Days after Thanksgiving, brave competitors will embark on a second feast, indulging in a beloved Pennsylvania potato chip brand.
The Middleswarth Potato Chip Eating Contest is a 10-year tradition in NEPA hosted at Sabatini’s Bottle Shop in Exeter.
“It's kind of fun to see how excited people get for it,” said Albert Martino, the founder of the event.
Hosted by NortheastSnacks
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Martino is the owner of NortheastSnacks, a website that ships local potato chips, chocolates, Tastykakes and more to buyers all over the country. He says the most popular seller is Middleswarth barbecue chips.
He said the idea to host the first Middleswarth Potato Chip Eating Contest 10 years ago was a “giant what if,” but every year entries sell out in about an hour. While this year's event is sold out, people can attend to spectate.
“Usually in like the middle of summer people are emailing me, sending us messages on Instagram, like, ‘Hey, when does the chip contest go on sale?’” Martino said. “This year we have a guy coming in from Wisconsin.”
A friendly competition
About two dozen participants will line up at a table in the restaurant with a "Weekender" bag of chips and bottle of water in front of them.
“They let us know if they want barbecue or plain chips,” Martino said. “And then people have five minutes to eat however many chips they can.”
When the time is up, the bags are weighed to determine who ate the most.
“Some people crush them and make like a soup with the water,” Martino said. “Some people literally eat one chip slowly and just enjoy the chaos, like they know they're not going to win.”
NEPA food personalities
Martino typically emcees the event, cracking jokes and hyping up contestants. This year, he decided to pass the microphone to Brian DiMattia, a local podcast host and creator of the DiMattia’s Food Fight brand.
“It's kind of like the ultimate NEPA food fight,” Martino said. “So why not have the food fight guy host it?”
DiMattia interviewed Martino on his podcast this year, and they discussed several Pennsylvania chip brands including Herr’s, Utz, Wise and Middleswarth.
The Middleswarth company, technically the Ira Middleswarth & Son, Inc., was founded in 1942 in Snyder County. The plant currently delivers the chips to 11 distributors around the state.
“I know people go nuts over Middleswarth potato chips and I don’t blame them, I love them too,” DiMattia said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how many chips people can eat. I’m also looking forward to razzing some of the people who can’t eat them really fast.”
For a worthy cause
"We usually try to tie in some charity so it's not complete gluttony," Martino said.
This year's event will benefit the NEPA Pet Food Pantry, founded by Martino this year in partnership with the Luzerne Foundation.
"I've seen a need for it over the past couple years," he said. "And that's going to be our first fundraiser for it."
The nonprofit will soon operate a food pantry for Luzerne County pets at a warehouse in Exeter.
Middleswarth Potato Chip Eating Contest
Sat., Nov. 29
11 a.m.
Sabatini's Bottle Shop and Bar
1901 Wyoming Ave., Exeter
