In an Erie County Fair contest to eat a half-gallon of Nick Charlap’s vanilla ice cream in five minutes, Bob Frank from Lancaster reigned supreme.

Frank, 25, downed five other local competitors to win the coveted blue ribbon and Charlap’s gift bag. Only 12.5 ounces of ice cream remained after the winner dug into the 64 oz. rectangle of frozen delight, earning him a narrow victory over Thomas from Buffalo.

The catch of the contest was that eaters could not use spoons, so the competitors shoved their faces straight into the ice cream, chewing and licking their way to the bottom of the creamy mound.

Asked if he had any pre-contest strategy, Frank shook his head. “No, I just wanted to go beast on it,” he said.

Not surprisingly, Frank picked up steam as the ice cream started to melt, aided by his decision to stand up for greater leverage. More than one competitor complained about the initial hardness of the ice cream, making a quick start particularly difficult.

“The toughest part was the frozen-ness of my mouth,” Frank said, “but the ice cream started melting, so I started pushing down and pulled through.”

Frank admitted after that he’d practiced for the contest last night, delving into a tub of vanilla ice cream and devouring slightly less than the 51.5 ounces he consumed Monday. Grinning sheepishly, he also admitted his favorite ice cream flavor was Panda Paws.

“If there are any challengers for next year, I’m standing here,” Frank boasted.

To see how Buffalo.com’s Katie Costello fared in her ice cream eating contest at Anderson’s Frozen Custard, watch the video here.