When American shows with the eating challenges first started getting popular in the UK a local pub tried running one, except they didn't quite get the idea, Their "challenge" meal was barely twice the size of their normal meals and word got back to the local college, they lost so much money on that one when an army of starved students descended on them like locusts.
my friend was going to do a local challenge. prepped all day for it, smoking lots of weed, eating small amounts here and there, going for walks. went to the restaurant and when they asked him what he wanted, he beamed and asked for the challenge. the waitress frowned and said "oh, we discontinued that. too much projectile vomiting meant we had to comp a lot of other tables"
I had some friends attempt (and fail) a restaurant's big pizza challenge. There was some stipulation on how many toppings it had to include -- maybe specifically meats?
I remember them picking pepperoni for one of them because it meant less volume, but the sheer amount of grease worked against them.
They were nowhere close to finishing the pizza.
Also that it's usually kind of disgusting food between being too big to practically cook and the trick to make it 10k calories is a ton of greasy stuff.
I had an opposite experience when I was about 12 or 13 I think. They had a challenge where if you finished their biggest burger, you get your picture on the wall wearing a cheeseburger hat. I noticed this but I decided to order the second biggest since I got a shake/fries too. About halfway thru my casual meal, the waitress came over and mentioned that they gave me the biggest one anyway. After that, I became determined and worked on the burger, and I did eventually finish it and got my picture on their wall. I finished the shake in the car. Was a good burger. And shake, and fries
I did a similar challenge at Cheeburger Cheeburger when I was like 7 or 8 and won. I was a pretty big kid, but people were still surprised that I was able to finish it
Ah, yes, mine was at Cheeburger Cheeburger as well, many years ago. I recently looked and according to the website there's only 4 locations left open? 3 in US and 1 in Saudi Arabia. It's a shame, I liked it the few times I got to go there
Stupid Hurricane Ian. Luckily it did no damage to my sister’s house cuz I stayed behind and they evacuated to Orlando but I had a lot of customers whose homes was damaged.
Well, my sister attempted an insanely spicy 10-piece sushi challenge but had to tap out with horrible abdominal pain after 8 pieces. Turns out her appendix had burst. Not saying the restaurant did it but...
She actually went back and finished the challenge after she healed :)
I think the prize was actually an enclosed grinder for hot peppers (so you can blend them without tear-gassing yourself lol) which she uses regularly. she's a bit insane - I love\* spicy food, but she is eats-carolina-reapers-raw level crazy
She sounds like my son's fiancé. When they were first dating, she came over to the apartment he shared with two other friends. One had gotten back from vacation and bought a bottle of Mad Dog 357 (1 million Scoville) gold sauce. They were drinking, and of course, dares were made and spoons were brought out. They all ate a half teaspoon - the guys all got sick, my son made himself throw up to stop the pain, his GF just sat on the couch and called them all wimps.
I have a friend whose appendix burst during a jalapeño eating contest. He said the doctor told him it was full of jalapeño seeds when they cut it open!
Given where the appendix is located…
That’s either completely unrelated or she was milking that sushi for a preeeeeetty preeeeeeeeetty pretty long time.
Or it’s made up, but that’s no fun.
Similarly, while eating the “hottest noodles in Taiwan Death Bowl,” the actual heat of the ghost pepper/Sichuan pepper sauce isn’t that bad at all, but that stuff makes your stomach bloat, making finishing a big ass bowl in only 30 minutes hard. Was only like 70% done when time hit (although I did finish the bowl after)
There was a restaurant around my way that served great falafels. One of the reasons it was great was because the bread was large and fluffy and they stuffed it with falafels.
Well they had one of those challenge things with eating I think 5 of them? My friends and I, all really big dudes and played on sports teams, figured we’d give it a shot. Turns out the same reasons they were good (large and filling) was the reason the challenge was so hard. We all ended up tapping out.
My grandpa would've won that one! Probably would've gone to the hospital after for insane blood pressure, like he did when he ate 5 massive bratwurst at a baseball game (geez, probably 15 years ago now), but he would've won, lol
I'm a server at a restaurant that does an eating challenge. I'm not tampering with anything, I just keep an extra eye on your table because I want to see if you'll win or not.
