Patrick Bertoletti slurped 35 dozen oysters in 8 minutes to garner The Acme World Oyster Eating championship during New Orleans' French Quarter Festival on Saturday. Chicagoan Bertoletti, a.k.a. "Deep Dish," is ranked second in the world, according to Major League Eating records.
Bertoletti has posted numerous eating records, including eating 21 pounds of grits in 10 minutes. He also holds the endurance oyster eating record, having downed north of 50 dozen in 2007. "Deep Dish" beat second-place winner Juliet Lee of Germantown, Md., who downed 31.5 dozen.
Former oyster champion Crazy Legs Conti, who launched his eating career by winning the first Acme World Oyster Eating Championships in 2002, tied for third with 24 dozen.
The world record for oyster eating is 46 dozen in 10 minutes and was set at the 2005 event by Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas.
Major League Eating, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports worldwide, conducts nearly 100 events annually, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y.
