World Tamale Eating Competition to be held in The Woodlands

2nd Annual Berryhill Baja Grill World Tamale-eating Contest Competitors from across the nation to attend Cinco de Mayo contest in The Woodlands

Some of the top-ranked Major League Eaters in the world have signed up to compete in the Second Annual Berryhill Baja Grill Cinco de Mayo World Tamale-Eating Contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, 2007, in The Woodlands Town Center. This nationally recognized competition is part of the 4th Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration-Fiesta Universal at Market Street.

Among those already signed to challenge world-champion Chip Simpson of Harrisville, Pa., are Sonya Thomas, the 105-pound, 39-year-old Alexandria, Va., woman who is ranked Number 4 among all world competitive eaters. Returning this year will be Number 3 ranked Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago who consumed a record-shattering 48 3.5-ounce beef tamales in 2006 when he met with a tragic reversal of fortune. His loss made Simpson a winner with his 41 tamales eaten. Number 7 ranked Tim Janus is also returning.

The contest, which drew hundreds of onlookers last year, will be held in Market Street’s Central Park in The Woodlands Town Center beginning at 7 p.m. The event is a sanctioned Major League Eaters (MLE) competition overseen by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). It will be attended by representatives of the New York-based organization. There is no admission charge.

The 12-minute, eating contest offers contestants a total of $4,000 in prize money: $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. While some of the world’s top competitive eaters will be coming to compete, area competitors are also welcome, but only if registered in advance through the IFOCE’s website. Parking for the celebration is available at the Town Center Garage to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Six Pines Drive for $5.

Berryhill Baja Grill, which has a restaurant at 9595 Six Pines Drive in The Woodlands, is a highly acclaimed, Houston-based restaurant chain that features a famed line of tamales and a unique, Baja-style cuisine - particularly its famous fish tacos.

In 1928, Walter Berryhill started selling his tasty, homemade fare from a pushcart that he parked on street corners in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood. His tamales became an annual tradition for thousands of Houstonians, generations of which bought them from the cantankerous Mr. Berryhill until he retired in the 1960s, selling his famous pushcart, tamale press and recipe. The cart, press and recipe were forgotten for nearly 30 years and not discovered again until the early 1990s. The first Berryhill opened in 1993. Today, Berryhill Baja Grill has almost a dozen Houston-area locations, franchises in Austin and Dallas and will be soon be opening new stores in Mexico. There are also plans to expand nationwide.

The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), the governing body of all stomach-centric sports, conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan’’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, NY. The competitive eating community, which numbers more than 6,000 veteran and rookie athletes, travels the nation in search of top titles and the glory that they provide. Nationally, the IFOCE has had its events on The Today show, Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, MSNBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and others.