‘Moisten it like the pros’: Cairns hot dog eating contest to bring out the best and ‘wurst’ in us
A time-honoured American tradition will be observed this Friday at Gilligan’s in Cairns with competitors stuffing their faces with fast food as part of the venue’s third annual hot dog eating contest.
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A time-honoured American tradition will be observed this Friday at Gilligan’s in Cairns with competitors stuffing their faces with fast food as part of the venue’s third annual hot dog eating contest.
Trinity Zylstra will host the competition as part of American Independence Day celebrations at the backpackers hostel with eight contestants given 10 minutes to down as many dogs as possible.
While some competitors failed to cut the mustard, others relished the challenge, Ms Zylstra said.
“You get five hot dogs at a time,” the MC said.
“After every five dogs, we replenish and give you five more. My first year doing it was I was the replenisher and it was total chaos.”
Entrants have the option to “dip their dog” in a cup of water in order to down the delectable dish quicker.
“You can moisten it like the pros,” Ms Zylstra said. “(Professional hot dog eating champion) Joey Chestnut is our inspo for that.”
Mr Chestnut devoured 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes to defeat his arch rival Takeru Kobayashi in 2024.
However, about 15-20 hot dogs eaten is expected to be enough to snag first place and be declared Cairns’ top dog.
“After the competition last year one guy threw up in the smoking area. That was not fun,” Ms Zylstra said.
“But that’s why we supply them with barf buckets. There’s no cheating either because last year we had someone hiding them.”
A hard-fought hot dog eating contest can be as thrilling as any sporting encounter with plenty of fireworks expected.
“It’s the spectacle of it,” Ms Zylstra said.
“The fact that a lot of people have never probably been to a hot dog eating contest before makes it fun.
“You can say you’ve done a hot dog eating contest. Plus it draws a crowd and backpackers really love free food.”
Independence Day festivities will kick off about 7pm and the hot dog eating competition will start at 9pm.
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Originally published as ‘Moisten it like the pros’: Cairns hot dog eating contest to bring out the best and ‘wurst’ in us
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