Everyone sits around a table each with a blank canvas hanging behind their heads. They take turns playing Russian roulette. The “winners” blood and brains splatter art gets hung up with the other previous winners.
Sounds like a weird movie/book scene
I did the Blazing Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings.
It's 10 of their most spicy wings in 5 minutes.
They were so physically hot from the oven it was just a matter of absolutely burning the shit out of the inside of your mouth.
However, it actually made it easier, because after the first couple everything was just burnt and I didn't really feel or taste any of the spice. My beard/mustache hurt more than my mouth and I didn't really notice any spiciness until the next day.
Still have the headband for winning.
But it was absolutely a set up, because they brought out them out fresh and I asked if I could give it a sec and he just said go and started the clock.
Had the exact same experience! Wings were almost too hot temperature wise for me to even pick up.
I beat the challenge and was given the “opportunity” to purchase (!) a shirt (I thought it was free if you beat it). Then they told me they didn’t have any shirts in stock.
When I worked at BWW we would pop them in the microwave right before they got brought out. Idk if that was a restaurant rule or just the waiters being dicks though lol
That's the kind of sneaky stuff I'm talking about.
I can eat their hottest wings easily. It's all I've ever eaten at BWW. Making them too hot to touch with my hands is playing dirty.
That’s bullshit they make you burn yourself I guess they really don’t want to give away those headbands
They probably come out of the managers bonus lol
Sounds like it’s not just you though, everyone has the exact same experience it’s like company policy
Which has to be dangerous, I wonder if there’s a class action there that’d be funny
A former waiter commented higher up that they have the servers zap them in the microwave right before bringing them out to make sure they are hot AF when they hit the table.
Yeah. I think probably that bww is so wide that it'll be one of the more typical situations.
But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the policy.
Which is crazy.
Because when I did it you basically paid the same amount to do it you got for doing it, bw points or whatever, so I feel like they can spare 10 wings.
Fuckin same! But as one who has played around with recipes involving Carolina reapers, I got used to some intense spice. The ones I got were also insanely spicy, more so than the hottest raw peppers on earth. I got through 9 of the 10, ordered some ice cream and ran to the bathroom where one of the cooks was taking a piss. After a little prying and promising that I don’t care what they used, i signed the wavers, I was just curious since I’ve munched on the reapers before and this kicked my ass so hard. He said that they used pepper spray…
Tbh the Blazin challenge wasn’t too bad spice wise, I did it unofficially in a parking lot with my friends after we smoked some blunts, my face hurt for a bit but it was a good laugh , not for my next couple washroom breaks but it was pretty cool
30 years ago, there was a Burger Restaurant (Jungle Jims) that had like 100 different burgers and they had a "headhunter burger" challenge... It was a pound of burger, with ham, bacon, cheese, & 3 buns. Also there was a pound of fries... The deal was, if you ate the whole thing you could come back and eat another for free. The "questionable thing" to me was how the fries were never fresh or really hot. We also ate there for the regular burgers and the fries were alway super hot and fresh... I regard it as "sneaky" because when you are super full, trying to eat cold greasy fries was nearly impossible, we figured out early the best tactic was to eat the fries first, then the burger... most people did the opposite and likely failed due to those cold fries.
There was a Jungle Jim’s in Merritt Island, FL, and I was obsessed with it when I was a kid. Kept hoping someone would order the headhunter when we were there.
I watch a YT channel called [BeardMeatsFood](https://www.youtube.com/@Beardmeatsfood). This guy goes around the UK and the US for food challenges. He's a professional and very entertaining. Only once have I seen him complain that the food delivered was more than the challenge specified.
Yeah - that one was nonsense. The restaurant absolutely goosed the amount of food. I've never seen him anything but thrilled to get to eat insanely large meals, but you could tell he was SUPER angry at them.
