The King, presumably laughing at his competition.
ANSONIA – A dozen contestants stuffed their faces with plump, fruit-filled pastries during the city’s annual paczki-eating contest in celebration of Fat Tuesday.
But only one emerged the victor to claim the gold paper crown. Gentleman Joe Menchetti, of Cheshire, scoffed down 10 of the overstuffed paczkis (pronounced ‘poonch keys’) in just five minutes.
Menchetti is no stranger to the annual event, winning the contest several years in a row when the Mardi Gras eat-a-thon was held at the former Eddy’s Bake Shop downtown. He was pretty much known around these parts as the “Paczki King.” He came back after a brief hiatus to reclaim his crown.
In all seriousness, it's great to see this tradition continue.
Tuesday’s event took place at the Ansonia Armory, where 12 brave souls took their places behind a long table, piled high with boxes of the plump donuts from Big Y supermarket.
Paczkis are Polish, jelly doughnut-like confections traditionally eaten on Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, and refers to the custom of eating rich, fatty foods the day before Lent.
The donuts can weigh up to a half pound, especially when jam packed with fillings like lemon, black raspberry, strawberry, prune and custard. Tradition calls for people to get rid of all their extra flour, sugar, starch, eggs and other ingredients, roll them all into the donuts, overindulge and stop in time to fast for Lent.
Mayor David Cassetti set a countdown clock for five minutes, and the contestants were on their way. Many took big swigs of water in between big bites of the packzis to help wash them down.
Menchetti said he felt pretty good after downing all those doughy creations. He once downed a personal record of 14 of the plump pastries, and was glad he didn’t come close to that this time around.
Dr. Shuart and his box of paczkis after the contest. Did anyone explain the rules to him?
“I’d feel a lot worse if I approached my record,” Menchetti quipped. “The only thing I did to prepare was not have a third or fourth drink when I was out with friends last night.”
Ansonia Board of Education member Sharon Voroschak came dressed for the occasion, too, sporting a shirt featuring a colorful donut with the words ‘Sprinkle Kindness’ emblazoned across the front. She joked that she was going to head over to the city Riverwalk and run about five miles after fueling up on all that doughy goodness.
Cassetti handed out gift cards to local restaurants and presented plaques to the Top 3 winners. Taking a respective second place was Aldermanic President Josh Shuart, who wolfed down 6 and a half paczkis (one more than his effort last year).
Shuart actually continued eating his pile of pastries after the event ended and joked that he was “going to get breakfast” afterward.
“I’m on the cusp of winning, and in about 14 years, I’ll be competitive,” Shuart said.
Ansonia BOE member Sharon Voroschak psyches herself up while Ansonia CFO Kurt Miller (left) thinks about bond ratings. The photo bomber is Rich DiCarlo.
The contest has become a much-anticipated tradition in Ansonia since the late 90s, when it was started by the former Eddy’s Bake Shop. But even after Eddy’s closed a few years back, Cassetti felt it was important to keep the good times going.
“If you know me, I’m the type of guy that wants to have feel-good events all the time in our city,” Cassetti said. “I love this, I love having fun with my residents and I had to continue the tradition that was started long ago.”
State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria tries to get Kurt Miller to take "big boy bites" while Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis does everything she can to keep it together.
