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Elk Point and St. Paul fire wage heated spaghetti battle

It was a messy affair that required plastic tablecloths, plenty of tomato sauce, the odd drizzle of hot sauce, and 10 full plates of spaghetti. And when all was said and done, the St.
Elk Point firefighter Mike Ernst shovels down spaghetti for his team at a contest hosted on March 27 at Boston Pizza, between St. Paul and Elk Point’s fire departments.
Elk Point firefighter Mike Ernst shovels down spaghetti for his team at a contest hosted on March 27 at Boston Pizza, between St. Paul and Elk Point’s fire departments.

It was a messy affair that required plastic tablecloths, plenty of tomato sauce, the odd drizzle of hot sauce, and 10 full plates of spaghetti. And when all was said and done, the St. Paul Fire Department would reign as this year’s champions of the Boston Pizza spaghetti-eating contest.

The local restaurant had attempted to host a spaghetti-eating contest in the fall of 2016, to help the St. Paul Animal Shelter raise funds. But, the event was cancelled due to a low number of registrations.

Later on, plans to put neighbouring fire departments up against each other began to be put in motion, and it was a race to the finish on Monday night as St. Paul took on the Elk Point Fire Department.

“I am so very happy with how it went. I was a little worried when I first put the idea out there that we wouldn't get much ground, but both fire departments really put forth their best effort and had a blast,” said Kate Edwards, a staff member with Boston Pizza.

Two long tables were set up, with five St. Paul fire fighters taking on five Elk Point fire fighters. Each member had two minutes to eat as much spaghetti off his plate as possible, while racing against an opposing member.

Once the two minutes was up, the plates were weighed, and cheers were heard for those with the less food left on their plate. St. Paul managed to take the win, beating Elk Point by a difference of 20.9 ounces.

While it was an Elk Point member who ate the most spaghetti off his plate, leaving mostly just the weight of the plate, it was St. Paul’s consistent effort that gave them the win.

Combined, the fire fighters ate a total of 182.1 ounces of spaghetti during the contest.

Prior to the event, each department chose a charity for which to raise pledges. St. Paul showed up in support of the Animal Shelter, while Elk Point chose to support the Alberta Hospice Palliative Care Association.

In total, the groups raised $2,840. Money raised by each department went to the group’s chosen charity, but the winning team received an additional $200 for their cause, which was collected through entry fees.

And while the St. Paul Fire Department proved they could eat more spaghetti in a two-minute time frame, the Elk Point Department proved they had some impressive fundraising abilities.

In the end, $700 went to the St. Paul Animal Shelter, and $2,140 was raised for the Alberta Hospice Palliative Care Association.

“Both sides said they would like a rematch in the fall, maybe bringing in other fire departments, and hopefully raise more money, and that's all I could really ask for,” said Edwards.

Teams for this year’s spaghetti eating contest were:

Elk point - Devin Rewoldt; Mike Ernst; Aaron Silver; Ramsey Mudryk; and Sheridan Naths

St. Paul - Ricardo Williams; Derek Begg; David Thomson; Adrien Christensen; and Brad Bespalko


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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