Eating contest has Wings with Chili hotter than pepper spray

The competitors were literally on fire at Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap Thursday for the Battle of the Bhut XXX wing eating contest. The official Major League Eating attracted a world-class field, competing to see who could eat the most XXX hot wings in 5 minutes. In an upset of massive proportions, Erik “The Red” Denmark took home the top $1,000 prize by downing 35 wings, barely edging Chicago resident and the second-best competitive eater in the country, Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, who downed 34 wings. Jake’s signature wings are made with two of the spiciest peppers in the world, the Red Savina Habanero and the Bhut Jolokia, which currently holds the title of hottest chile pepper in the Guinness Book of World Records. Denmark also wins free Jake’s wings for year, but lest you think he’s had his fill of the hotness, he celebrated his win by chugging a bottle of XXX Wing sauce. – NBC Chicago