Mike Jack of Stellarton, NS, holds 18 Guinness World Records for eating foods that most people consider too hot to handle.
“The craziest record I have is the fastest time to eat 100 Carolina Reaper peppers,” Mike said. “I have records of eating a hundred ghost peppers, 50 Carolina Reaper peppers, 25 Carolina Reaper peppers, most ghost peppers are eaten in two minutes and yes, a lot of other crazy spicy things.”
Mike is also the four-time reigning chili-eating champion of the Fire League: a competitive hot chili-eating promotion that pits players head-to-head in chili-eating matches like prize fights.
League of Fire kicked off with the inaugural Chilli-Eating World Title match at the 2019 Guildford Cheese and Chilli Festival in Guildford, England. League of Fire has grown to include several belts and a global ranking system that assigns points to players who compete in chili-eating challenges.
According to their website, League of Fire considers their world title holder to be world champions.
Mike’s training to be a world champion began in college with an interest in hot sauce. He started with “mild” sauces like Frank’s and Tobasco and developed his tolerance from there.
“I started looking for hotter and hotter sauces,” Mike said. This is not the only difference between his preparation and that of other competitors.
“Eat a lot of food beforehand,” Mike said. “I feel pretty full trying to dilute it in my stomach because it’s one thing when my mouth hurts, but once it gets to my stomach it’s a completely different problem.”
In addition to his physical training, Mike calms down before games by listening to Buddhist breathing meditations.
Like any great competitor, Mike has a fantastic coach. His wife Jamie is in his corner during his games, helping him beat the heat.
“I think it’s just curiosity,” Jamie said. She wasn’t convinced her husband’s spicy challenges were “that spicy” until she tried one for herself.
“It feels like I have a match lit on my tongue,” he said. “And then you just get intrigued.”
The hot couple has a spicy record together.
“We have a Guinness World Record for the longest habanero kiss,” Jamie said. “So we each ate a habanero pepper and then put our mouths together for 15 minutes.”
The couple has turned their passion for spices into a business. Their signature hot sauce comes in three flavors and heat levels: Taco Tueday, Rise and Shine (the result of Mike’s efforts to make the best breakfast hot sauce) and Tropical Fury (his hottest sauce, made with pineapple, pepper ghost and habanero). .
