Bruce Gerleman, owner of Jethro’s BBQ in Iowa announced today he will offer $25,000 to anyone who can beat the current Adam Emmenecker challenge. The offer is good through the duration of March coinciding with March Madness.
In an interview scheduled to be released next week on The Iowa Podcast, (available here) Gerleman announced the news, saying it’s not an easy task. This clip is a sneak peek.
The founder of Jethro’s BBQ said the current record is three minutes and one seconds, which held by professional eater, Molly Schuyler. “ For the month of March, celebrating March Madness, if anyone can come in and break the world record, I will pay them 25,000.” Gerleman said.
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Adam Emmenecker Challenge
The Emmenecker Challenge rocketed to national attention after Adam Richman, host of Travel Channel’s Man v. Food, took it on and couldn’t finish it on live TV.
The hefty sandwich bears the name of Adam Emmenecker, a standout Drake basketball player who earned the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year title. “ I asked him, ‘can I name a sandwich after you?’ And he says, yeah, but I can’t decide on what food I want.” He agreed, but couldn’t decide what food he wanted to pick. “So I said, well, let’s just include all the food. And so the sandwich then became four pounds of Uh, brisket, steak burgers, chicken tenders, thick cut bacon, uh, pork tenderloins, cheese.”
This beast of a meal weighs in at 4 pounds, packed with all of Emmenecker’s favorite eats, and comes with a side of 1 pound of waffle fries.
Bruce Gerleman of Jethro’s BBQ
Jethro’s BBQ, the Iowa-born brainchild of founder Bruce Gerleman, started in 2008 and now boasts eight spots around the metro area, plus Ames and Iowa City. Known for smoky meats, killer wings, and homemade sides, they source all their meat and produce locally. With 700 employees statewide, Jethro’s takes pride in offering full benefits and insurance. They’re also the biggest independent pork buyer in Iowa.
The buzz around Jethro’s has spread far beyond state lines, landing them on more than a dozen TV shows and in publications like ESPN, Travel Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel, The Today Show, Fox News, Neil Cavuto Show, Eat This Not That, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.