CORNWALL, Ontario – Timothy Woods took one look at the competition Saturday and knew he had them beat.
“I was into my second one, and they were still on their first,” he said.
The second “one” he is talking about is a poutine, and the Cornwall man polished off three in just 10 minutes to win the first ever St. Albert’s Cheese Poutine Eating Contest.
For those keeping track at home Woods downed about three pounds of cheesy, gravy-laden French fries, besting the second-place finisher by about a quarter of a pound.
Despite what seemed like a close finish Woods said in an interview after the event things weren’t in doubt.
“I slowed down the pace,” he said. “I took it easy as soon as I got to the third one…I could have eaten more.
“Most of them got down their first one and I was two-and-a-half through.”
Woods is not a competitive eater by any stretch, but he knows what he likes and poutine is definitely on the list.
Despite what amounted to a fairly hefty mid-afternoon snack (the contest took place at 2:30 p.m.) he still had room for a hearty supper.
“We have chicken and potatoes tonight.”
For his efforts Woods was presented with a $250 gift card from St. Albert’s Cheese – arguably the most popular curd destination in this part of the country.
But even Woods, who can now add “champion eater” to his resume couldn’t use the entire card- he split it with a buddy.
“$250 is a lot of cheese”…said the guy who just ate three poutines.
