They are not nearly as popular as quantity, speed, and spicy challenges, but quantity and speed record challenges are becoming more and more common and can be a lot of fun. They can spark a very competitive atmosphere at your restaurant and people always get excited about records. In today’s world, everybody is always trying to set records. There are world records, national records, and now people can go for a record at your restaurant. The key word though is “record” which by definition means “the best or most outstanding amount, rate, height, etc, ever attained, as in some field of sport.” When dealing with records you have to remember that some people are better than others, and this definitely applies to competitive eating too.
The title of this post begins with “Things To Consider” but really there is just one thing. If you have a record challenge, you need to be aware that at any point somebody might come in and completely demolish your record challenge whether it be speed or quantity. I personally try to just barely beat records so that the challenge can continue on, but not all eaters feel the same way. If you have a taco record challenge, and the record is 25 which has stood for 4 months, a professional eater may come in and eat 45 tacos which almost doubles the previous record amount. If you have a speed record challenge where the current record is 8 minutes (which you thought was fast) to finish your 4lb (1.82lbs) deli sandwich, a professional eater might come in and do it in 4 minutes and 30 seconds. If this happens, your challenge basically becomes dead because none of your normal customers even have a chance at winning and will therefore stop trying. I have seen this situation happen many times.
At this point you have 3 options. You can continue the challenge and hope somebody can one day beat the record, you can end the challenge, or you can simply restart the challenge over. It may be neat to boast that your record is really high and it gives you a great story to tell your customers, but that is not bringing new people into your restaurant and making you money is it? The best thing to do, especially if it happens near the end of the year, is to start the challenge over after a short period of time. Just tell your customers that the record has reached its peak and will therefore be starting over from scratch. I have seen this done multiple times. Your customers will love to hear this and will want to compete which will give a fresh start to your challenge and restaurant. Record challenges are always the most popular at the beginning when the record is easier to beat. You can even leave the previous record holder on the Wall Of Fame, and just consider that the top record. The main thing is that you want to keep your challenge fun & exciting, and keep people attempting it.
Thanks for reading things to consider when creating record challenges and using FoodChallenges.com!!
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