The Flamby Gulpers Club

(FGC)

Before proceeding, please bear in mind that flamby is in fact a caramel tasting pudding (as pictures do show it). This name comes from a very famous French trade but with a changed orthography in order to prevent any copyright problem... Have a nice reading...

Since a student from the ENSEEIHT and a student from the ENSA.M (Agronomy School of Montpellier) funded it in 1996, the Flamby Gulpers Club (FGC) has been reaching so far a unique and widespread fame. First settled in two historical centres, namely Toulouse and Montpellier, the FGC started undertaking the conquest of France and now radiates through the whole country (the Ardennes, North and Centre regions already rank local delegations) and even further (Gothenburg, Osaka, Beyrouth, ...).

The gulping champions meet when participating to criteria or heats where they confront each other throughout different kinds of events but always with - almost knightly - fair-play. Heats also give them the opportunity to have their knowledge passed on to an increasing number of beginners who become true enthusiasts once the first gulping fear has been overcome.

1) Basic gulping

• low grasp: consists in setting the mouth down to the bottom of the flamby and then shut it around when reaching the plate
• high grasp: the lips are first set at the top of the flamby in order to suck it up. It is the most spectacular position.
• medium grasp: here lips are set around the middle of the flamby. This grasp has become a little old-fashioned one.

2) Double flamby

Two flamby are piled up and thus gulped simultaneously. An assistant’s help is welcome while turning out the second flamby upon the first one.

3) Double FL or flaming flamby

A small hole is made at the top of the flamby (this step is called the ‘craterisation’) using a spoon. It is then filled up with alcohol with at least a 40 degree-proof (rum is most often chosen). The latter is set in fire and then one gulps the flamby as slowly as possible. One should not fear getting burnt because if flames first irritate the throat, it is immediately soothed by the flamby’s coolness and wet (the Canadair effect).

4) Multiple flamby or Japanese flamby

First at least two flamby are set upon as many plates and the standing gulper asks his assistants to lift them and hold them at the most appropriate height. Then he gulps all the flamby in a row (without any pause) as Asian fighting champions do since he is supposed to swallow them instantaneously. The best score was performed by Tonio who gulped 4 of them.

5) Flamby Star Trek

An empty plate is put beside the plate where stands the flamby. The gulper must take the flamby in his mouth without damaging it before laying it in the second plate. This is called the ‘flamby teleportation’ and that is the reason why the gulper must ask ‘Scotty asking for teleportation!’ before performing. Once it has made the teleportation successful, it is to him to re-teleportate the flamby or to let another Scotty do it... A variant consists in organising a relay race the baton of which is not difficult a thing to find out...

6) The love flamby

It is basically a Flamby Star Trek without the plates! As the female part of the FGC is alas less numerous than the male one, only male gulpers have performed the love flamby so far (Ben and Pierre from Montpellier).

7) The one versus one flamby race

Two gulpers sit and face each other around the flamby and must gulp it simultaneously from its lateral part. The winner is the one having gulped the most; a referee is required for both starting signal and determining the winner

8) The headstand gulping

The gulper stands upside down (on his hands) with his legs leaning against a wall or being held by some assistants. The flamby is then held out near his mouth so that he has just to choose the technique he wants to use.

9) The undersea flamby or Cousteau flamby

The plate the flamby is put upon is set on the shallow of a basin full of water: the gulper must go and get it. Swimming goggles seem to be a rather useful article.

10) The pancaked flamby

The flamby is gulped through a pancake (a French one i.e. a thin one) laid upon the flamby (one should wait until the common surface gets slacker because of the wet caramel). After gulping, the pancake is usually holed in its middle part.

11) Gulping in the pot

As one can guess, it consists in gulping the flamby directly out of its very pot (unless one forgets to remove the top). Please note that this technique should not be tried by beginners as the flamby’s arrival into the mouth is very difficult to keep under control and consequently dangerous.