Hanukkah 2008 has kicked off, and what better way to celebrate the Festival of Lights than by having a latke eating contest?

Sunday was the 4th Annual National Potato Latke Eating Competition, held in at Zan's Deli on Long Island, New York, where fortunately nobody was trampled or bitten.

This year's potato pancake eating champion? "Furious" Pete Czerwinski, a 22-year-old Canadian student.

Czerwinski is a rising star in the world of competitive eating, having won several competitions and owning several world records, including having eaten 18 bananas in 2 minutes. Rather than make an easy joke, this would be a good time to point out that he's also a body builder and would easily kick your ass in between bites.

Not only did Czerwinski win the latke eating competion, he did so in style, packing away 46 potato pancakes in 8 minutes, which works out to about 7 pounds of potatoes and grease. It can be safely assumed that the name "furious" comes from his experiences in the bathroom after such an event.

Canadian wins Lake Grove latke-eating contest [Newsday]