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Charles "Hungry" Hardy: The 2001 matzo ball champ and the American hot dog champ is a 360-pound, 37-year-old New York City corrections officer.

Records: The hot dog crown came when Hardy downed 23 ½ dogs in 12 minutes. In last year's matzo ball contest he tied Jarvis with 13 matzo balls each. In a 1-minute, 25-second "eat-off," Hardy prevailed, swallowing 2 ½ matzo balls to Jarvis' one. Family Status: Married to wife Valerie for 17 years. They have a daughter and two sons. Wife says: "Bring home the bacon!" Training: "I won't say. Would a magician teach you his tricks?" Inspiration: "I set a sushi record in Japan and kids there on the street all shout out my name. This sport is international." Advice: You have to pick the right food. For me, matzo balls are the hardest. They expand in your stomach. It's like eating five pounds of sponge. Or even cement … I won't do ice cream. All that coldness is traumatic on the body." Realization of Greatness: "I was called by my union in 1998 to enter a hot dog contest on the World Trade Center. I had never done this sort of thing before and I didn't want to make a fool of myself. But my wife said, 'Just think of it as free lunch.' The rest is history."

Buck Wolf is entertainment producer at ABCNEWS.com. The Wolf Files is published Tuesdays. If you want to receive weekly notice when a new column is published, join the e-mail list.