2 weeks Ago By Gabrielle Becerra Mellet
Walking through a crowd of people in North Queensland, Jimmy Judge is stopped for photos. He is 29 years old, a former amateur boxer and personal trainer, and now makes a living as a competitive eater. Over the past couple of years Mr Judge has attracted more than 200,000 followers on social media where he documents his extreme food challenges.
Jimmy Judge took on 2kg of seafood this week in Townsville. One of his fastest records stands at 10 pies in four-and-a-half minutes. He has also made his way through a 1kg donut in under four minutes, 3kg of nachos in 18 minutes and 10 seconds, 14 pancakes in 15 minutes, and a 2.
2kg pizza in seven minutes and 10 seconds. "I use this as entertainment for other people and it's become my job now, which I'm so blessed for," he said. "I honestly never could have imagined it would go like this.
" A former boxer turned competitive eater, Mr Judge is set to tour Australia. Mr Judge is about to embark on a national road trip from Queensland to WA, where he will seek out the country's best pub feeds, local cuisines and hidden gems. Hailing from Townsville and now living on the Gold Coast, Mr Judge said regional pubs would be a focus on his trip.
"I'll definitely be going back out west and trying some of the famous Mount Isa pubs, coming through Charters Towers, all the gold mining towns," he said. So that's food for thought if he ever takes on a fruit-eating challenge. Preparation routine is key This week, he took on a 2kg seafood boil on stage as part of a youth festival, finishing the platter in just over 30 minutes.
Bina's Kitchen owner Evelyn Billy, who cooked the seafood, said she was worried watching Mr Judge on stage. Evelyn Billy cooked the seafood for Mr Judge. "I don't know if he's going to be OK, it's a lot of seafood," she said.
Often making his way through kilograms of food, Mr Judge has the preparation down pat. "I always take 24 hours off before the challenge ..
. so if I've got a challenge at lunchtime I'll normally have a big meal the day before at lunchtime but a big meal that's low calories," he said. "Five hours before, I'll cut all my liquids off so I won't drink anything between 7'o'clock and midday, but I'll get up early to make sure I can drink two or three litres of water.
" Eating challenges take off , some pub owners say they have had to make changes to their core business. Helen Corliss is the operations manager of the Grand Hotel in Childers, one of the first stops on Judge's eating tour. Helen Corliss says the hotel launched its eating challenges after a shift in customer behaviour.
The hotel has been running regular eating challenges for about a year. "I think it's just a bit of fun ..
. you know cost of living pressures and everything that's going on in Australia, people when they do come out to dinner, they just want to come out and have a big meal." If you or someone you know needs help: From 1kg steaks to a "full boar" rack of ribs and triple-stack burgers, punters must beat a time limit to eat certain meals free at the pub.
Ms Corliss said there had been a "generational shift" in drinking behaviours. "We've always had the core market of the guys that come in after work, or the guys that sit there all day on a Saturday and have a pint or have a drink," she said. "The younger generation are just not like that.
Road trip a 'personal challenge' Mr Judge said his road trip, which will be documented on social media, was also a bid to challenge himself. "I've really struggled in the past with a lot of my own mental health battles," he said. "This is something that absolutely terrifies me to go out and be by myself for so long on the road.
"I'm quite an anxious person that always needs to know what's going on next.".
