30 under 30: The Tchoupitoulas Challenge

What better way to spend $25 of your hard-earned money than on eight scoops of ice cream, eight toppings, whipped cream, and most importantly, the possibility of eternal ice cream-eating glory? Well get yee to Creole Creamery, where you can attempt to go where 490 people have boldly gone before: the Tchoupitoulas Challenge.

Creole Creamery, a New Orleans ice cream landmark since 2004, offers, among many other things, single scoops of unique creamy deliciousness for $2.75. (See: “Black & Gold Crunch”, “Lavender Honey”, and “I Scream Fudge!”). But they also offer something else: a chance to get your name engraved on a hall-of-fame plaque commemorating ice-cream eating champions.

To successfully complete the Tchoupitoulas challenge you must eat this inordinate amount of ice cream and toppings all alone. Although there is no time limit, suspicious bathroom visits may be scrutinized.

I bore witness to this attempt at glory a few weeks ago when my roommate Laura decided to finally cross the Tchoup Challenge off her bucket list. Our group was on Prytania, she was hungry, and we were ready to be spectators.

Beginning

Laura opted strategically for sherbet, and off she went.

Middle

The whole affair lasted about 40 minutes. Laura started off impressively, and then unfortunately crashed and burned. This girl, who is a perpetual half-marathon runner and hiker, referred to The Challenge as “the hardest thing” she had ever done. I refrain from telling you what happened after we left Creole, but suffice it to say her name is not immortalized on the wall-of-fame. Yet.

The point of my anecdote was not to scare away any potential Tchoup contenders, but to sing the praises of an excellent evening- one where I got to cheer on someone who loves this city and its ice cream dearly. And it didn’t cost me a thing.

End

Meredith Acocella is a contributor for NolaVie. She writes 30 under $30, a column highlighting cheap deals around the city for the under-30 crowd.