He devoured 25 tacos in 30 minutes and apparently “looked like he could have went out for dinner.”
That was the sentiment from Chris Dinnell, of the Dinnell Real Estate Group, one of the organizers of Steveston’s 2nd Annual Taco Eating Contest after Thomas Chang scoffed his way to this year’s title earlier this week at the hosting Little Mexico Cantina.
As well as the trophy and bragging rights, Chang also has the prestige of beating an Olympic medallist, albeit that Evan Dunfee’s expertise is in 50K race-walking and not stuffing his face. (Reports suggest Richmond’s Olympian managed 17 tacos)
The real winner, however, was Steveston-based charity Wigs for Kids – which helps children dealing with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.
By Thursday, Dinnell estimated that the event – thanks to an online auction and individual donations to contestants – could raise a taco or two shy of $100,000, blasting beyond his $20,000 target.
“It was packed, we had about 100 people there,” Dinnell told the Richmond News.
“It was a big community effort and Bev Friesen at Wigs for Kids is amazing at this.
“It was great to see the community coming together to support something like this, as (Wigs for Kids has) not been able to raise much in last two years.”
Last year’s winner, Ryan Fleming, only managed 17 chicken tacos in 30 minutes.
