Vegetarian candidate takes out Phatburgers beef burger eating competition

Phatburgers Berghofer Eating Competition is a rite of passage for every political hopeful in Toowoomba and the current crop of Groom hopefuls stepped up to the plate. Find out who won.

IT’S a bold claim but Alan Wynn reckons every person in power in any level of government in Toowoomba has endured his Phatburgers Berghofer Eating competition.

On Tuesday Groom hopefuls stepped up to the plate and made their attempts to guzzle this oversized beast of a burger.

They were eager at the start but most had pulled up stumps after chewing through less than half of the iconic Toowoomba burger.

All except Australian Federation Party candidate Ryan Otto who finished the vegetarian option to win.

Australian Federation Party candidate for Groom Ryan Otto won the Phatburgers Berghofer burger eating competition.

“I can take on more than the other candidates can chew,” Mr Otto said.

The 26-year-old candidate prepared by fasting for the day and rejected claims he had an unfair advantage by selecting a vegetarian patty instead of a slab of prime beef.

“Lentils are pretty dense,” he said.

ALP candidate Gen Allpass took a principled stance and offered her burger to Papuan national Iru Badira who happened to be walking by.

“On the weekend I helped a family who could not feed their children, and this morning there are students going to school hungry,” she said. “I understand that is a bit of fun, but I am trying to help my community.”