A USA man’s love for spiciness has made him a Guinness world record holder! Gregory Foster became the fastest person to eat three Carolina Reaper chillies, which are considered the world’s hottest pepper, in a matter of 8.72 seconds. And, he managed to break the previous best record of 9.72 seconds, held by Mike Jack (Canada), in his second attempt after the first one was disqualified.
According to the Guinness website, there was pepper matter in his mouth that had not been swallowed by the conclusion of the first attempt which disqualified him.
He attempted the record again. By the end of the qualification process at the Seaport Shopping Center in Downtown San Diego on December 2021, he had eaten six Carolina Reapers, reported Guinness.
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Many passers-by stopped to watch the attempt. The independent witnesses required for this attempt were locals who were randomly approached and asked to participate, stated the records site.
The Carolina Reaper pepper has an average of 1,641,183 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), according to tests conducted by Winthrop University in South Carolina, USA. For context, a Jalapeño pepper registers around 2,500 – 8,000 SHU, reported Guinness.
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Gregory told the Guinness site that his attempt was more about mastering his chewing technique, rather than his tolerance for the peppers.
The Carolina Reaper pepper has an average of 1,641,183 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
“In practising for an attempt like this it is more about mechanics and muscle memory, so I time myself eating small sweet peppers to get the chewing and swallowing down to automatic responses,” he said.
How did he prepare for the attempt?
Gregory, who owns a hot sauce company, prepared for the attempt with “tons of hot sauce and lots of super-hot chili peppers.” “Professionally, I spent nearly 30 years working in restaurants developing my flavour awareness,” said Gregory, while adding, “I’ve always loved spicy food and have constantly tried to push my tolerance to the limit.”
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Notably, he also holds the record for the most Carolina Reaper chillies eaten in one minute – 120g which has stood for over five years.
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