He didn’t want the title to get away from him. This Tuesday, in Saramon in the Gers, Bernard Lasbats won the “world championship of duck eaters” by swallowing 930 grams of duck in five minutes according to AFP. It’s here eleventh time that this sixty-something Gersois wins this funny title. This world championship, created in 1982 and in which 13 people took part on Tuesday, is normally held every year but had not been able to take place since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It stood under more than 30 degrees on Tuesday.
The organization? Participants are presented with a kilo of grilled duck breast that they must eat in five minutes with plastic cutlery, for more difficulty. The competition is traditionally held on Tuesdays, during the Saint-Victor fair.
More than 800 kg of duck breasts were purchased by the organizers for the two meals of the day. “It was very complicated (to get so many duck breasts) this year with the bird flu”, explains Marjorie Loraschi, president of the Saramon festival committee. “We looked in several places, we had contracts and people were affected by avian flu, we even came to think that we were not going to maintain this day”she says.
The health context did not deprive Mr. Lasbats of a new success, which he shared by offering his trophy to the dean of the competition, 97 years old and author of a good performance with 350 grams swallowed. Bernard Lasbats is a regular at this type of competition, from blood sausage to spaghetti and duck hearts.