Rooftop peanut-eating contest turns snacks into sculpture material

Peanut lovers flocked to Sunset Park this past Sunday to compete in a peanut-eating contest.

Participants and spectators started gathering on the rooftop of the BRIQ building on 32nd Street around 2 p.m. Boiled peanuts and cold-brewed green tea were served. Some participants chose to fast, while others practiced by snacking on a few legumes.

When asked how she prepared for the contest, Brianna Virabouth said she tries to get into the right headspace by recalling childhood memories.

“I’m thinking about being a kid and eating peanuts in my bedroom before my mom came in,” Virabouth said.

Shortly after 3:30 p.m., contestants were called to their seats. Each competitor was given three paper bags, each containing 50 peanuts. Caroline Chou, the contest organizer and a contestant herself, welcomed the crowd and announced the rules: no peanut was to be wasted, and participants had to clear every nut from its shell.

Chou, a local artist, is working on biomaterial sculptures using peanut shells through the Genspace BioArt Incubator program.

“I've noticed with bioplastics and mycelium, it's almost used as a substitution in bio-design where you're decarbonizing buildings,” Chou said. “I am more interested in using a material that communicates a meaning as an art piece.”

The idea came to her while visiting Taiwan, where she would share tea and peanuts with family before meals. She wanted to create pieces reflecting memories and the fondness of tradition.

“That’s why I decided to host the peanut-eating competition, because I needed to gather a lot of shells to make this piece,” Chou said.

Once the contest began, competitors adopted different strategies. Some emphasized dexterity by shelling with one hand and eating with the other. Others focused on one task at a time, shelling a handful before eating.

While the eaters labored, announcers provided peanut facts amid the sound of frantic cracking. The crowd was reminded that, despite "nut" being in the name, a peanut is actually a legume that grows underground.

After 10 minutes of fierce cracking, Melanie Yu emerged victorious. She edged out the runner-up by a margin of exactly one peanut. She was awarded a “Peanut Champ” ribbon and a peanut-shaped brooch hand-knitted by Chou.

Yu did not practice for the competition, but said her upbringing prepared her for victory.

“I ate a lot of boiled peanuts growing up,” Yu said. “My grandpa is obsessed with them, and I used to have boiled peanuts for dinner.”

By the end of the afternoon, the snacking battle yielded 2.5 pounds of shells for Chou’s artistic endeavors.

“It was just really nice to see how happy and joyful everyone is,” Chou said. “I didn’t realize how much joy this would bring.”

Chou is unsure how many shells she will ultimately need for her work, but she plans to organize another contest in Sunset Park this June.