Chicago Man Finishes Second in Burger Eating Competition

Patrick Bertoletti narrowly lost to a mother of four

Turns out 25 hamburgers in 10 minutes wasn't enough for Chicago's Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti to keep his title at the sixth annual Independence Burger Eating Championship.

The 29-year-old defending champ finished the Washington, D.C., competition Thursday just behind Molly Schuyler, a 34-year-old mother of four and the only woman in the 11-person food race.

Schuyler finished off 26 burgers to grab the trophy and $1,500 in cash.

"This is probably one of my best competitions ever," Schuyler said. "I enjoyed it, the people were incredibly nice, and it was one of the best events I’ve even attended.”

“I knew I had to have a perfect session today to beat Molly," Bertoletti said, "and I was just a little less than perfect. Hats off to her. … She’s one of the best.”

Bertoletti won last year's championship by finishing 28 burgers, knocking off the previous winner, Pete "Furious Pete" Czerwinski.

"You do this move like snakes do," Bertoletti explained after the competition. "You kinda loosen your jaw, and you don't chew. You just open up your throat, and the food will just kinda fall back."

How does he feel after the race?

"You feel terrible. It's a mix of carbs and protein. That and hot dogs make it very difficult. You naturally hold a lot of water, because you have to drink water to get it down. You just feel it ballooning up inside of you."

Bertoletti took home the $850 cash prize.

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