Some brought their own spoons, some brought hot water, but they all brought an appetite.
Fifteen students representing different UF organizations showed up at The Caffeine Bar at Ben & Jerry’s to compete in the first Vermonster Challenge Tuesday night in front of a crowd of more than 300.
The participants raced to be the first to finish Ben & Jerry’s Vermonster – a 14,000-calorie ice cream creation with 20 scoops of ice cream, four bananas, one brownie, 10 scoops of nuts and eight scoops of toppings, all topped with whipped cream.
The rules were simple: Finish all of the ice cream, and if you throw up, you’re out.
Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Kurt Gielow was victorious Tuesday evening, finishing his five pounds of ice cream in about 13 minutes.
Contestants had different strategies to prepare for the eat-a-thon. About five said they starved themselves and one said he ate Chinese before competing.
The competitors from TriGators and UF Wrestling club were the only other two contestants to finish their ice cream, placing second and third respectively. Both received $20 gift cards to Ben & Jerry’s.
The winning organization received a trophy and $250 from Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben & Jerry’s gave Gielow a $50 gift card for conquering The Vermonster in the fastest time.
At least five competitors were disqualified for throwing up.
