Some of the top competitive eaters in the country will descend on Lewisville this weekend for the World Tamale Eating Championship.
On Saturday, competitors including champion eater James Webb will gather at the Lewisville Western Days Festival to see who can wolf down the most tamales and take home the prize pot of $1,750 for first place.
Webb told NTX Now hosts Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning that he's already preparing for the showdown.
"Today I'm gonna have a little bit of a easy day on the food and start loading fluid to keep hydrated," he said. "Then tomorrow, I start fasting like full 24 hours, just a little of fluid here and there and come hungry for the contest."
Webb will be up against other world-renowned eaters like Geoff Esper, Radim Dvoracek, Derek Hendrickson, and Adrian Morgan, among others.
One of the most challenging aspect of this particular competition, he said, is the spices.
"Obviously, in an eating contest, you're trying to minimize how much you drink, because you want to save space and save time," Webb said. "But when you're 70, 80, or 90 tamales deep, you are so thirsty. So, it's very hard to try and tell yourself, 'keep eating, don't drink,' when your tongue is like desert."
You can watch the tamale eating competition at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sep. 26 on the City Hall Stage at the Lewisville Western Days Festival, located at 151 W. Church Street in Lewisville.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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