Batter Up! The Mighty Hastings is at the plate

Credit: Journal Photo by David Rolfe

Michael Hastings chows down at the pancake contest. He finished second to Jeff Roper (center) after a tiebreaker.

By: Michael Hastings | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: February 18, 2009

Like many people, I enjoyed pancakes and sausage Friday during the Kiwanis Pancake Day at the Benton Convention Center.

Except that I ate mine in 90 seconds.

Ed McNeal of the Kiwanis Club asked me and four other people to participate in a pancake-eating contest during Pancake Day.

Joining me were Police Chief Scott Cunningham, Fire Chief Antony Farmer, anchor Nicole Ducouer of WXII-TV, and radio disc jockey Jeff Roper of WTQR-FM.

Roper and Ducouer had been talking trash about the contest on the air for a few days, and came ready to do battle. "I'm ready to do it," Roper said. "I haven't had anything to eat in the last 18 hours, except for some gum on the way over."

Precompetition preparation

I was curious if the others had strategies. Farmer had a regular breakfast of sausage and eggs. "Two chocolate brownies," Cunningham confessed, with a laugh.

Ducouer said she had heard that it's better to eat beforehand "to stretch your stomach." Her choice of pre-contest repast was lasagna and salad at 7 a.m.

I took a slightly different approach. My breakfast consisted of a small portion of leftover taco meat, heavily laced with chipotle salsa -- low-carb, high-protein and plenty spice to help jump-start my metabolism.

I'm not certain that it worked, but I did manage to tie Roper for first place by eating four pancakes in one minute. Maybe I had an edge because I passed on the margarine and syrup and ate mine plain.

Ah, the old Kobayashi maneuver

The key for me, though, was to roll the four- to five-inch pancakes and dump them in water. I picked up this technique from watching some competitive-eating competitions on TV, and it really worked. The soggy pancakes virtually disintegrated and allowed me to swallow them with almost no chewing.

Roper and I got a surprise after we tied for pancakes. We had a tiebreaker with sausage patties.

Water didn't work here, and I was able to get down only two patties in 30 seconds.

I remember looking over at Roper in the last few seconds. His jaws were moving in what seemed to be slow motion. He looked like he was going to be sick.

But he ate three patties, and I ended up in second place overall.

At soon as it was over, I asked Roper if he was OK. He got a strange, bloated look on his face for a second. Then he broke into a smile and started laughing.

To see video of the contest, go to www.journalnow.com/video.

Taste of the Town to return

To everyone who remembers Taste of the Town as a great way to check out 25 to 30 restaurants at once for $20, I've got news. Family Services Inc. is bringing this fundraiser back.

Taste of the Town was not held last year because Family Services was in the middle of moving to new offices on South Broad Street. Susan Wiles of Family Services said that it will be held this year on May 2 at Benton Convention Center.

Again, the fundraiser is being timed to coincide with the Kentucky Derby. New this year will be a derby-style pie contest. Stay tuned for details on how to enter.

Restaurants interested in participating can contact Wiles at 778-7075.

■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com.