Mick at onion-eating contest in Hawaii

[Livia]

And he's moving there permanently in October.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/13/news/heckathorn.html

Sweet Maui onions stir chef's competitive juices
Onion Madness: When was the last time you ate a pound of raw onions? Last Sunday, under the blistering sun at the Maui Onion Festival, 11 people stood on the stage at Whalers Village, ready to do just that.
First to finish would receive a crisp new $100 bill. An EMT technician stood by. There was a large bucket under the table, in case of gastric misfortune, and a tin of breath mints for every contestant.

The oldest was Carolyn Ivy, 78, from Miami. The youngest was Andrew Romero, 17, from La Quinta, Calif. There were some homegrown contenders, including the defending champ, Eric Puhl of Kula, and Lahaina's Greg Denton.

Denton, chef of a waterfront eatery called Mala, had entered the professional chef's recipe contest earlier in the day, losing out to Keith Endo of Sansei/Vino. Why also enter the eating contest? "I'm competitive," said Denton.

Go! All the contestants started strong, but in a couple of minutes, most began to falter. It came down to a race to the last swallow between Denton and the California teenager Romero. Onion juice flowed down Romero's chin. Denton was rocking back and forth, eating and swallowing in rhythm. He won, by a bite, in three minutes, 30 seconds.

"You have to understand an onion is mainly water," he said. "It's unlikely that it will get stuck in your throat."

"I feel kinda terrible," said runner-up Romero afterward. But Denton just had another beer. He patted his stomach. "There's nothing going on down there that I'm not comfortable with."

Don't Stop: Also at the Onion Festival was Chai Chaowasaree, shooting for his KHON-TV show, "Two Skinny Chefs." Chai saw a familiar face in the crowd and introduced me to a tall guy in a bright blue aloha shirt and shorts, with a long gray ponytail. "This is Mick Fleetwood," he said.

Yes, the former Fleetwood Mac drummer was there with wife Lynn and their 4-year-old twin daughters, Tessa and Ruby. Visiting? "We have a house here," said Fleetwood. "We'll move full-time starting in October."