Lambert, Miller are the real dills when it comes to devouring big dills

Cole Lambert of Glen Daniel, West Virginia, and Joyel Miller of Mocksville are kind of big dills when it comes to devouring big dills.

Lambert downed 13 Mt. Olive Pickle Co. whole Kosher Dills Saturday to win the men’s division of the N.C. Pickle Festival Pickle Eating Contest while Miller crammed down nine to win the women’s title.

Lambert and Miller were among the 90 applicants for the 24 slots in the Saturday afternoon contest at the main stage area located in the Southern Bank Parklet on South Center Street.

Each participant received a tray of 20 Mt. Olive Pickle Co. whole Kosher Dills.

Participants had 5 minutes to eat as many as they could. A winner in each category, male and female, was declared based on the number of pickles eaten.

Lambert and Miller each received $100 in prize money and a North Carolina Pickle Eating Champion trophy.

A couple of spots left empty because of no-shows were quickly filled with Pickle Festival co-chair Julie Beck stepping in to fill the final slot.

Beck only ate five pickles.

“Well, considering I didn’t know I would be a contestant until one minute before, I didn’t have time to practice and prepare,” Beck said.

Beck said she thinks Lambert’s 13 tied the contest record.

“The Pickle Eating Contest, I think it really helped that we had a stage,” Beck said. “They were elevated so that people could see them. I think the idea of picking people like we did is really neat.

“It really gave us a diversified group of people. I really like that concept. I think we will continue that. I think it went great. It is really neat to be able to do something like that.”

Festival-goers began gathering well before the noon start to grab the choice spots to witness the display of pickle-eating prowess and to cheer on the contestants.

Miller, sporting a crown and a white T-shirt with “Pickle Queen” and a pickle printed on it, brought her own 15-member cheering section.

They included her husband Timmy Miller, son Jonathan Miller and sister Becky Wheeler.

Most were wearing white T-shirts with “Pickle Squad” and a pickle printed on them.

“It is awesome,” Miller said of her win and family support. “Knowing that I had support, OK that is good, but having support and then winning is even better.”

Miller said she thinks being a two-time cancer survivor has helped with her determination.

“I have beat cancer twice so I think that has kind of put me in the mindset that I am determined — that I can do anything. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but I never made it out here.

“Last year was my first year (attending the Pickle Festival) , and I didn’t get to enter into the contest because I didn’t know how. So this year I got a head start on it. I entered and I was just so happy that I was chosen.”

When asked how she could eat nine pickles in five minutes she quickly responded, “very fast.”

At one point, Miller was double-fisting the big Kosher Dills.

“I was because I was determined I was going to win this,” she said. “I did do a little YouTube and TicTok to find out (tips). I was also told that smaller bites were better, but yeah, I had to keep shoving them in.

“That is the thing, just keep shoving them and swallowing them.”

Her supporters said yelled out she wouldn’t be back next year to defend her crown. Miller said she might possibly do it anyway.

“I think it’s that anticipation for them — they were sitting there, and I don’t know if you could hear them, but they were yelling ‘faster, faster; keep shoving them.”

One also shouted out that she could do better because of the size of her jaws.

“Yeah, I have been known to have the big mouth,” Miller admitted.

Wheeler said her sister loves pickles.

“She just loves pickles, she drinks the juice and everything,” she said. “Nobody is allowed to put their fingers in her pickle jar because she is going drink the juice,”

Miller’s son Jonathan said he loves pickles, too, and that he and his mother would fight over them.

“I will tell you this, my mother and I will be in a bloodbath over a pickle in a heartbeat,” he said.

Who wins the fight over pickles?

“She does” he quickly said.

“If the Pickle Queen ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy in the house,” said her husband Timmy.

Most of the family left home about 4 a.m. Saturday and drove about four hours to attend the festival. Some came from Bailey in Nash County.

“She has had breast cancer twice,” Wheeler said. “This is her first fun event since then. So we are all here to cheer her on and that is why we are wearing ‘Pickle Squad’ shirts to cheer on the Pickle Queen.”

Wheeler said that when her sister told what she wanted to do that the response was, “oh, Lord.”

“But my husband said if she is dumb enough to eat them, we are dumb enough to drive three hours and watch her, and we did.”

After leaving the festival, the family was heading to the Robin’s Nest in Selma to eat.

“And we are going to make sure that she has to eat more pickles afterward,” Wheeler said.

Lambert said he had not known that pickle festivals existed.

“I was looking for stuff to do this year, and I saw there was a Pickle Festival,” Lambert said. “I have always loved pickles my entire life. So, I figured this was the perfect thing for me.”

Lambert and his girlfriend made the five-and-a-half-hour drive.

“We drove down last night (Friday) and stayed in Goldsboro and drove over this morning,” he said.

Lambert was asked how he could eat 13 of the whole Kosher Dills in five minutes

“I don’t know,” he said. “You tell me. It just happened.”

There was no secret preparation work, Lambert added.

“I actually fell sick this entire week — sick on my stomach,” he said. “I think I got food poisoning this week. So I didn’t think I would do that well.”

Lambert said he felt well despite wolfing down 13 pickles in 5 minutes — a rate of just over two per minute.

“I feel strangely good,” he said. “I was a little nervous before the contest. I was sick to my stomach, but after I got going it fell into line, I guess.”

Lambert said he and his girlfriend planned to stick around for the rest of the day.

“We saw the antique cars and the food,” he said. “I loved it. My girlfriend and I like looking at cars at car shows and stuff. It is a perfect mix for us.”

Lambert said he would like to return next year to defend his title.

“We will have to see what is going on,” he added.

And even though full of pickles, Lambert said that since he was in North Carolina that he going for barbecue.

“The best barbecue in the country,” he said.