The more than 60,000 visitors estimated to have passed through Expocampo Yucatán 2014 expected to see a lot of things. Powerful tractors, impressive crops, the latest in farming practices and technology.
What they didn't expect, though, was to literally taste history. But that is exactly what the Comite Estatal del Sistema Producto Pulpo Yucatán (state committe for Yucatán octopus production) and Fundación Produce Yucatán (Yucatán produce foundation) delivered at the sixth annual farming exposition in Merida, Mexico.
On the final day of the four-day event, t he largest serving of octopus was dished out to the 15,000-plus in attendance, totaling 1,326.26 kg (2,923.90 lb) of the seafood delicacy.
With the Spanish word for octopus being "pulpo," the group dubbed this event - fittingly - "La Pulpeada."
With the intention of driving interest to the convention, the foundation and committee tasked 100 chefs to spend more than 8 hours preparing the dish. In total - between cooking, preparing, and serving - more than 140 staff members helped pull off the historic feat.
The recipe called for 200 kg each of white onions and tomatoes, as well as 80 liters of olive oil and 20 kg of chili peppers, among a slew of other ingredients.
This wasn't the first time that a Guinness World Records title was established at the Expocampo. At the second-ever event in 2010, the group produced the largest serving of roast pork, serving 3,094.2 kg (6,821.54 lbs) of local delicacy "cochinita pibil" to drive crowd interest and foot traffic.
The attempt drew the attention of Yucatán governor Rolando Zapata Bello, who came out for the final serving.
“This is how we build the vision for the future of Yucatán," Zapata said. "Working together as a team. Together, we have achieved a success that will live in the pages of Guinness World Records and we put Yucatán in the eyes of the world."
