According to the Chicago Tribune, “Craig Scharoff’s dream food is sausage pizza. And, he has no doubt that he can eat it all day, every day. In fact, Scharoff is so confident that he is putting his money where his pizza-loving mouth is.”
“Near the end of September, one of Scharoff’s co-workers at Greenwood Associates in Highland Park posted a notice on LTHForum.com, a Chicago-based culinary chat site, announcing a wager he’d entered into with Scharoff. According to the co-worker, Ronnie Kaplan, the terms of this ‘low four figure’ bet are simple: Scharoff ‘must eat sausage pizza for every meal during the month of October. The pizza must contain crust, sausage and cheese. All toppings, with the exception of lettuce on Taco Pizzas — yes, he loves them — and arugula and prosciutto — he has no idea what either of these are — must be cooked into the pizza. He cannot have dessert, chips or side dishes of any kind. No salads, no cereals, no slaw. Any significant caloric intake must be pizza.'”
“At first, LTHForum foodies were convinced no mortal could eat only pizza for one month. Alas, they failed to reckon with the awesome gastrointestinal fortitude of ‘Pizza Boy,’ as Scharoff is now known. Weeks into his pizza-only diet, Scharoff is hanging tough. Showing no signs of palate fatigue, he boasts, ‘Pizza has always been my favorite food. Now, I’m getting paid to eat it.’ So how’s the bet going? For Kaplan, not so good. Recently, at upscale Prairie Grass Cafe, Kaplan reports that he witnessed Scharoff rapidly scarf down two pizzas.”
“‘For all I know, he ordered a third one after I left,’ Kaplan said. ‘I couldn’t bear to watch it any longer. Frankly, he’s a pizza-eating beast!’ Recently, an Il Forno pizza was brought in for lunch. Scharoff liked it so much, reports Kaplan, he would not share with office mates. Staying hungry during this oven-baked exploit, Scharoff boasts, “I’ve lost about 4.5 pounds. I run every day. I’m not bottom feeding any more. Usually, I’d eat whatever the kids didn’t eat. Half their meals wound up in my mouth. Not anymore.”
