Noodle-Eating Championship

Top competitive eaters will gather in Columbus, Ohio, for the Zyng Asian Grill World Noodle-Eating Championship. The 10-minute contest will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 21, 2004 at Zyng Asian Grill in Columbus, Ohio, marking the apex of a weeklong celebration for the grand opening of Zyng Asian Grill’s Columbus branch.

The field of gurgitators may include Brooklyn, NY, native Beautiful Brian Seiken. Ranked 15th in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), Beautiful Brian holds the world pickle-eating record with 2.55 pounds of pickles in five minutes. His closest opponent is expected to be up-and-comer Jim “Buffalo” Reeves, a 275-pound buffalo wing-eating regional champion from Boston, NY. Local challengers will include Timmi Jaimison, a Sam Kinison impersonator and amateur eater, as well as several Ohio State University students.

The competitive foodstuff will be Shanghai noodles, a thick, chewy, wheat-based noodle is rumored to be somewhat difficult to consume competitively. Zyng Asian Grill serves a wide variety of noodles, as well as dishes representing the most popular cuisines from China, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore. The Columbus Zyng also has a full bar for guest to relax while watching the contest.

Zyng was founded in 1998 in Montreal after founder, Arnold Shostak, went on a culinary tour of Asia. Recent attention to the name, Zyng Asian Grill, and the addition of low carbohydrate menu options reinforce Zyng's competitive position in the fast-growing Asian segment. Now headquartered in Alexandria, VA, Zyng has 12 restaurants open and over 240 units in development throughout North America.

This is an IFOCE-sanctioned event and the IFOCE will handle all registration. For further information or to register, email info@ifoce.com.