Story Coming Soon on Nathan's!
 

On The Horizon
3/7/2006

Hello “Eaters of the World”.  It has been a quiet few months for the hugest eater on the planet. But I can say it has been a real productive time in my life. Some have said that ED COOKIE JARVIS will hang up the spoon, but I say not yet. I have hired a world class personal trainer who is one of the top kick boxers in the world to bring me back to my fighting shape of the past.

 I've be meeting with my personal trainer two days a week and going to the gym 3-4 days on my own .This is the first step to getting into the best shape of my life so I can enjoy many days to come with my wife and two gorgeous children. My daughter Amanda will be 6 years on March 20, 2006. My son Max who is now 3 is known to some as the cheerios champ.

In the next few months I will be taking a time-out from competitive eating to set up a new business called “Impact Media Consulting, Ltd.”. During this time my partners and I will be hiring many sales personnel to help fulfill our dreams of starting a business from scratch and watching it grow into a mega advertising agency. We also hope to change the lives of our sales people so they can achieve their dreams as well. This new business will be very successful. With hard work and some determination COOKIE JARVIS will become famous for something else in addition to competitive eating and real estate with Re/Max.

In the next few months I will be trying to get in the best shape of my life, to get back in the winners circle again at one of our many I.F.O.C.E events. If not maybe I’ll just retire as the champ that I already am. It’s been a great ride and there will be many charity events thrown that I will be involved in such as a celebrity judge for a cookie baking contest for the Sunrise Fund. Many people have been calling me to find out if the great COOKIE JARVIS will be competing for a spot in the Nathan's famous hot dogs competition this year. Sadly I will not be competing in this year’s event. There is just too much on my plate at this time. So to my fellow eaters, be happy I will not be competing against you this year at Nathan's. I'll be watching in the distance to see some of the new blood have the fun that I had when I first helped USA break the 30 1/2 hot dogs record. I ask my fellow eaters to train hard to bring the belt back to the U.S.A.!

Keep checking the web site for updates! This month I'll be adding an area for pictures of my weight loss as I excel to become smaller in size and more fortuitous than ever at the table of life. Also I will be adding a picture of my new house as it makes progress from foundation to completion.

Thanks for the support for the next few months while I get back to being the “Beast from the East.”  

PS . To the once great eater the “Great Z”, after last years nonsense you pulled just getting in the finals in a spot you did not deserve while screwing 3 guys out that deserved it more, do every one a favor an stay home!   

Saying Goodbye to Nathan's
1/30/2006

Hello all you eating fans out there! It's the beginning of a new year and it looks to be bigger and better than ever. There’s a bigger & better contest on the horizon and it seems they’re new eaters coming out of the wood work. Through my many entries in a multitude of eating contests I have discovered a large number of new faces among the crowd. This means that Ed "'Cookie" Jarvis just has to work a little harder to stay on top of the game and ahead of the crowd.

It seems that this sport has become like every other sport out there. Today the athletes have to compete to stay at a higher level and train harder to post bigger counts in order to push the limits and increase their internal fortitude. You need to push harder in order to not become extinct and fade away into a memory!

Starting February 2, 2006 I will be changing my eating habits an putting myself on a strict routine in order to loose weight so I may be in the best shape ever. I'm going to be 40 years old on May 9, 2006 an I realized while I was on line at “The Biggest Loser” that the only thing that was keeping me  from losing the weight was myself. It’s time for me to show some self discipline by eating better.

I’m going to compete in a limited number of contests such as the ones that you can't say no like the contests on ESPN. I will probably not be competing at Nathan’s Famous this year even though I would love to be involved. It is time to let some of the new guys take a beating by Kobiashi. It seems to be impossible but maybe the Jaws of Joe Chestnut or Sonya will be able to get within striking distance. The number of eaters and the challenge is greater then ever but it's come time for me to retire from Nathan’s Famous.

Many people have said they were disappointed by the wing bowl antics with eliminating all of the previous eaters to let some new eaters in. That’s just another way for them to manipulate this contest. If they think next year they’re going to invite us back the have something else coming. I will not be retuning to the Wing Bowl ever again. It's been a fun contest if you want to get full beers thrown at you at 6:00 AM in the morning. This contest was destined to take the heat of the Eagles or the Flyers. Thanks to the Steelers there's some hope in the area. This contest does have the best “Wingets” on the planet that’s what the people are there to see because there's going to be the weakest bunch of eaters that the contest has ever seen. Thank god for Richard Lafever & Joe Chestnut. This CONTEST IS AS REAL AS THE WWE it’s more like a show that’s manipulated by a bunch of radio host so the can feel the power of manipulation. The funny part is it’s just a show say's Angelo & Al.

