Sonya and Ryan Tour the Continent

Sonya Thomas and Ryan Nerz took the budding British competitive eating scene by storm this week in a 72-hour juggernaught that covered dozens of historic towns and restaurants.

Chaperoned by Gerry Cottle Jr, the son and namesake of the famed English circus promoter, the two american eating contest veterans spent a full two days granting countless interviews to major media outlets including SkyNews, iTV, and BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. And possibly 6. Along the way, the digestive duo took time to attend the West End musical "Mamma Mia." (Nerz, a sophisticated traveler and Indiana native, learned that Brits, with abiding distaste for all things French, call French Fries "chips.")

After initial cynicism about the merits of competitive eating, the Brits quickly embraced the sport to the point that several news correspondents claimed it as their own invention. A spate of amateur fish 'n chip (french fry)-eating competitions have cropped up across the nation recently.