Last month, we traveled to Southeast Missouri and visited the city of Cape Girardeau to attend the ramen noodle eating contest at Cape Anime. Cape Girardeau boasts a variety of delicious food and also has a thriving entertainment scene, including arcades, live music, sporting events, and conventions. Cape Con and Cape Anime are conventions hosted by Cape Events, a company that organizes events annually in Cape Girardeau.
Cape Con launched in 2005 and has become a popular destination for comic books, art, memorabilia, and an unforgettable atmosphere and experience.
Following the success of Cape Con, Cape Anime would launch and provide an experience for all things Anime, including celebrity guest appearances, panel discussions, cosplaying, and even a ramen noodle eating contest.
We arrived in Cape Girardeau on March 10th around 1:30 PM (CST), excited to enter the convention and attend the ramen noodle eating contest. The Drury Plaza Hotel also hosted the event, and there were a lot of attendees! Excitement filled the air as vendors greeted customers and panel discussions took place, all while the atmosphere glowed with positivity.
It soon came time for the ramen noodle eating contest. As we waited for the contest to get set up, we couldn't help but notice a big clear tarp on the carpet. Volunteers also removed the entire first row of chairs to accommodate more tables for the sixteen competitors in the contest. That's when we knew it was about to get serious. With everything ready to go, the announcer began calling each competitor to the stage.
However, there was a slight issue. One competitor did not show up, so an audience member answered the call to battle for this contest, and we commend him for it!
After everyone took their positions, the announcer explained the rules for the contest. The contest ran for ten minutes, with whoever consumed the most ramen in the allotted time being declared the victor. In addition, competitors could use soy sauce, seasoning packets, and one bottle of water to aid them in their quest to be the victor of the contest. They also had to eat exclusively with chopsticks.
The contest commenced, and all sixteen competitors started eating their first bowls of ramen, which filled the room with its scent. It also added to the atmosphere to hear the audience get energized about the contest by yelling out competitors' names and cheering for them.
As the ten minutes expired and the contest ended, volunteers collected the empty bowls and counted them before declaring a winner. After the official scores got tallied, the announcer declared Cody Dulaney (AKA YourManCody) victorious!
Cody also broke the previous contest record of seven bowls by eating twelve bowls of ramen! He won $200 and was declared the victor of the ramen noodle eating contest, all while remaining humble as he posed for pictures.
FULL CONTEST VIDEO:
Cape Anime was an enjoyable and memorable event. Watching everyone have a great experience at the convention and contest was one of our favorite moments. We look forward to the next one!
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