You’ve planned parties. There is a series of decisions you make regarding the quality and tone of the party. Who will be there? What will they drink? What will they eat? For an avid party planner like me, answering these questions can be an exhilarating adventure. My party-planning prowess includes a bacon party (so much bacon), a Mad Men party, and even a Yacht Rock party.

Of course, I have served nachos at parties. What civilized person wouldn’t? I can’t say that I have thrown the greatest nacho party ever, though. I may need to start drawing up some plans. You see, the bar has been set very high.

Like many top stories, trending topics, and viral videos, I was shown this impressive photo on my Facebook wall.

Best nacho party ever. #nachos #nomnomnom

A photo posted by Michael (@myounggren) on Mar 5, 2016 at 3:29pm PST

I stared in disbelief for a while – taking inventory of everything on the photo. How glorious is this image? Immediately, I dreamt of being there, digging into those mountains of toppings, dropping them everywhere as I go and not having a care in the world.

I needed to know more. Who is responsible for this madness? How did it happen? Could this person be more into nachos than me? In this technological age, it was not hard to track down this nacho master, Mr. Patrick Stern. I asked Patrick some questions and he shared some more photos with me from The Greatest Nacho Party Ever.

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An interview with a nacho master

Nicole: How would you describe your history with nachos?
Patrick: Like most Americans, particularly Wisconsin-Americans, I love cheese and crunchy things. It’s probably in our DNA at this point. I’ve obviously eaten them a ton and made them before, but this was by far the most effort I’ve ever put into nachos. I would say, though, that my wife is the true nacho aficionado in our house. I’m just a hobbyist.

N: How did this magnificent display of nachos come to be?
P: It was a coming together of the rainbow and nachos. I don’t really know where the specific genesis of the idea came from, but ROY G BIV in toppins’ (which I feel is the correct way to pronounce nacho toppings) was the goal. I also love hosting ridiculous parties, from Fried Chicken Night for 20 to an annual Brat Fest (last year we had 67 kinds of brats) that push the boundaries of what a sane person would put themselves through.

N: Give me a rundown of all the toppings.
P: So in order it went – radishes, tomato/red bean/fresno chilis, chorizo and orange peppers, corn, chicken, cojito cheese, banana peppers, avocados, green onions, cilantro, red cabbage slaw, red onions, ground beef, black beans, and of course chips surrounding. I also had 6 hot sauces and 8 salsas (none of which were home made).

The cheese sauce I made from scratch as well and that was about 10 lbs of cheese and a gallon of milk among other things.

I also had a roasted chateaubriand with chimichurri and Spanish rice for anyone who came who might not be nacho inclined, or felt like they needed something more substantial.

N: How long did the process take?
P: Not including shopping, the cooking probably took around 8 hours.

N: How many bags of chips is that?
P: I overbought chips for sure, but I wasn’t sure what was needed for ratios. I’ve never done nachos on this scale so it was a guess. I had opened around 12 bags.

N: How many people were you feeding?
P: 30 total, 16 of which were adults.

N: What is the biggest challenge for a nacho bar like this?

P: I think the biggest challenge was the sauce. Because it’s so dairy based and because it was such a large batch, I actually scalded the milk close to the party by having the heat up too high, and I had to remake the batch after running out to re-buy the ingredients. That was stressful for sure. That and remembering to get out all of my ingredients. I forgot to put out sour cream.

N: Did you have leftovers?
P: I did, but by the time the party was over everything was a soggy mess, as you can see by the photo.

N: How could you possibly top this spread in the future?
P: To be honest, I have no idea. This might be peak party for me. I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head but it might be all downhill or derivative from here. I mean, if I do a giant crab boil it’s kind of splayed out like nachos, and paellas or jambalayas are great, but they’re one pot wonders. Plus this was a mashup, so I’m not sure I have that in me again. Kismet only happens every so often.

One thing’s for sure, though. I’m good on nachos for a while.

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I (and, I suspect, Patrick’s nacho-aficionado wife) can’t relate to feelings of being “good on nachos for a while”. That’s never happening. I do understand the drain from throwing a massive party.

This will be a tough spread to beat, even from a nacho enthusiast and party planner like me. But Patrick, you have inspired greatness, and I appreciate that. Cheers!

Note: The Greatest Nacho Party Ever title is taken from the Instagram caption and I’m using it based on the evidence I’ve seen. I encourage comments from any of the attendees of this party to confirm or deny that title. Can you top this nacho party story? Let’s hear it.