Darren “Curly” Cook, owner of Curly’s American Hot Dogs, turned an already hot Kurri Kurri afternoon into a scorcher with his Hellfire wings challenge.
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Eleven red-faced, waiver-signing fans of Cook’s American-style cuisine lined the Station Hotel’s bar and tested their mettle with the torturous but tasty task of ingesting six extra-spicy wings in eight minutes without napkins or drinks.
Among the already fearsome array of spices and hot sauces used to make the wings, Mr Cook proudly displayed a tiny black bottle of capsicum extract – used in pepper spray – as his special ingredient.
While less than half the competitors finished the challenge, Matt “Chilli Chihuahua” Csuba powered through his serving under-par in his maiden food challenge.
“I’m a huge fan of Man Versus Food on TV and I’ve been training hard for this since I heard about it,” Mr Csuba said.
“The key is preparation.
“I wore vaseline on my mouth, lined my stomach with milk, wore a damp towel on my neck and latex gloves – not to protect my hands but to protect another body part when I use the bathroom after the challenge,” he said.
The winner of the competition, Tom Skimmings, took a more understated and zen-like approach to his punishment and victory.
“I have a perverse pride in eating the spiciest food I can, it’s not a preference it’s a lifestyle,” Mr Skimmings said.
“You could say I’ve been warming up for this my whole life and, assuming no one keels over after today, I’ll be back for Curly’s next challenge,” he said.
Mr Cook said he was pleased with the turn-out and hoped to run regular food challenges.
“I don’t think these particular wings will be on the menu if you swing by the shop, but they’re available upon special request if you’re in the market for pain,” he said.