By Patrick Hedlund
After downing a dozen cannoli in a matter of a few minutes last week, competitive eater Timothy “Eater-X” Janus looked like he might suffer what is officially known in the sport as a “reversal of fortune.”
The East Villager, however, managed to avoid the dreaded upchuck — which results in immediate disqualification on the professional eating circuit — on his way to swallowing 21 ricotta-filled pastries to win the World Cannoli Eating Championship at the 80th Feast of San Gennaro last Friday.
The sixth annual event, held near the corner of Grand and Baxter Sts. in Little Italy, featured a host of gormandizers from as far away as Japan battling to ingest as many of the rich Italian delicacies as possible within the contest’s six-minute time limit. Seven eaters vied for the cannoli crown, also captured by Janus last year, including his East Village flat mate and fan favorite Jason “Crazy Legs” Conti, who placed second in the competition with a total of 17 desserts downed.
“The fact is that San Gennaro is the greatest, oldest festival, personally, I think, in the world, so the opportunity to eat as many cannolis as you want just to kick off the festival is too good to be true,” said Conti, a dreadlocked 35-year-old who currently ranks No. 11 in the Major League Eating standings and once ate 3½ pounds of pancakes and bacon in a competition win. “And the fact that Tim and I live, now [as] roommates, in the East Village means that the cannoli trophy does come home with me — it just stays on his side of the room.”
The duo acknowledged that the kitchen of their E. Third St. apartment, between First and Second Aves., has been piling up with contest trophies, especially for the No. 4-ranked Janus, who stomached a record-tying 26 cannoli at last year’s event. A New York resident for the last six years, whose alter ego, “Eater-X,” dons signature face paint during competitions, he admitted that just taking part in the historic festival proved as sweet as a second straight top finish.
“I love the history of the festival, you can just see it: You walk down the street and you feel like you’re traveling back in time,” he said. “I love eating cannoli, it’s a great dessert, so to come out here and combine those two things is fantastic.”
Janus attributed his drop-off in cannoli intake this year to the desserts being fresher, and thus crunchier, than at last year’s contest.
The champion did have to fend off some hearty opponents, including the likes of baloney-eating champion Allen “The Shredder” Goldstein, of Plainview, L.I., who finished tied for third place with Texan “Nasty” Nate Biller with 16 cannoli eaten; and 341-pound William “Wild Bill” Myers, who vacuumed in seven cannoli.
Each eater brought a different technique to the table, with some first wetting their cannoli to soften the bite and others gyrating jerkily in an apparent attempt to speed up the gravitational process.
Rookie contestant Matt Klan from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, sported dyed-green hair in his inaugural bid after practicing with high-fructose foods like bananas to prepare for the day’s sugar shock. He claimed a combination of shaky nerves and adjusting to the high-fat filling ultimately sealed his fifth-place fate, with 11 cannoli down.
“The adrenaline — my hands were tingling, I almost passed out,” said Klan, who added it took him four days to plow through two-dozen cannoli in preparation for the event. “It was just incredible, absolutely incredible.”
Another first-time competitor, Noriaka Takada, a TV correspondent from Tokyo, Japan, came with his news team to cover the event as part of a series of stories focusing on New York. Instead, Takada’s producer convinced him to enter as a competitor, making for a particularly indigestive form of participatory journalism.
“He said, try, try, try,” Takada, who ended in last place with five cannoli eaten, noted of his producer’s prodding. The finish earned the Nippon Television Network personality a Pavarotti box set, awarded by event emcee and International Federation of Competitive Eating founder Richard Shea.
So will the slender reporter ever embed himself in a Little Italy eat-off again?
“No,” Takada replied promptly.
Nearby Caffe Palermo on 148 Mulberry St., which touts “The Best Cannoli on Planet Earth,” prepared at least 500 of the delectable treats for both contest and crowd consumption.
As organizers mopped up cannoli corpses from the stage following the contest, and Conti had cleaned the goop from his goatee, he reflected on his city’s embrace of “gustatory gladiator activities.”
“You get great crowds in Buffalo or Sheboygan, but for them it’s new,” said the East Villager. “The New York crowd is a jaded competitive eating crowd. They’ve seen 66 Nathan’s hotdogs in 12 minutes — they want to see more. For them, you got to come up with something special.”
