September 12, 2013 – 250,000 Tater Tots consumed last year on the same day at the same time at locations throughout the United States was not enough for Bar Louie. This year, the chain of bar/restaurants, with a location in River North, thinks it can do better.

On September 19, Bar Louie will host its annual Rock the Tot Tater Tot-eating contest. A team relay race, starting at 7 p.m., will be followed by solo competition. Then anyone wanting to participate will be given one Tater Tot to eat at precisely 8 p.m. Central Time.

The relay race will reward speed over quantity, with each four-person team given one pound of the tiny round hash browns to consume in the least amount of time. The winning team will get free Tater Tots for a year.

(Left) Trophy that will be awarded, along with free Tater Tots, at a tot-eating contest next week at Bar Louie.

Solo competitors will be challenged to eat as many Tater Tots as possible in three minutes. Each local winner will get a $250 Bar Louie gift card, trophy, t-shirt, and free Tater Tots for a year. Then if they can still waddle to the airport, the top five local winners will be flown to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete in a national championship.

Last year’s national champion was Jamie McDonald, who consumed five pounds and four ounces of Tater Tots in six minutes.

According to Ore-Ida, the world record for one person eating their Tater Tots is 250 in five minutes. It was set on December 30, 2005 by Sonya Thomas, a 46-year-old, 98-pound competitive eater whose nickname is “The Black Widow” because she often defeats men much larger than her.

(Right) Sonya Thomas in a photo from her website.