Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Many different strategies go into eating a head of iceberg lettuce in four minutes. Do you apply ranch dressing? Do you peel parts off or go straight teeth?

Lettuce Club President Owen Wilson grappled with these questions before he participated in a friendly competition on Saturday.

“We’re really hoping that it can be this big thing of every semester, everyone’s looking forward to the Lettuce Club day,” Wilson, a Syracuse University junior, said.

Saturday marked the first lettuce-eating competition for the club, which formed this September. SU students congregated in the Shaffer Art Building to see who could eat an entire head of iceberg lettuce the fastest. The club encouraged participants and attendees to donate to the Coach Mac Food Pantry in Hendricks Chapel to help combat food insecurity.

Wilson, a mechanical engineering major, heard about lettuce clubs when touring colleges as a high school senior and was surprised to learn that SU didn’t have one. He gathered friends from his major to create the club.

“Honestly, it’s mostly to just have fun and be silly and do something positive and good while we do it,” Wilson said.

After hosting a booth at this year’s Fall Involvement Fair, the “special interest club” started gaining attention from students, Wilson said. The club hosted workshops leading up to the competition for students to refresh their lettuce-eating skills. Along with practice, the meetings included discussions of strategy to gain tactical advantages.

Wilson said he was very confident in his skills for the competition. Many of his friends described him as a fast eater, and he planned to use that to his advantage heading into the competition. Wilson used no dressing and opted for just hands on leaves.

Inside Shaffer, students wore everything from Grinch hats to full suits. Some contestants even opted to go shirtless. After signing in and donating to the food pantry, participants found their seats and prepared for the competition.

SU students Ava Schneider and Catherine Hume had never eaten a head of lettuce before. Hume brought caesar dressing hoping that it would smooth the transition from leaves to stomach.

“I wouldn’t consider myself a purist,” Hume said. “I don’t feel the need to go in raw.”

Lucian Kauselis is a commuter student and his parents, George and Julie Dale, attended the event. Kauselis said he was going no-dressing, diving in “caveman style.” His parents said he thought about vinegar, but opted to go “just as God intended.”

On the right side of the auditorium sat two students, Adam Sall and Max Weinstein, staring at the ground. Little did competitors know, these two were already experienced in eating heads of lettuce.

The three finalists at the lettuce-eating competition. Adam Sall and Max Weinstein are close friends with an even closer rivalry when it comes to speed eating lettuce. Avery Magee | Asst. Photo Editor

Sall and Weinstein heard about the club during the involvement fair and attended the two workshops leading up to the event. Sall won the first practice competition, Weinstein the next. They said they believed what separated them from the rest was their strategy and commitment to their craft.

“You’ve got to watch film, figure out what you did right, where you went wrong,” Sall said. “It’s a mental game, you have to be prepared to push yourself past what you think is possible.”

The duo’s approach consisted of no dressing and “both hands and eyes” on the lettuce head.

As the clock wound down, hands grasped the lettuce with jaws preparing to chomp. Wilson held his lettuce head high in the air, marking the start of the competition.

Many contestants quit at around a minute in. But all eyes were glued on the front row — former champions and current rivals — Sall and Weinstein.

Around the four-minute mark, Weinstein cleared his throat, got out of his chair, and raised his hand, winning the competition. His friends congratulated him and he put on the official Lettuce Club fall 2025 champion shirt.

Though Sall didn’t win, he said his rivalry with Weinstein motivated him.

“​​That was definitely the driving force and why I wanted it so bad,” Sall said. “That rivalry right there. Here he comes, the winner with his fancy shirt on. That shirt will be mine next year.”

Sall said eating lettuce should be the new mewing, claiming his jaw had never hurt more. Fighting through the pain, Weinstein said his and Sall’s relationship was still intact.

“I love this guy. I think we’ve grown closer because of the lettuce,” Weinstein said. “The movie ‘Challengers,’ it’s you, me and him. It’s our combined love of lettuce that competition can really bring people together.”

Participants came to the competition in festive gear. Some had never tried speed eating lettuce before, while others attended practice workshops to develop strategy. Avery Magee | Asst. Photo Editor

Samuel Mincey finished in the top three alongside Weinstein and Sall. He described the event as grand, saying the final swallow on the knob of the iceberg was rewarding. Mincey was wearing a full suit, and said it was important he felt good while eating.

Alison Murray, assistant dean for student assistance at Hendricks Chapel said the competition is a fun and creative way to bring attention to a more serious issue of food insecurity. She said many students at SU don’t have the money or resources to get enough food for the week.

“It’s a good problem that we are never at a loss for volunteers,” Murray said. “The campus community really wants to come to the spiritual heart of Syracuse University and be able to give back to their peers and to the community in this way.”

Murray says she’s grateful for the awareness the Lettuce Club is shining on food insecurity. She said it’s not just about the food, but also the community that’s created from volunteering.

As of right now, the optional donation to participate is the only source of money that goes to the food pantry. Wilson plans to expand the club, even creating merch that attendees and fans could purchase, with proceeds going to the food pantry.

“One of the best things I can do is help children and people who need food,” Mincey said. “I had to show up and show out in my Saturday’s best.”

Published on November 15, 2025 at 9:08 pm
Contact Cam: crmcgraw@syr.edu