A British man has become the country’s unofficial Jaffa Cake eating champion after scoffing 36 of the orange-flavoured treats in just three minutes.
Stu Hayler, 39, took the title after winning the Jaffa Cake eating competition held by the British Eating League on Friday, February 28, at The George Pub & Grill in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham.
Five contestants gathered to take part in the event, with some entrants travelling for nearly two hours to get to the contest. Though they all gave it their best effort, there could only be one champion.
Now, Jaffa Cake lovers, like myself, will know those tasty cakes can disappear very quickly once a packet has been opened. Often it may feel like you’ve only eaten one or two, until you reach into the plastic and find only crumbs.
However, managing to eat 36 in just three minutes is a true accomplishment. While it may not sound like a huge amount, it works out at one Jaffa Cake every five seconds, and a staggering intake of 1,600 calories. That’s more than some people eat in an entire day – though, to be fair, Stu probably wouldn’t have felt like eating much else after completing the challenge.
Though Guinness World Records doesn’t have a listing for most Jaffa Cakes eaten in three minutes, the record for most Jaffa Cakes in one minute was set by a man named Peter Czerwinski in 2013. Peter managed to eat 17 Jaffa Cakes in one minute, and if he’d managed to keep up that same pace for another two minutes he’d have beaten Stu’s record by 15.
Craig Harker, who organised the Jaffa Cake competition, commented:
I’m absolutely over the moon to launch the British Eating League after creating some of the worlds biggest dishes here at the pub.
We saw one man eat over 1,600 calories in three minutes, which shows that the competition put there for speed eating is high.
Eating is a sport and I’m proud to chair both the eating league and Ultimate Eating Championship to bring competitive eating to venues all across the country.
Every event is overseen by the UK Competitive Eating Organisation which supports with safety planning, rules and guidance to ensure every event is safe for all.
Stu, who is local to County Durham, did his home town proud as he walked away with a cash prize.
The next heat of the competition is set to take place in March, and will see contestants attempt to eat a double chocolate fudge cake as quickly as possible.
I have to say, this sounds like a competition I could happily get involved with. Even if you’re not the fastest participant, you still get to eat cake, so I don’t think there really can be any losers.
Craig has said he ‘can’t wait’ for the next contest, which is open to over 16s only.
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to scoff dozens of Jaffa Cakes, you could attempt to beat Stu’s record at home – though please chew carefully when doing so.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.