Getting Started - small
Kate Stelnick
Colossal Cheeseburger Challenge Champion
All Finished - small

Badlands vs. 96erBefore the start of 2005, the only person to finish Ye Olde 96er burger from Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, was Eric "Badlands" Booker. Despite weighing more than a fifth of a ton (182 kg), Booker required over seven hours to consume the behemoth sandwich. 90 pound (40.9 kg) Lori Weiss came closest to besting the 96er within Denny's time limit of three hours when she finished all except the bottom half of the bun. (Updated - Lori Weiss finished the 96er in July 2005)

On January 12, 2005 Kate Stelnick, a 115 pound (52.3 kg) sophomore at the The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) from the town of Princeton, completed her 96er in 2:54, making her the first person, male or female, to beat the time needed to claim the spoils of victory.
 

96er on scaleThe 96 refers to the number of ounces of meat (2.7 kg) after cooking, apparently equivalent to 24 Quarter Pounders. However, it is necessary to realize that McDonald's listed weight is before cooking to accurately compare the burgers. A 96er uses about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of pre-cooked hamburger, which could make 32 of the fast food sandwiches. Twelve slices of cheese, an onion, two tomatoes, half a head of lettuce, an inundation of condiments and a bun specially prepared by a local bakery increase the total mass to about eleven pounds (5.0 kg). This represents about ten percent of the early childhood education major's weight. When people speak of the "freshman 15", the period for that approximate weight gain is generally considered to be the whole first year of college and not a single afternoon (and the time required to lose that increase is usually longer than the several days Kate needed to return to her original mass.)

Kate with plaqueTo celebrate her achievement, Denny's picked up the tab for Kate's entire party, installed her picture as the first member of the "Wall of Fame" and placed an order for a commemorative T-shirt. (No shirt was in stock in her size.) Ms. Stelnick also received a $75 gift certificate, which she donated to Asian tsunami relief.

Kate's everyday food consumption, modestly described as a "pretty big appetite," provided sufficient gastronomic conditioning and self-confidence.  "I saw it on TV and I really thought I could do it," said Kate. Only 8 or 9 days elapsed between Kate's seeing the 96er on the Food Network and her day trip to Clearfield with three college friends. Reportedly, the only preparation during this period was two days of reduced eating, including skipping breakfast before her meal at Denny's. Accomplishing this feat with such minimal training and experience is analogous to winning the Boston Marathon after never having run more than ten miles. (And it can be debated whether that is ten miles on a training run or ten miles total in a lifetime).

"I felt very full, but I was too excited that I actually ate it to notice"
Kate Stelnick

News Articles
Columns Denny's Beer Barrel Pub Ye Olde 96er Burger
Ye Olde 96er Challengers

Links
The Svelte Super Stretchable Stomach Sorority (5×S)
(If you think this site must be a hoax, see the above link for
information about other slender women with considerable appetites).

Blog Entries

Forum Threads Competitive Eating
Non-English links (added 2/21)

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News (All site news & updates)
Site Last Modified:January 24 02:09 2008

All images below © 2005 Kate Stelnick
Click on the smaller images to enlarge them
January 12, 2005
Clearfield, Pennsylvania
(about halfway between Akron and NYC off I-80)
Next to Denny's Beer Barrel Pub Sign
Neither rain nor snow nor lack of a coat shall impede Kate's appointment with Destiny.
Too heavy to lift? Surrendering?
Never send a boy to do a woman's job

Randy Reali (left) and Erik Cheng (right) teaming up with Kate to consume approximately 12 pounds of burgers in total
Ketchup & Mayo subway?
Try the new Ketchup & Mayo sub from Subway. Jared lost over 400 pounds eating them.
Starting top bun Ketchup Fingers
Getting down and dirty
Burger Face
"Ever see a sandwich that could take a bite out of you?"
Granpa Simpson, "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"

"In Rand McNally, they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people."
Lisa Simpson, "Bart vs. Australia"
Having a cow
Don't have a cow, man
Finishing Bun Last Bite
"Tis no (wo)man. 'Tis a remorseless eating machine."
The Old Sea Captain, "The New Kid on the Block"
All done
Joining the Clean Plate Club.

Well, while basically foodless, the plate is actually quite messy
US Highway 1 Sign
Kate will be known as "The One" to vanquish the 96er
Copyright © 2005-6