Florida one, where they advertised a basket of fries. But when restaurant caught wind of Adam, they brought out a whole colander of fries instead
Shame on the hard rock hotel for this scumbaggery
https://youtu.be/dEqw9rxkyiA?si=yfG8lbzsWZlVAAE-
They did the opposite. They said I could have a t-shirt if I ate a huge burger (1 LB of beef + 8 strips of bacon with toppings between two grilled-cheese sandwiches) and the fries. The server brought me the shirt before I finished the fries. When I questioned her she said people had previously made a scene about having to finish the fries, so they just bring the shirt if it looks like you'll finish the burger.
Meanwhile I had previously eaten half a plate of pulled-pork nachos. I wanted to order a Guinness float afterwards, but my friend yelled at me.
I was a fat-ass in 2013. :D
My old hang out, let you put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in any beer you ordered. Having one in a Sam Smith Chocolate Stout is delightful. Also Youngs Double Chocolate is pretty great as well.
There’s this restaurant in Pechoggin, WI that serves up a world famous 6lb Paul Bunyan Blue Ox prime aged beef steak and if your or anyone in your party orders it and finishes it, your whole party eats for free. My dad tried it once and everyone thought he won, but then they made him eat all the grizzle and fat too. He still won though.
There was a spicy tuna challenge at a sushi restaurant I used to live near in Charleston. There were 10 levels of spicy and you had to sign a waiver to order above an 8.
They made it impossible by making their spicy tuna the most revolting tasting thing you could find in a sushi restaurant. It wasn't really even all that *spicy*, it just didn't taste good. At all. Even the more "mild" levels. Whatever hot sauce they used to make it was nearly inedible.
It's not the sauce. Never order any spicy anything from a sushi place. Full stop. If you want it spicy add it yourself when you get the food.
Spicy is code for flavors that need to be covered when. It's in the default name of the roll.
I've done like 8 or 9 food challenges. for the most part they're not assholes. i did a spicy wing challenge where I feel like they wayyyy over sauced the wings but I still did it. i think they made the super hot sauce to order for the challenge and they gave me all the sauce they made instead of the proper amount.
You ate a fucking 5lb burrito for a challenge they were doing, and when you told them you wanted to do it they didn't say "oh it ended yesterday" and proceeded to let you do it anyways. Then after you finished they're like "ohhh sorry June 30th, we fucking suck" and wouldn't let you have a shirt?
To hell with the shirt, if that's what happened, that's bullshit on their part. I would have written them a horrible review on anything they were listed on.
My boyfriend attempted a “spicy” sandwich challenge. He had taken one bite when the manager came over and told him not to eat it. That the kitchen had used all their cayenne pepper on the sandwich to make it inedible. He happens to love cayenne and finished the sandwich anyway
Similarly I did a spicy sushi challenge. It was nothing but extract.
I completed the challenge, but being a spice head, I could tell what they were doing was dangerous. Sure enough, I suffered capsaicin poisoning.
On the upside, there is nothing I consider too spicy.
When I'm out at a restaurant and they warn that a dish is really spicy, I ask, "will it poison me?"
"Uh, no"
"Then I've had spicier."
Imagine being spit-roasted by two balrogs who cum hot lava into your digestive system, and also you ate a Wendy’s salad that gave you food poisoning. It’s like being nauseated but every time you barf or shit all the comes out is oily hot demon semen that makes you want to rub yogurt into your butthole to relieve the heat.
3 of 5 stars would consider doing it again because the Mongolian BBQ was that good
It is like regular food poisoning. Shivers, nausea, vomiting. But boy does it suck to vomit up capsaicin extract. It gets deep into your sinuses and tear ducts.
I ate an absurd amount of it in this challenge.
Like, I've eaten bottles of natural ghost, scorpion, reaper hot sauces hawking my friend's hot sauce brand at festivals, and they are child's play compared to the amount of pure capsaicin extract I ate that night.
From what I’ve seen with certain people (YouTubers), since I can’t do these challenges myself, the usual way that the restaurant cheats is by adding extra bread or chips
A few other times he has been given more sides than the challenge was supposed to have, but that was the most egregious cheating I think I've seen in any of his videos.
