Competitive Eaters Take On Sweet Challenge At World Strawberry Shortcake Eating Championship On LI

NORTH FORK, NY — It was the sweetest of competitions Saturday as contestants vied to win the Mattituck Lions Club World Strawberry Shortcake Eating Championship, presented by Major League Eating, at the 71st Annual Mattituck Strawberry Festival.

The contestants, competitive eaters who travel the circuit with iron stomachs and and inner grit, competed to see who could down the most 1 lb. bowls of strawberry shortcake in 8 minutes.

(Video by Lisa Finn for Patch)

This year, Geoff Esper of Oxford, MA, the #3rd ranked competitive eater in the world —took home the title for the fifth consecutive year, eating 21.5 lbs. of strawberry deliciousness in 8 minutes.

Esper remains the reigning champ: In 2025, despite rain and cold temperatures, he wowed the crowd as he downed 24 whopping lbs. of shortcake, a world record.

A year earlier in 2024, Esper scarfed down 23 and 3/4 lbs. of strawberry deliciousness in 8 minutes.

In 2023, Esper also took home the title, consuming 21 bowls of sweet goodness in the allotted time.

Esper was the 2022 winner, too, coming in at 18.25 bowls. And, Esper also won the competition in 2019, eating 17.5 bowls in 8 minutes.

Two contestants tied for second place: Both Max Stanford and Nick Wehry consumed 18 lbs. of sweet shortcake in 8 minutes.

In third place, Radim Dvoracek gobbled up 15 lbs. of shortcake, and in fourth place, Jerome Burns threw back 14 lbs.