WORCESTER, Mass. - A Worcester group shared their love for hot dogs and giving back to the community Saturday evening.

The Worcester Hot Dog Safari sends taste testers to different area restaurants and food trucks in an attempt to find the best hot dog in Central Massachusetts.

It's a fundraiser which has been running for a decade. Money raised goes to the Worcester County Food Bank.

Saturday evening, the group hosted a hot dog eating contest at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner to raise money for next month's taste testing event.

Nine eaters and nine judges were on hand. One of the judges was Oxford's Geoffrey Esper, fresh off his appearance at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Contestants had ten minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they could.

Worcester's Sean Mahoney won by eating 11 hot dogs, and credited his win to having a unique game plan.

“Never had a dipped hot dog in water,” Mahoney said. “I don’t plan on having another one in water. Went into it, completely oblivious. I had to do the blindfold, so I didn’t have to see all the haters. Went into it, the less I could see, the less I had to pay attention to and could focus on the chewing. Good things happened. A couple close calls, but mind over matter. I have no mind, so what's it matter?"

"I think in the end, the big thing is it’s a fundraiser,” said Tom Mahoney of the Worcester Hot Dog Safari. “The Hot Dog Safari is a fundraiser for the Worcester County Food Bank. That’s the big thing. They really need it after the last year, so it’s important for everybody to do what they can."

Sean was given a championship belt for finishing first.

He said he planned on celebrating with his uncle at Coney Island by having more hot dogs.

This year's safari will be held August 13 through August 22.