It may be just a show to them, but not the eaters it means more to us. Thank you Wing Bowl for banning me from the the only thing I’m going to miss my fans.

The rest of the year seems to be a mystery because I've been so busy billing a new house in St. James. I've also been setting up a new business and it’s consumed every waking minute of my time. If it wasn't for the fans I might have to retire entirely. As time goes on I will be adding footage and photos of the progress I make with my weight loss.

P.S. Sorry for waiting so long to write an article, I’ll be quicker in the future

Thank you for being such huge fans and keep eating!                   

August Updates
8/7/2005

Hi there eating fans! These last few months have sure been exciting and the next few months to come should be more exciting than ever. We will see more installments of the new contests such as the Grilled Cheese eating contest from GoldenPalace.com and favorites such as the Krystal Burger and Buffalo Wing Festival. Who would of thought that there would be a day where there were five contests in one single day? Competitive eating has sure come a long way.

On another note it looks like there will be a changing of the guards of the top ten. This month Richard LeFevere has more losses as well as Sonya Thomas gaining in the ranks proving herself as a worthy veteran coming within 12 hot dogs of Koby at the Nathan’s contest and a two pound difference in the Alka-Seltzer U.S. Open. She has also taken Joey Chestnut by one half bratwurst and has eaten one more grilled cheese up against Richard LeFevere. It makes it seem that every pro must take a break or you will eventually fall at the table.

With the second half of 2005 there are definitely big things to come! “Cookie” Jarvis is back in the game and I plan to stay within the top 5 eaters in the world. There are going to be many great matches in the next few months and many of the greats such as Don Lerman are trying to loose weight to get back into champion shape. We’ve seen the new bread like Tim Janus also known as “Eater X” stumble lately to show he is and will always be only human. We have also seen my protégé Allen Goldstein fall into many upsets lately, but don’t despair as he has the heart of a lion and he will be back at upcoming events such as cannolis, cheesecake and more.

I’d like to give a big shout out and congratulations to my friend Charles Hardy who recently retired from the NYPD to become the commissioner of the IFOCE. I’d also like to thank my fans who have made my involvement in competitive eating a fun one. I enjoy receiving your fan mail and will be posting them on my website soon. Through the ups and downs, the wins and the losses, I know and want to thank my close friends, my fellow competitive eaters for being there with and being great friends. But friendship aside before my retirement I plan to show the world that the big man can still pull of an upset or a victory and get back on top. I will always remain focused on my goal. Make sure to check back often for updates at www.hugeeaters.com!

P.S. - Cookie Jarvis will eat his way back to the top of the IFOCE circuit!
 

Cookie Break
4/13/2005

A Huge hello to all my eating fans. I hope you have been enjoying my all new “HugeEaters.com” and all the great interactive videos and photos. My site will continuously have new items each month so check back often!

I do have some news for my fans. I will not be competing in this years “Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition” I always said there would come a time where I would pick my battles and this is one of them. I have already put some great moments behind me as I beat another American great “Eric Booker” 30.5 to 29.5 to become the American hot dog eating champ. This in mind we all know the world champion title is not reachable until Kobiashi retires from the contest. There is a big spread between my record of 30.5 and Kobiashi’s 53 hot dogs and buns. I do although welcome my fellow American’s to go for the American championship in my absence.  Until then we can only hope that Nathan’s will put a cap on how many wins one competitor can have. We can all agree after a while with no new winners it does seem to get slightly boring, case in point 75 episodes of “Ken Jennings” on Jeopardy.

In the meantime I have started my own contest. I am on a long journey of self betterment as I am setting my goal on the hardest contest of them all. I plan to loose 160 pounds and become just a little less “huge” I will be posting photos of my progress on the website soon. So far I have shed 43 pounds to date.

On a final note I have to say that I totally disagree with the recent quote of Gersh Kuntzman who thinks that the Americans only being able to eat 27-30 hotdogs is a disgrace. First of all I say to him if he can do better lets us see him do it. And second if Japan's Kobiashi was not in the contest 27-30 hotdogs would be the winning number!  And Gersh's comments are not only a smack in the face to our fellow Americans it's a disgrace to his readers as well.

So I’ll be routing for my good friends Don “Moses” Lerman, Allen Goldstein, Eric Booker, Tim Janice and a few new comers that you’ll be hearing about soon.

Crazy for Cookie
2/25/2005

On a wintry Sunday afternoon in 1997, Elyse Smolin attended a Super Bowl Party thrown by the Tall Club of Suffolk County New York. Also in attendance was a young, six foot six Edward Cookie Jarvis.

