Gainesville man becomes pho king at local eating contest

After 15 minutes of slurping, sipping and supping to victory, one man ate an infant’s weight in soup Thursday.

At Taste Pho and Noodle House’s second annual pho-eating contest, six contestants competed. The winner earned $300, second place received a $150 gift card for Taste, and third place won a $50 gift card.

To qualify, contestants had to finish two large portions of soup in 15 minutes or less, said Hung Nguyen, the owner of Taste. He came up with the idea for the contest during the restaurant’s grand opening in 2015.

“They basically inhale it,” he said.

This year’s contestants were all male and new to the contest, he said. Last year’s record was 5 pounds, 1 ounce.

Michael Jenkins consumed 9 pounds, 1.9 ounces of pho. He used his hands, a fork and two straws. It wasn’t the Gainesville resident’s first time winning an eating contest; he’s been entering them for the past four years.

“To win, I fast for 24 hours and work out hard right before,” the 49-year-old said. “I love doing contests.”

Florentino Mateo, 19, aimed to eat 8 pounds in pho. His strategy for his first eating contest was to eat slowly, he said. The UF applied physiology and kinesiology sophomore ate just under 5 pounds of pho, finishing in last place.

Thomas Santos, 20, came out to cheer on his roommate, Robert Lugo, who came in next to last.

“He’s got a big appetite and a strong heart,” Santos, a UF international studies junior, said of Lugo. “But hopefully after this he won’t feel like eating for a while. Hopefully he’ll have food PTSD.”

Robert Lug, a 20-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior, participates at the Pho-eating contest at Taste Pho and Noodle House on Thursday evening.