There are just some jobs that aren’t your usual nine-to-five and these folks are definitely cut from a different cloth. To kickstart this new series where we identify everyday people doing not-your-everyday jobs, we link up with professional competitive eater Zermatt Neo to get a glimpse into his unique lifestyle and how he makes a living off stuffing himself silly.
From devouring everything in a hawker centre in support of struggling hawkers during the circuit breaker to checking off epic restaurant challenges, Zermatt and his almost-superhuman feats got the attention and fanfare of many Singaporeans. Now, the full-time competitive eater is even running an eating competition as the Chief Food Officer for GastroBeats' first-ever Chomp Champs
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Here, we ask him 10 questions to help us better understand what full-time competitive eating is really like.
This is not like any other sport where there’s a guidebook or theories to follow for success. You’ll find yourself constantly experimenting with challenges and every time you push a little bit harder, you risk getting injured. Think of it like swimming, you get into the pool and just put in the work. So for eating, you just gotta cook up a bunch of food and start eating. Basically, the goal is to increase capacity and build up mental strength.
I prefer Asian food way more – it never gets old for me! And definitely hawker food too – I can put down a good amount of Hainanese chicken rice and bak chor mee (minced meat noodles). When it comes to choosing between carbs and proteins, I am certainly a big carb person.
The famous Blanco Court Beef Noodle Challenge at Singapore Comic Con. I set the world record for eating 7.3kg worth of those delicious bowls in just 15 minutes. Of course, it took me six weeks' worth of prep to be able to achieve such a feat.
I think it’s gotta be the 400-wing challenge at Jeffo’s. First off, it’s 100 percent protein and second, there were a lot of bones. Another one I can think of is the 8kg fried rice challenge I attempted across the border in JB. I thought it was going to be a walk in the park but I ended up dying because it was just a lot.
So not every single contest allows the dunking technique. 90 percent of eating contests are picnic-style which means dunking isn’t allowed. When dunking is allowed, it is usually because the competition food is expected to be dry. Though it is a double-edged sword because dunking makes your food heavier and will take up additional capacity really quickly.
I’d say 50 percent goes into preparation for speed, capacity and technique. The other 50 percent is all mental. Everyone has the basic desire to eat but eventually, you’ll reach a point where you’re not hungry anymore – most people usually max out within two to three minutes. And that is where you have to tap into your mental fortitude and push through. You’ll have to treat it like a sport and settle into the rhythm.
You have to have a game plan! If your game plan is going in hungry and thinking you can eat a lot, chances are you’ll most likely fail. Personally, I do a water fast the day before so no food for 24 hours. During the challenge, I tend to start off with proteins as they are usually denser and when the going gets tough, you can almost always get in a few mouthfuls more carbs.
I literally feel like garbage. There’s nothing much but to just ride along. I drink a ton of water, take long walks and a lot of rest and sleep.
As competitive eating goes, there’s not much anyone can do to avoid the risks. We just need to make sure that I don’t die of a heart attack. My golden rule is to stick to one shoot each time and ensure I have ample time to recover. During recovery, I’ll be on a low-inflammatory diet, sometimes even going vegan, and again, lots of water to flush the system. Also, I spend a lot of time in the gym doing cardio every single day. Well, I’m not in my ravishing twenties anymore so I need to control and take care of myself.
Just don’t try it at home because it’s not fun. Okay, in all seriousness, start small. Don’t be watching competitive eating challenges on YouTube and instantly assume you can eat a 5kg meal. Just start small, 2kg is quite impressive for beginners.