At halftime, having already laid waste to the bounty of big game treats on the Tall Club’s buffet table, Cookie decided to work a little rap on the ladies in the room. “Problem was,” said Cookie in a recent phone call, “Elyse was the only pretty one there so I kinda had to wait my turn.”

With 3:27 left in the third quarter, Curtis Martin ran for a touchdown and Cookie cut toward Elyse.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” recalls Elyse. “He was a bit older, and seemed a little too determined, but I gave him my phone number anyway.”

One year later the two unsuspecting Super Bowl viewers were wed. They settled in a nice home to start their life together and build a little family. Weekends meant time alone as a couple: morning coffee and pastry, home improvements, video rentals, dinners out.

One day Elyse’s father called to tell Cookie about a Matzo Ball eating competition he’d read about in the local paper. Cookie entered without hesitation. With support from family and friends, and a healthy serving of natural ability, Cookie made it to the finals.

After matzo balls, came pomme frites. After pomme frites, came ice cream. After ice cream, hot dogs. And so on. That first year was an exciting time for Elyse, she created signs and banners and cheered Cookie to title after title. She stood proudly by as her husband accepted the 2001 IFOCE Rookie of the Year Award. She became an eater’s wife.

But the life of an eater’s wife can be tough at times. Elyse used to travel with Cookie to certain events, now with two young kids at home it is hard to get away. So while Cookie is off on IFOCE journeys, enjoying airline peanuts and hotel mints, Elyse is nurturing her beautiful young children.

“Cookie is a realtor, I’m a realist,” said Elyse. “The past year or so, with the rise of Sonya Thomas, has been trying. We both like Sonya, and in the beginning it was kind of cool to see a fellow woman beat all the men, but my heart is with Eddie.”

Despite the increased competition, Elyse reports that Cookie still rolls out of bed each morning with a fire in his belly. “He is not winning as much right now, but he still walks tall and confident like he did at that first Super Bowl party. I know I will see more victories embroidered into that coat of his.”

Seems Cookie’s biggest victory of all can’t be embroidered into a coat. She’s sitting right there at home.

 

Wing Bowl ruffles her feathers

By Michael Klein
Inquirer Columnist

Sonya Thomas, the championship eater who lost the recent Wing Bowl by a mere wing in a dramatic overtime finish, is crying foul. Bill "El Wingador" Simmons wrested back the eating title from her on Feb. 4 and now she has issues with the judging. She says she may not return next year if organizer WIP-AM (610) doesn't change a rule.

Ooh, a game of chicken! Herein lies the flap: Chicken wings eaten at Wing Bowl count only if judges decide that enough meat and skin have been stripped from the bones. Thomas thinks this counting method - in place since the first Wing Bowl in 1993 - is too subjective. It's a frequent bone of contention; when Simmons lost the title to Thomas in 2004, he complained he wasn't credited with enough wings.

Thomas wants Wing Bowl to follow guidelines set by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, which sanctioned Wing Bowl this year. In its other "detritus" contests, such as lobster- and rib-eating, it calculates the weight of food consumed. The 99-pound Thomas, whom the IFOCE ranks No. 2 in the world, holds a bellyful of records, including one for eating 5.09 pounds of wings at another festival in the fall. "I know how many I ate [at Wing Bowl] by how many I left on my plate," she told The Inquirer's Julie Stoiber. "The result came out - it was wrong."

Going into overtime, Thomas and Simmons were tied at 147. At the end, she had four left from a plate of 20, giving her a total of 163 - one more than Simmons. She was credited with 161. "I don't know why they did it," Thomas said. "My Wingette [the scantily clad assistant] told me, 'Sonya, you're ahead. You ate more than he did.' Something's wrong. If they don't change it somehow, I'm not going to go back."

Simmons, a five-time winner who insists he's now retired, scoffed at Thomas' performance. "She has to clean them a little better," he said. "Mine were spotless... . She just can't take a loss." He said he'd be "fine" with weighing wings, but likened it to putting "computers behind home plate." (Simmons alsosaid he plans to write his memoirs with Gloucester County Times columnist Bob Shryock.)

Morning-show host Angelo Cataldi, noting that he's heard sour grapes from losers almost every year, said he and fellow organizers will reevaluate several points, including counting vs. weighing.

The main challenge, he added, is managing the crowds at the free spectacle - as in, "How we can fill the building so it's not going to be an insane situation?" Ticketing might be the answer.

Update  February 8,2005

It feels good to be back in the game. I am looking forward to locking horns with some of the greats in Venice Beach, California. For those who stay out till 3:30 AM and expect to win or place the real professionals stay in bed the night before the event and rest. Some of the eaters think that it is fun to go to new places but I'm having fun trying to make a buck to support my crazy life.

On another note this Wednesday marks 8 years since my first date with my wife.

    -"The Cookie"