Ten competitors stuffed themselves with shortcake at the Florida Strawberry Festival Thursday, March 5, but only one of them ate his way to victory. Each contestant was given a four-pound shortcake, created by volunteers from St. Clement Catholic Church in Plant City. Whoever had consumed the most shortcake within a 10-minute period would be declared the winner. Contestants were required to use utensils until the seven-minute mark, and then they could tackle the task with their hands.
Augie Sierra, 63, of Gurnee, Illinois, was declared the champion when he finished his entire shortcake in just 8 minutes and 34 seconds. This was Sierra’s first eating contest, as well as his first time at the Florida Strawberry Festival. His strategy for the contest was to skip breakfast and dig right in.
“I love shortcake anyway, and I love to compete,” Sierra said. “It was tasty. It was really good.”