18 ‘balut’ in 5 minutes

Wayne Algenio: Won’t eat ‘balut’ again unless he has to

By Cristina DC Pastor

With that, 27-year-old Hollis, Queens resident Wayne Algenio set a record for balut-eating in New York, the first competition of its kind in the city.

In a YouTube video, Wayne could be seen focused at stuffing his mouth, drinking bottled water and occasionally dancing. At the end of the Maharlika-organized contest, he was awarded the championship belt, bits of ‘balut’ or days-old duck fetus still stuck around his mouth.

“I’m very excited about being the balut champ of New York,” Wayne told The FilAm. “I didn’t realize how much media coverage there was.”

“This contest was my first experience with ‘balut’ and I didn’t really get the full taste of it because I was just shoving it into my mouth and eating it as fast as possible,” he described the summer afternoon contest held in Brooklyn’s DeKalb market. “I did not have a tummy ache afterwards; actually I was still hungry.”

Wayne works as a sterilization technician at SurgiCare of Manhattan. He studied at CUNY’s John Jay College. He has participated in a Dani’s pizza-eating contest and placed fourth, winning $100.

For this competition, Wayne won a belt and no cash prize. “Just receiving a belt was more than enough for me,” he said.

He vowed to be back next year “to defend my title.”

Way to go, Wayne!

There he goes one egg at a time.



2 Comments

  1. […] Island Hot Dog Eating Contest as you can imagine, but contestants said they are ready to beat out Wayne Algenio who won by consuming 18 eggs in last year’s […]

  2. […] Who will break Wayne Algenio’s record of 18 ‘balut’ in 5 minutes? Find out this Saturday » The FilAm on 18 ‘balut’ in 5 minutes […]

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