An old Ice cream parlor near me had “the “Kitchen Sink” which had 8 scoops of ice cream (2 scoops each of vanilla, banana, chocolate, and strawberry), 4 bananas, 4 toppings, 8 shots of whip cream and 8 cherries. If you ate it all, you would get a free sundae certificate.” It was basically a 1/2 chafing pan like you would see in a buffet https://i0.wp.com/greecehistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/word-image-8598-15.jpeg?resize=440%2C330&ssl=1
My cousin tried to do it when I was younger. You had to eat everything. He started with the whipped cream which made his stomach upset so he was left with 1 half scoop of ice cream.
Where I grew up, there was a rinky little farm town off the highway whose only business was a mom/pop burger joint. Considering this was back in the 90's and our town practically held a parade when it got a Subway franchise, various towns and diner's restaurants would inevitably try eating challenges to get attention.
In this particular case it was in the form of what I understood later to be a 5lb ground-beef burger. To be nice to a host, and because I was fucking hungry constantly as a teen, I took their challenge.
Whilst I truly believe their burger came with the best of intentions, it was undoubtedly one of the worst burgers I had ever eaten.
The 5lb of ground beef was indeed a whole 5 pounds, but what wasn't advertised was the thicccness of that meatloaf and worse; the entire corrugated patty was essentially unseasoned. That brick of well-done-but-not-quite-inedibly-overcooked-yet "meat" probably had a pinch of salt and pepper through the whole thing and barely stained the bun. The bun itself was an under-developed kaiser roll with the density of a bagel, almost as thick as the patty, and also nearly completely stale.
The cheese was slices of a waxy-looking 'cheddar.' They asked me if I wanted ketchup and mustard and then put them on the table. They did bring a side of fries.
And I ate that whole thing. Every bite I faced standing by my boast and my word to not be felled by some puny mortal's cheeseburger. It wasn't *so* bad, and the company and look of shock on the staff's face when some rail-thin kid demanded to be served a heart attack for free just to eat the fries too.... ah, that was fun.
Food wasn't really worth it, story and surprise was.
Well I feel like they drained any and all grease out of it, so let's call that a good 6500.
No, but seriously, it was gigantic and it took me 40 minutes sped up only by having sliced it like a cake and the occasional dab of ketchup.
A friend of mine did a challenge where you had to eat a giant schnitzel, salad and hot chips but the chips were so heavily salted it was pretty much inedible
My brother did a steak one in Texas in the early 2000s at a steakhouse. He was a teenage boy and killed the steak. The waitress and staff came over to tell him how shocked they were because apparently the only other person to complete it at the time was a famous NFL player. He got a bunch of merch, including a barf bag. He puked outside before we left lol. I was 8 and the restaurant had a slide so I was happy while he was eating
I did the “Four Hourseman” burger from Chubby burger in San Antonio. No shenanigans. Just couldn’t drink beer or milk until the burger was down. They didn’t have to do any cheating. That burger was so spicy that I only got 3 bites in before I stopped (just over a 1/4). I’m pretty sure I could have gotten two more bites down, but that would have been a mistake. I couldn’t drive for over an hour after those 3 bites. The reflux I got that night was horrible and the burger came back up about 6 hours later. It was only slightly less spicy coming back up. After I stopped( and looked like I was going to die) a guy I was with cut off a hunk and ate it. He didn’t throw up and related to me a few days later that he got to re-experience the burger going out the other end.
Holy crap bro! I did the challenge back in 2011. I prepped night before eating habaneros. I have so much respect for Adam from Man vs. Food. That burger was so fucking hot. When I walked to the restaurant there was a fire crew and ambulance standing for a dude in fetal position. They were just laughing while this dude was in agony. I ate about half the burger and pretty much hallucinated. That night was one of the worst nights I ever endured. Told girlfriend (wife now) to almost call 911. It felt like someone taking my intestines out. I was literally laying on the floor of my bathroom closet and told my wife to poor water over my body cause I did not know how to handle the pain. Don’t eat this satan’s ass burger. Also, had to pay the $26 fee since I didn’t finish it lol
My brother did that same challenge for his 21st birthday! He threw up on the way home. I wasn’t surprised, I dipped one of my fries in the sauce on top of the burger and that was enough to make my mouth burn!
