NEW YORK CITY, NY - Attendees of the New York City Hot Sauce Festival last Sunday were witness to a rare feat. The event, hosted at the Brooklyn Expo Center, held a Carolina Reaper eating contest in which Greg Foster of Inferno Farms, the current Guinness World Record holder, defended his title against rival pepper-eater Wayne Algenio.
Foster originally took the record last November at the Arizona Hot Sauce Expo, where he consumed a whopping 120 grams of the world’s hottest peppers in sixty seconds—beating previous record holder Algenio’s record by a single gram.
According to a report by Alex Orlov for news source Mic, nine participants—five women and four men—squared off in the contest, among them the dispossessed former-record holder. One by one, participants consumed as many peppers as possible in sixty seconds, then each contestant had to stand on stage an additional sixty seconds, enduring the effects of the fiery fruit, before finally gorging themselves on milk, whipped cream, and other palliative offerings.
Foster took the stage last, wearing latex gloves and eating a stick of butter to insulate his mouth from the pepper’s intense effects. Despite his apparent confidence, though, Mic reported, Foster ended up losing the competition to rival Algenio.
Nonetheless, Foster retained his record. Algenio took the day with only 94 grams of Reaper consumed—paltry compared to his career-high 119 grams.
Where will these torrid titans square off next in their red-hot rivalry? AndNowUKnow will let you know.
