Kylin Miller, the 2024 Miss Vidalia Onion Festival, was the "Official Counter" as reigning champion Jonathan Flowers "chews" his way to his 5th victory as the Onion Eating Champion.
He’s still the reigning champion! For the five consecutive years, Jonathan Flowers takes the title of this year’s Onion Eating Winner after downing four raw onions in three minutes.
“This is my fifth year winning,” he said, “but I’ve placed in every one I’ve participated in. I started out by thinking it was a novelty and in my first contest I placed third and I told my wife that if I could place third, I could try harder and win – and I have.)
Flowers says, like any athlete, he has to “train” for the event.
“Bubble gum,” he declared. “I’ll take a big pack of bubble gum, put all the pieces in my mouth at one time and chew until I can’t feel my jaws. I’ll wait a few days and do it again. But I’ve also done trial runs by seeing how many onions I can eat in three minutes of practice.”
As he has said in past interviews, the Vidalia Onion Festival and the World-Famous Vidalia Onion Eating Contest is something that encompasses his entire family, but he did get emotional when he said one family member is missing this year.
“It’s just a great family time,” he said. “With my wife, my son, my daughter, and usually my sisters all coming together. But this is the first year that my mom hasn’t been in the audience, so this year is dedicated to Mama.”
And like the winner from Saturday morning’s Onion Recipe Contest, he plans on being back for the 48th Vidalia Onion Festival in 2025.
