFevre and Janus-- both of whom outrank the upstart from Pennsylvania.
Janus came in with 38 tamales for $1000, and LeFevre finished with 36 for $500 and third place.