An Ontario man has set the record for the fastest time to eat 50 Carolina Reaper peppers.
In a video recorded for the Guinness World Records, Mike Jack can be seen wolfing down a plate full of the world's hottest chilli pepper. Though the video lasted just over two minutes, Jack actually took six minutes and 49.2 seconds to finish his plate.
After setting the speed record for eating the Carolina Reapers, Jack ate an additional 85 peppers.
“I wanted to do something that was bigger,” Jack said to the Washington Post. “I felt like I was known as the speed guy who could eat peppers fast but maybe not the guy with the endurance. I wanted to show I could eat a massive amount.”
Jack also said he hadn't eaten many spicy foods growing up but had been introduced to Sriracha and Frank's RedHot in college by his roommates. He then began challenging himself to hotter sauces from a local Mexican restaurant that had El Yucateco hot sauces which set the ball rolling for his love for spicy sauces.
“Eventually I could just use some of the world’s hottest hot sauces like people use ketchup,” he said.
During Jack's speed run of eating the peppers, he managed to get up to 135 reapers in an hour and eight minutes. He needed to eat another 25 of them to set the record for most reapers eaten in one sitting but he consoled himself by acknowledging that he doubled his own personal record.
“I like to push myself,” he said, “and see how far I can go with things," Jack concluded.
