Date of shoot: July 22, 2012

Shoot Location: Bartolini's Restaurant Catering and Banquets, 14420 S. Pulaski, Midlothian, IL 60445

These images were shot at the restaurant as well at St. Christopher's Church where the Bartolini's 7th Annual Meatball Eating Contest took place. This gallery is a compilation of the three photo shoots.

The Travel Chanel sent a crew to film a feature for their "Food Paradise" show. They shot interviews at the restaurant before and after the contest as well as shooting the two "Bartolini's 10 Pound Meatball Challenges"!

A family from Cincinnati made the trip to try and defeat this monster of a sandwich. The gave it their best effort but were not able to complete the sandwich.

The top finishers from the Professional Category at the contest decided to try and set the three man record for the 10-Pounder. Their easily crushed the previous record of 17+ minutes by devouring this 10 pound monster in just over 8 minutes. Congrats to: Jaime "The Bear" McDonald (Pro Champ who ate 45 meatballs in 7 minutes just 90 minutes earlier), Tom "Goose" Gilbert (43 meatballs at the challenge) and Frank "The Fork" Kuhns (32.5 meatballs earlier and a previous Champ).

For more information about Bartolini's Restaurant, please visit: http://bartolinis.com/index.htm

These images are the property of Rob Benetti Photography and Bartolini's.

If you want a copy of an image, please email Rob at rjbenetti@gmail.com