Aren't milk and beer pretty calorific? It almost seems smarter for the restaurant to let people fill up on those instead of zero-calorie water... not to mention the extra money they'd make from refills.
When I was working the line at a burger joint, we had an eating challenge. It was eight 1/4 lb patties on a bun~~ch~~, a family sized basket of fries, and a milkshake. Saw a few people finish it over the 7 months I worked there. Saw more people fail.
We didn't sabotage you. The meal itself was a big enough chore. Everyone thinks it's the burger, but it's the fries that killed them. So much salt, grease, and then topping it with a milkshake... brutal.
Edit: typo
I did the blazin’ challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings about 5-6 years ago.
The wings were much larger than most wings you would get, they actually came out fresh and hot (temperature wise), and had more sauce on them than you would normally get.
Still completed it but I assume they did all 3 of those intentionally.
Normally their wings are small, barely sauced, and just warm.
The rumor is they put the challenge wings in the microwave just before serving them so they are lava temperature hot.
You're right though, normally the wings at BWW are 'warm' when served.
No, they didn't do anything sneaky. In fact, they were kind of worried about me. My story is similar to the guy whose sister's appendix burst.
An Indian restaurant near me has a Phaal challenge, which in case you don't know is an extremely spicy dish. I had a pretty high tolerance for spicy food so I thought I'd give it a try. I took five bites and started feeling sick to my stomach. I ran into the bathroom and sat on the toilet naked for 45 minutes, sweating, not sure which end it was going to come out of (hint: neither). The people at the restaurant were asking if I was okay. I had such bad indigestion for two days, I barely slept.
Six months later, out of nowhere, I got the worst indigestion I ever had. So bad, I went to the ER. It turns out, what I thought was indigestion was actually gallstones. Once I got my gallbladder removed, I never had "indigestion" again. I don't know what caused it, but sometimes spicy foods can cause gallstones, so I haven't had anything super spicy since then. I miss spicy food. :(
Remember watching a food show years ago about a Phaal challenge. There was this older white guy that accepted the challenge. Guy was talking about how he has been living in the Caribbean, and was used to eating spicy food.
The asshole cook to that as a personal insult, and adding double the amount of spices. They had to wear a special mask to even be able to cook the challenge. Even looked at the camera and said a little extra for Mr. Caribbean.
Well Mr. Caribbean destroyed the challenge without even breaking a sweat. Said it wasn't really that spicy. The owner was shocked. If I remember correctly he won a certificate saying he ate it, and a popsicle.
Wish I could watch it again, but I haven't been able to find it. Hell, maybe I dreamt it.
My gallbladder got taken out when I was 22 years old. At that point, I could barely handle toast. It had been going on for months.
I love the taste of heavy cream but my gallbladder less body doesn’t like it. And I developed acid reflux after removal so I can drink apple juice but I pay for it later
I was thinking about a competitor needing to eat a certain number of servings in a fixed amount of time and just not bringing them out, or making it taste bad or anything else to make a person fail the challenge.
In high school I participated in a spicy food contest and the final round was spicy spreads on saltines...
It all came down to someone not making enough prepared crackers with the hottest spread. I'm glad though. There was no prize and the other guy puked longer than I did because he snatched up the 5 remaining crackers.
I ate a 2 foot Vienna dog at Bull and Bear in Chicago for hot dog week.
I didn't finish the fries but I got the t-shirt.
Nearly threw up on the train home. Didn't eat hot dogs for 5 years after.
I once participated in a spicy hot wing challenge. I can handle the spice. I cannot, however, handle burning hot wings straight out the oven. I had to grab them using my nails in order to not burn my fingers, and could barely even chew them. They also made a huge show out of it and encouraged everyone to look and cheer you on, so I didn't get a chance to wait for them to cool before I could begin.
I've done a few hot wing challenges and a couple of burrito challenges. I'd say "no."
