Green chile stew-eating contest added to Grants festival

green-chile-stew

Major League Eating announced this week it will add a green chile stew-eating contest to its circuit at the Historic Route 66 Fall Fiesta in Grants, New Mexico, on Oct. 8.

The contest will be at 1 p.m. that day at Fire & Ice Park on Santa Fe Avenue (aka Route 66). According to MLE, the total purse will be $4,000, with $1,750 to the winner.

According to a story from the Cibola Beacon newspaper:

Top-ranked female competitive eater Miki Sudo will seek to gain the title of World Green Child Stew-Eating Champion of the World. Sudo recently defended her title at the International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, by eating 39 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes.

Other top competitors include #5-ranked Gideon Oji; #10-ranked Michelle Lesco; #14-ranked Rich LeFevre; and #21-ranked Josh Miller.

The competition could be interesting. If local stew-makers use hot or even medium-hot green chiles, even professional competitors may not to consume as much as they anticipated.

But if Molly Schuyler, the 120-pound bottomless pit who ate three 72-ounce steaks in 20 minutes at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, shows up in Grants next week, she has to be considered a top contender.

As for me, I’ll eat my green chile stew nice and slow. It’s one of the pleasures of visiting the American Southwest. If it’s on the menu anywhere, I’ll probably order it.

Green chile stew generally consists of New Mexico green chile peppers, potatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro and pork or beef cubes. But I’ve seen some stews contain hominy, corn or chicken. Some folks will top it with cheese, tortillas or sour cream. The recipes vary as much as gumbo does in Louisiana.

The fiesta, which also runs Oct. 9, also includes a classic-car show, arts and crafts vendors, a beer garden, children’s games, live music and a big 90th-birthday cake for Route 66.

(Image of green chile stew by stu_spivack via Flickr)

2 thoughts on “Green chile stew-eating contest added to Grants festival

  1. I hope that was a typo in the cut from the Cibola Beacon and that there isn’t a “Green Child” eating competition.

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