Drake Pieper was deemed the Chow Down Champion when he ate 3.1 pounds of cheese dip in three minutes at the World Cheese Dip Championship in Little Rock on Saturday, Oct. 20. Pieper attended the festival expecting to taste different varieties of cheese dip but instead returned home with a trophy.
The main focus of the festival is for professional and amateur people to bring cheese dip samples for festival guests and a panel of judges decide on the winner. The eating contest is a side component of the main competition, but Pieper still considers himself a champion.
“This (eating) contest is just a little side event that they decided to do,” Pieper said. “They asked if anybody wanted to do it they could put their name in a box for a drawing. So I did it.”
Pieper consumed over a pound more than the second place contestant, who ate about two pounds.
“The requirement was you could not use your hands or drink it from the bowl,” Pieper said. “It’s cheese dip so you have to use chips. So I went with the two chip method; I went for a little sturdiness and scooped big mouthfuls.”
Pieper was given a large, silver trophy inscribed with “Chow Down Champion 2012.” He was able to pose for pictures with his trophy alongside workers at the festival and was a spectacle for the several friends that cheered him on during the competition. His friend, junior Kayla Sheehan, was one of the supportive spectators.
“Drake made us all proud,” Sheehan said. “I hope the cheese dip festival becomes an annual tradition for our friend group.”
The World Cheese Dip Championship has earned recognition as one of the best food festivals in America, making the “Top Ten Food Festival” lists on Gourmet.com and Roadfood.com. Thousands attended the festival Saturday, debuting their homemade cheese dip recipes and trying competitors’ dips. The festival also takes place in Memphis, but is titled “Mid-South Cheese Dip Classic.”
Pieper is confident that he is not done with his competitive eating career and that his success at a small scale might propel him to a larger venue.
“I’m trying to take it easy right now and not let it get to my head,” Pieper said. “This is just my entrance into the competitive eating world. It’s not the last they’ll see of me, I’m sure. I’ll go back to defend my title next year.”
