Winner of El Pelon Chile-Eating Contest Downs 61 Habaneros

The Brighton branch of El Pelon Taqueria was the site of a chile-eating contest last night, and the winner did, in the restaurant's words, "the impossible" (and there is certainly no argument here).

A Twitter post from the restaurant indicates that a contestant named John Tomas ate 61 habanero peppers for what the eatery says is a second victory for him. It is not known how many peppers he ate for his first victory, but it can probably be assumed that it was less than 61.

While not the hottest pepper on the planet, habaneros are perhaps the hottest of all the widely-used chiles out there, and it is many times hotter than cayennes, jalapenos, and serranos. It is not known what the world record is for eating habanero peppers, but according to a Daily Mail article, a woman from India set a record a few years back by eating 51 bhut jolokia peppers (the hottest in the world--and much hotter than a habanero).

Thanks to Eater Boston for letting us know about this event.


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