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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Model boasts huge appetite for fast food

Bay of Plenty Times
26 Jul, 2015 10:30 PM3 mins to read

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Fries scrunched into a ball was the last thing Kiwi model and competitor Nela Zisser ate after consuming 1kg of food in record time before fitting into a small dress to judge a national beauty contest.

Fries scrunched into a ball was the last thing Kiwi model and competitor Nela Zisser ate after consuming 1kg of food in record time before fitting into a small dress to judge a national beauty contest.

Miss Zisser chowed down three beef patties, each weighing 175 grams, two eggs, two hash browns, three bread buns, bacon, cheese and onion rings served with a side of fries in three minutes and forty seconds - just hours before judging this year's Miss Earth New Zealand contest.

A former Miss Earth winner herself, the 23-year-old took out the honours of fastest burger eater at the "Mount Challenge Burger" eating competition at Pronto restaurant at the weekend.

"I think I found something I'm really good at and I think it's burgers," Miss Zisser told the Bay of Plenty Times

"I [felt] fine. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was really easy to eat and it was a really decent burger."

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A large crowd surrounding the competition on Marine Pde erupted with applause and amazement as Miss Zisser scoffed down a burger faster than seven burly men who were at least twice her size.

Competitors shook their heads as they struggled to finish their meal, with second place coming in at 5 minutes 47 and the third finishing at seven minutes 25.

The Aucklander travelled to the Mount specifically for the event after Pronto invited her to take part in their competition.

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No stranger to food eating competitions, Miss Zisser, who weighs 50kgs, has eaten a 2.3kg burrito in less than five minutes and 100 pieces of sushi in 8 minutes 50 seconds.

Her secret? Ms Zisser said there was no secret behind packing away copious amounts of food, but said technique was a key factor.

"If you've got a bad technique going in, you're going to do badly just because it will put you off," she said.

However, in preparation for the Mount burger challenge, she skipped on breakfast and lunch that day and brought her own plastic cups to fill with water for the event.

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Miss Zisser said even drinking from a glass cup during a competition could put you off.

"If you've got sauce on your hands and you grab a glass cup it could easily slip through, plus the weight of it puts you off."

Her mum, Linda Zisser, came along for the local event and said she was proud of her daughter.

"She's pretty good but it'll be good to see what the competition is like," Mrs Zisser said.

Pronto co-owner Fiona McKellar White, the brains behind the burger challenge, was happy with the turnout.

"Nela definitely impressed as expected and it was just fun to do something a little bit different," Ms McKellar White said.

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She said Pronto already had another challenge burger in the works for the warmer season in November.

"It's going to be chicken based but I'm not saying any more yet."

The Challenge Burger now has a permanent spot on the menu at $25 with a 50 per cent discount on the next meal "if you can finish it all."

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