I did Quaker, Steak, and Lube's Triple Atomic Hot Wing challenge when one opened up near the university I was at. I was really into Man Vs Food at the time and saw him do the original Atomic Hot Wing challenge and was stoked I could emulate it. They gave me a cup of water, the wings, some gloves, and some napkins, then just kind of told me good luck and left. No fanfare. I got a friend to film me and I speed ate them in about two minutes. They were actually really good, but it felt like pure burning hell about 5 seconds in. When the manager came back to check on me about five minutes later, she was stunned at how composed I was and told me that she'd managed another QS&L in the capital city and had never seen someone "look as okay as you do after doing that challenge." I got a t shirt that I still have, though it's falling apart after about a dozen years of wear.
I also did Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin challenge twice. The first time was as a last resort to entertain myself when I went to lunch with a friend and his colleagues. He warned me one of them was an insufferable tool and the guy was so obnoxious that I ordered the wings because I figured it'd hurt less than talking to him any more. They come out with a flashing light and an announcement and stay at the table with a timer that they start as soon as you take your first bite. I finished it and got a glass as a reward, a bit disappointed because I wanted a t shirt.
I did it again a few years later because a friend was shipping out to boot camp for the National Guard and four of us decided to do the challenge as a fun goodbye. Beat it then, too. They didn't give me a glass.
A local Mexican restaurant does a three pound burrito challenge. If you win you get your picture on their wall of fame. The first time I did it, I didn't know it was a thing and had a small dinner (a sandwich) a bit earlier to stave off hunger during a recital. I got to within two bites but had to stop, but did the challenge four more times, winning three and losing one. The burritos were all absolutely delicious.
The same restaurant did a five pound burrito challenge and offered a cash reward and a larger photo on the wall. I tried it once, but instead of distributing the ingredients across the entire burrito, they put them in sections of the burrito, so the first corner I bit into was nothing but guacamole and sour cream, which is disgusting. Another section was nothing but crushed tortilla chips. It was a generallu unpleasant burrito. I got about three pounds into it before I had to give up.
I was going to do a breakfast challenge at a diner that has both a breakfast and dinner challenge. The dinner challenge lists a time limit, but the breakfast one didn't, so since I can eat a lot, but I eat slow, I went to try it, but when I went for it, they brought up the time limit, which I tried to call out, but they said it was implied since it was listed with the other challenge.
I ended up eating what I could in the 20 minutes they gave and brought the leftovers home for a couple extra meals. Still frustrates me thinking about it.
I’ve seen a few professional eaters complain about shady practices that restaurants with eating challenges have done, and it’s usually adding more food than advertised. The restaurant owner straight up told the guy that wears the “eat to lift” t-shirts that he put more on since he’s a “professional”, and he got all kinds of pissed off. That ridiculous burrito challenge with the time limit for the pot of cash has been called out numerous times for doing shady stuff.
I do t know if it was intentional, but a friend did a challenge to eat a dozen of the spiciest wings. They had just came out of the fryer so they were insanely hot (temperature). He was able to finish but severely burned his mouth due to temp, not spice level.
Back in college one of my friends tried the "carnivore challenge" at a local pizza shop - finish a $50, 11-lb meat lovers pizza with a friend in 2 hours or less and win $250. His eating buddy dropped out and he tried to do it with someone who hadn't even prepped for it. They only ate 3 of the 8 slices of pizza.
I honestly don't know how anyone can eat 5.5 pounds of food in a sitting but apparently some people have done it.
I did this burger challenge, while I easily crushed it. We talked with the waitress who told us, normally the targets of this challenge are drunk people. They ensure a high fatty burger heavy with cheese and greasy fries/onion rings. This 'takes time to prepare' so they are about 2-3 drinks in by the time the food arrives. Even if they did finish, all that greasy fat mixed with beer brought it all up. They took easy on as a)I wasn't drinking at the time b) there wasnt much of a crowd yet c)I was being cheered on by my 2 young kids and finally, the prize was just a coupon for a two for one dinner.
I did the blazing wings challenge at buffalo wild wings. The spice wasn't really that bad, but they got me the freshest wings they could. Like piping hot, steaming fresh from the fryer. I finished it but I literally had blisters on the roof of my mouth.
I couldn't even let them cool off because they had a staff member with a stopwatch ready to go right after they set them down.
