The 3rd Annual Nugget World Rib Eating Competition was held on Wednesday, August 27 at 6:00pm on the Main Stage at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off.

The 2008 Rib Eating Championship featured an all-star cast of competitive eaters, including 2nd-ranked Chicagoan Pat Bertoletti, a mohawked chef who holds four different pie-eating titles and recently ate a staggering 15 pounds of strawberry shortcake in eight minutes. "I don't care how many rib titles Joey has," Bertoletti said of the contest. "The reign of the rib king is about to end."

Nipping at Bertoletti's heels was 7th-ranked Rich "The Locust" LeFevre of Henderson, Nevada, 12th-ranked Seattle's Erik "The Red" Denmark, the Pacific Northwest's greatest gurgitator, Ron Koch, Jason Erb, and El Toro Jimenez.

View the 2008 Rib Eating Championship results here.

View the video press release of the 2007 Rib Eating Championships here.

Read the press release here (30kb PDF).

Check out MLE's main Web site for more information on competitive eating and eater profiles.