Here’s the thing about eating competitions: The guy you think is going to win never actually does. In the case of the Second Annual Mama O’s Super Spicy Kimchi eating competition, held at the 2012 NYC Cook Out on Governor’s Island this Saturday and Sunday, some would-be frontrunners fared worse than others.

Kimchi is a fermented vegetable salad, usually cabbage-based, that’s big in Korea and gaining popularity in the states. The heat levels of various kimchi recipes vary, from warm to HOLY HELL GRAB ME A BEER. The kimchi served up by Mama O’s? You’d best grab a six-pack. First there was “All Day Jose,” who sprinted off stage after a bite, maybe two, to a chorus of boos. Then there was the gent in the gray shirt, stage left in the video who … well, you’ll have to watch to find out.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” said Kheedim Oh, the founder and son of the eponymous Mama O, who conducted cooking demos throughout the day. “I made this batch extra spicy.” Oh’s wares were available all day long, both individually and atop tacos, hot dogs, and even mixed into a salmon burger at the Blind Tiger Ale House tent. One stand-out: the skirt steak tacos from Richard of Brooklyn’s Bar Bruno. A rub of cumin and garlic powder set the steak up nicely for the spicy heat of Oh’s Kimchi, which, it should be noted, was dosed with ample amounts of Ghost Pepper, the world’s hottest pepper (at least for now).

Also on-site at the event, one of many Governor’s Island bacchanals put on by New York’s craft brew leader, Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village: Zio, an Italian restaurant known for hand-made pastas but here serving up fresh fruit-augmented BBQ (figs with pork belly and honey drizzle; grilled pineapple topped by crispy pork skin; an intense lamb-burger with onion marmalade and goat cheese); High Point Farms, which emerged victorious for a second year in the burger competition; and Sabrett’s, the hot dog kings, who supplied cased meats to many of the competitors. 

Via: Ghost Pepper Kimchi: How Much Could You Eat?