A Clear Winner In Quirky Farton Eating Competition

VALENTIN FERRER, a gastronomic challenge-focused YouTuber from Cartagena, emerged as the victor of the 21st edition of the horchata and fartons eating contest, held at L’Albereda during the annual fair in Xàtiva on Friday, August 18.

His astounding feat involved devouring an impressive 82 fartons within a span of 37 minutes, breaking his own previous record of 54 fartons consumed.

Post-contest, Ferrer shared his thoughts to Levante EMV, stating, “I’ve only been doing this for a short time, and it’s my second win in Xàtiva. I’ve won about four or five contests. Now, I have to head home because I have a wedding to attend tomorrow.”

Joining Ferrer at the table were fellow YouTubers Ricardo Vidal and Manux3, who secured second and third place, respectively.

Vidal managed to consume a total of 51 pastries, while the third-place finisher scoffed 48.

The contest, organised by local firm Xococap, attracted a total of 98 participants. David Pla, the company’s head, mentioned that 80 pre-registration slots were filled by Monday, August 14, leaving a handful of spots for the contest day. Although the participant count fell just short of 100, applicants travelled from various parts of the peninsula, including Bilbao and Tenerife.

The grand scale of the event was understood by figures provided by the organisers, with 250 litres of horchata and a staggering 2,956 fartons eaten.

The contest was structured into three phases: first, participants were tasked with consuming 12 units within 12 minutes; second, the challenge was to eat six fartons in 10 minutes; and finally, a 15-minute stretch with no consumption limits.

Ferrer’s exceptional performance outshone his competitors by a significant margin.

To ensure fairness, a team of multiple monitors oversaw the proceedings, with each responsible for ten participants.

Ferrer’s achievement of consuming 82 fartons in just 37 minutes undoubtedly stands as a remarkable feat within the world of competitive eating.

Fartons are confectionery sweets typical of the Valencian town of Alboraia, Spain. Elongated and glazed with sugar,they are made of flour, milk, sugar, oil, eggs, and a leavening agent.

This delicate and spongy sweet is made for dipping in horchata, a drink made of tigernuts that is served cold. Fartóns are also eaten with hot beverages such as hot chocolate or caffè latte.