BETHLEHEM, Pa. — How fast were the competitors eating Aw Shucks! sweet corn on the cob?
As if they were on the lam from the law and heard sirens approaching in the distance.
That fast.
Five men and one woman munched and chewed through five ears of delicious corn as fast as their jaws would allow before a standing-room-only crowd at the inaugural Aw Shucks Corn Eating Championship at Yuengling Lagerplatz on the Northside on a rainy Wednesday night.
Kernels lathered in butter, Parmesan cheese and a secret family blend of Aw Shucks spice freckled the competitors’ lips, cheeks and chins as they raced to win the $100 prize.
In the end, Austin Shaffer was anointed Aw Shucks! Corn King. The 28-year-old Bethlehem resident buzzed through the five ears in four minutes, 38 seconds.
When asked what he wanted to do next, he didn’t say he wanted to go to Disney World. Rather, and surprisingly, he said, “I want dinner!”
An appetite for both success and eating.
Joe Russo of Bethlehem finished second and Alex Unrue of Easton placed third.
However, Shaffer may have benefitted from a hidden and perhaps unfair advantage en route to winning the contest.
"I grew up in Indiana, so there was corn on the table every night."Austin Shaffer, Bethlehem
“I grew up in Indiana, so there was corn on the table every night,” he said, of having been reared in the fifth-largest corn-producing state in America. “I just love it.”
But before Shaffer could officially be crowned the winner, he had to wait two minutes after he finished eating his fifth ear of corn to make sure the kernels didn’t, well, reappear, if you know what I mean.
Watching the competition was Dave Emili, owner of Aw Shucks!
“This is our 24th year being a part of Musikfest,” he said. “But this is the first corn eating competition for us here. When the organizers told us about it, we loved being part of it.”
Asked what he planned to do with the $100, Shaffer smiled and said, “Maybe buy some beer.”
You know, just to wash it all down.
