How Many Footlong Cheesesteaks Can You Eat in Ten Minutes?

Participants in a previous cheesesteak eating competition organized by Delco Steaks

There are all kinds of competitive eating events. On March 29th in Indiana, we’ll find out who can eat the most fudge in eight minutes. West Palm Beach is hosting the National Sweet Corn Eating Championship in April. (All I can think about is floss sticks.) And who can forget The Ultimate Bologna Showdown? That’s in Tennessee in May. But you don’t have to travel far at all to find out who can eat the most cheesesteaks in ten minutes. And maybe it’s you!

This Sunday, Best of Philly-winning Delco Steaks is hosting its sixth annual Cheesesteak Bowl at Marple Public House, the bar and restaurant next door to the cheesesteak shop, which is owned by the same team. Competitors will face down stacks of The Classic Delco. That’s the signature sandwich at Delco Steaks.

The Delco Classic is a foot-long cheesesteak jammed with ten ounces of ribeye and Cooper Sharp cheese. The bread? A crisp, seeded Italian roll. I don’t know much about competitive eating, but I do know that bread can present its challenges. And a seeded, crisp roll like that — as opposed to, say, an unseeded soft roll from Amoroso — is definitely something the participants must be training for.

“We definitely get complaints from some competitors about the rolls,” says Delco Steaks co-owner Steve Reynolds. “They want a soft roll.” All competitors get an unlimited amount of water. And many will use the water to completely soak the cheesesteak, making the roll easier to shove down the old esophagus.

You can’t deconstruct the cheesesteak. You must eat it as a sandwich, whether it’s drenched with water or not. Reynolds says he saw one contestant rip the cheesesteaks into chunks, stack them on top of each other, and then smash them all together. “He tried to push the whole thing in like that,” Reynolds recalls. “Gotta have a flexible jaw.”

The competition, which kicks off at 2 p.m., consists of five professional competitive eaters from all over. And then there are 25 spots for amateurs.

If you can eat more than eight-and-a-half footlong cheesesteaks in ten minutes, you’d break the professional record at Cheesesteak Bowl. For amateurs, the record is three cheesesteaks. So far, a woman hasn’t won in the professional or amateur division. But professional competitive eater Molly Schuyler did come in second in the pro division two years in a row.

Molly Schuyler at the Delco Steaks Cheesesteak Bowl (photo courtesy Delco Steaks)

Want to get in on the action? Fancy yourself someone who can scarf down a bunch of cheesesteaks in ten minutes? Good news: there are still a few spots open in the amateur division. Registration closes on Sunday morning, and you can register by emailing info@delcosteaks.com. Good luck. I’ll bring the Pepcid.

Don’t want to compete? Observers are welcome. The whole thing serves as a fundraiser for the local Luciano’s Light Foundation.