Speedy solo diners could become China’s next superstars
A recent Xinhua report said that a growing number of Chinese enjoy eating fast and dining alone — which begs the question: What took you so long?
What’s not to like about avoiding meaningless chitchat and not caring about what you’re wearing when you strap on the ol’ feed bag? Just focus on the meal and shovel it in.
This is especially true if, day after day, year after year, you share a table with a spouse. Been there, done that … right? Come on, be honest — how long can you keep talking about nothing?
The Xinhua report focused on a nationwide survey conducted last fall by a London-based global market research group. Nearly 50 percent of interviewees said they had enjoyed eating alone in the preceding 24 hours, up 9 percent from 2017. Overall, around 18 percent of respondents said they preferred to dine solo in restaurants, up from 10 percent the previous year.
Another key revelation was that time spent eating is in sharp decline.
If we’re to believe the numbers, millions of Chinese are coming to the long-overdue realization that solo speed dining is one of the last vestiges of social independence in a world increasingly defined by the intrusive parameters of polite convention. But instead of being scorned or pitied, these epicurean elite should be hailed as mealtime mavericks — and the harbingers of what could be the nation’s next great wave of sports heroes: competitive eaters.
While New York-based Major League Eating (www.majorleagueeating.com) and the International Federation of Competitive Eating are not yet officially sanctioning events in China, the database at eatfeats.com, which tracks global activity in the sport, lists more than 40 competitions held here over the past few years, along with video highlights.
In the most recent high-profile event — which warranted a blurb in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper — dozens of competitors in Yichun, Jiangxi province, in December were immersed in a hot spring filled with chili peppers. A young woman who wolfed down 20 of the fiery veggies in 60 seconds won a gold bar and the title Chili Queen.
In 2016, the Associated Press carried the story of veteran Chinese competitive eater Pan Yizhong, who polished off 36 boiled eggs and a box of mealworms at Shiniuzhai Geopark in Hunan province to promote the opening of the world’s longest glass-bottomed pedestrian suspension bridge.
While Pan’s prodigious egg and worm intake brought homegrown competitive eating into the international spotlight, he’ll have to keep raising the bar to match the exploits of China-born Juliet Lee, a genuine MLE superstar who’s currently ranked No 16 in the world.
A former chemistry professor at Nanjing University, Lee moved to the US 20 years ago and caught the fever after seeing a story about competitive eating on the television news.
Now the owner of a hair salon in Germantown, Maryland, Lee set her first world record by downing 13.2 pounds of jellied cranberry sauce in eight minutes during an MLE special on Spike TV in the fall of 2007. Six months later, she sent shockwaves through the sport by needing just 7 minutes and 13 seconds to devour seven chicken wings, three hot dogs, two six-inch pizzas, three Italian ices and one pound of nachos en route to winning the Ultimate Eating Tournament in New York.
Today, at age 53 and still tipping the scales at a mere 45.4 kilograms, Lee continues to compete — and set the standard for China’s next world-beater eater.
For some dedicated solo diners out there, fame and glory are just a bite or two away.
It’s just a matter of time.