Speed Eaters Rock Qdoba

To some athletes, the annual Beanpot signifies feats of skating and shooting. To others, like these four burrito-loving Harvard students, it means chewing and devouring—fast.

In Qdoba’s annual Rice and Bean Pot Burrito Eating Contest, Ryan K. Burke ’10, Daniele M. Pellegrini ’11, Tyler D. Sipprelle ’10, and Christian D. Wood ’11 took top honors at yesterday's Harvard-only competition. The team, which completed the relay-style burrito eating competition in just 3 minutes and 30 seconds, will go on to compete against the winning teams from Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern University on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

The team beat out 11 other competitors at Harvard by consuming one burrito apiece at lightning speed—an average of 52 seconds per person.

"I think we’re the favorite coming into the finals," said Sipprelle of his team, which had the best qualifying time out of the four schools' championship teams. "We’re gonna go out there and win."

Sipprelle told us that he and Burke, who each had entered the competition in the past, determined earlier this year that they would compete for the top prize, a week-long trip to Mexico. They took about half a dozen hopefuls to Qdoba and held tryouts, selecting Pellegrini and Wood to complete their "all-star team."

After selecting their teammates, they practiced. "We all did a burrito the day before and brainstormed a little bit on what made for good form: pretty small bites, chew as little as possible," said Sipprelle, a former Crimson sports editor.

The most difficult aspect of the event? "The competition burritos are a little tough to eat. They’re kind of dry and dense. You really have to work your way through it," said Sipprelle, a self-professed burrito lover who says Qdoba’s are the best in the Square.

It’s a good thing that these students enjoy the Qdoba creations—they’re going to be eating a lot of them over the next few days.

"The Harvard Qdoba manager is very much on our side," Sipprelle said. "He said we can come in much as we want in the next three days and eat free burritos to practice."