Kobayashi Seeks to Consume All Leftover Fruitcake

EATING PHENOM TAKERU KOBAYASHI SEEKS TO EAT ALL LEFTOVER HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE

Effort Highlights Major League Eating’s Holiday Food Bank Giving Initiative

Takeru Kobayashi will attempt to break the fruitcake-eating world record, seeking to consume all fruitcake leftover from the holidays as part of a charitable initiative by Major League Eating on behalf of the Food Bank For New York City on Friday, December 26, 2008 at 11 am in Manhattan.

MLE will help to raise awareness of the crisis faced by food banks across the nation in the current economic environment. With its members, clients and fans, MLE also will seek to raise funds for the Food Bank For New York City, the major provider of food to New Yorkers in need.

“Fruitcake is given, and re-given, during the holiday, but it is very rarely eaten,” said MLE president Richard Shea. “We consider it a public service to rid the nation of fruitcake build-up and to make way for other food donations that will benefit the increasing number of hungry families in our nation.”

MLE, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for food-related charities, has formally requested its members to donate to the Food Bank by logging on to www.foodbanknyc.org and to consume any and all fruitcake they come across in the holiday season. And donations will be tripled by Robin Hood! Donations up to a total of $1 million will be matched 2-to-1! (Thankfully, we can’t say the same for the fruitcake!)

Kobayashi – who holds records in noodles, rice and cow brains -- will perform a sanctioned fruitcake-eating demonstration in an attempt to beat the current record of four pounds 14 ¼ ounces in 10 minutes as set by Sonya Thomas in 2001.

Kobayashi earned his fame by winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest six years in a row before being dethroned by Joey Chestnut of San Jose, California.