Of all the different food eating contests Raina Huang can think of, there’s one kind the professional competitor has consistently shied away from.
“I won’t do pancakes,” Huang said in an email interview.
The famed foodie—whose fan base includes about 850,000 YouTube subscribers and 609,000 Instagram followers—has plans to take part in a unique dessert eating challenge during Solvang’s Danish Days festivities.
Despite her stance on pancakes, Huang doesn’t mind aebleskiver—best described as puffy pancake balls—as she’s competed in the Danish Days aebleskiver eating contest a handful of times in the past. Set to return for the contest’s 2024 edition, Huang has some stiff competition to look forward to this year.
Contest newcomer and prolific vlogger Naader Reda’s 116,000 YouTube subscribers and 51,000 Instagram followers have witnessed a lot of his food exploits over the years, but not a single outing ever involved aebleskiver.
“This will honestly be my first experience eating or handling an aebleskiver. I’m really looking forward to it,” Reda told the Sun over email. “This will also be my first time visiting Solvang. My family and I have driven through before, but unfortunately that was right after the lockdowns ended and there wasn’t much open at the time. The stores looked pretty.”
Like Huang, Reda is game for any kind of food challenge minus one major exception.
“I generally enter any eating contest if it fits into my schedule. … I am willing to try just about any food for a contest. But I had a terrible experience trying to break the record for eating the hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper,” Reda recalled. “The next day was so miserable. I would not subject myself to that again. Even a Guinness World Record isn’t worth that.”
Just as this year’s contest will mark Reda’s first aebleskiver foray, Huang had never tried the Danish delicacy prior to competing in her first Danish Days eating contest in 2018.
“I had no idea what [aebleskiver] was, but it was fun to experience another culture,” said Huang, who also took part in the 2019 and 2023 Danish Days festivities.
“I love the event,” she said. “It’s a great vibe.”
Huang’s advice to anyone aspiring to enter eating competitions is “just pace yourself,” while Reda’s is to have fun—“that’s the most important thing”—and to “take care of your health along the way.”
Entrants of the Danish Days aebleskiver eating contest, held in downtown Solvang’s Midgaard Pavilion, will have five minutes to consume as many pancake balls as they can handle. The two-day competition is free to enter and open to all ages.
The contest is one of many family-friendly festivities hosted in conjunction with Danish Days—and not the only of these happenings centered on aebleskiver.
On Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22, there’ll be aebleskiver and Danish sausage breakfasts available for purchase on the corner of Copenhagen Drive and First Street from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. both days.
A longtime high school history teacher, Reda is looking forward to exploring Solvang for the first time, especially during the town’s summer festival.
“My family and I love to see culturally and historically interesting places, … and I think it’s amazing that a cultural festival features such a unique eating contest. This is like getting the best of both worlds from my point of view,” said Reda, whose family has a checklist of sights to cross off during their Danish Days stay.
“We want to see the parade,” Reda said about the festival tradition. “We also hope to eat at a smorgasbord—another first for us—and try some of the Danish bakeries, talk to the locals, and maybe go axe throwing.”
Sprinkle some powdered sugar onto Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood’s inbox with comments to [email protected].