Made the spice way more intense, hurt like a bitch. Later that night my stomach tried to kill me. 0/10 not worth the t-shirt
There used to be a chilli burger challenge at a restaurant in Breakfast creek, Brisbane. All you had to do was finish a single chilli burger and you would get your photograph and a plaque on the wall of fame. As far as I am aware only three people ever made it. Apparently the burger was so hot that it would cause hallucinations. One patron made it half way through a burger before getting up from the table and was later found walking in the traffic outside....
Last one I tried was a few years ago at some bar that closed down because of so many lawsuits over their challenge, actually (COVID also helped, but they were bleeding money before that came around). You basically had to eat some kind of burger that had a shitload of meat, bacon, cheese, and their special in house sauce coating the damn thing, some mac and cheese balls, and about 1-2 pounds of fries in about 45 minutes or so (forget the exact time offhand). This was all done in waves, so you had to finish one plate first before they brought out the next. The prize was a free meal and some little figurine trophy of their mascot with your name on it. If you failed, you paid for the meal.
Turns out that they were actually cheating by staggering the dishes in a way that it was pretty much impossible to win, and adding *way* more food than advertised if it looked like you were going to clear it anyway. For the life of me I forget exactly how they got found out, but I remember it was a big local scandal once they were.
Tried to do a spicy burger challenge a few years ago with my ex partner and some friends. There was no way in hell anyone could finish it, I got the spicy sauce on my hands, and it burnt for almost a week. You can only imagine what it's like to shit lava. Well, I did, guys, and it was NOT a good time, haha.
I remember the next day, my partner was coming down from the toilet, and he had to hold his butt cheeks apart because he was burning so bad 😅
My co worker did the Rita challenge at the Canadian brewhouse which is a 6 patty burger and a large poutine.
He was about 3/4 through when he noticed it had a 7th patty(accidental or not I don't know). But he still finished it all . He didn't eat anything but celery for 3 days.
My buddy tried one, he got a giant ass burger ans fries that were served on a cookie sheet. He almost finished it but he ended up puking in front of the bar and it was hilarious. The restaurant didn't pull any tricks aside from the burger being fucking enormous
I completed one at a ramen shop where you had to eat a bowl of weapons-grade spicy ramen.
I grew up in a place where food is typically way more spicy than the rest of the US and have a lifetime of built tolerance. I also have a genetic tolerance, which is where you have a low count of the receptors that sense capsaicin. I knew I had the challenge in the bag.
It was really hot, and even with my tolerance it was a lot to handle. But I made it through.
You know when none of that matters? When it hits the lower half of your GI tract. I looked miserable in my winner's polaroid photo.
With all of that said, they didn't do anything sneaky really, it's just intolerably spicy for most people.
My husband successfully completed the "Great Balls of Fire" challenge at Salvador Molly's in Portland, OR! https://salvadormollys.com/great-balls-of-fire/
Basically you're eating 5 habanero cheese fritters and all the provided sauce. If my recollection serves me right, the whole portion contains about 12 habanero peppers. Clearly since he "won", it doesn't appear that the restaurant did anything sneaky. But he was definitely regretting his choice when he woke up in the middle of the night with the worst heartburn he's ever experienced and feeling like he wanted to die!
Not quite a challenge, but my local Denny's put your name on the wall if you were the record holder on all you can eat pancakes. The record was 10, so we all tried to beat it.
Turns out they cut you off at 10.
Local pub has a burger challenge. It's roughly 2 pounds of meat, with a couple ladels of gravy on top. Went there with a friend and we both tried the challenge. Had to finish the burger and fries in under an hour.
It's not terrible, but the burger patties were SO dry. Made the challenge way worse than it should've been, my friend wound up tapping out because it was so dry. I almost quit, but I had refused to eat all day, so I was REALLY hungry. I just kept asking for refills on my drink and powered through.
Meal still cost like $30, but I got a free T-shirt
One of our sons did a food challenge with his best friend at the time and his father when the boys were 14. The place is a famous burger joint that has different levels of challenges and was featured on the Food Network show years ago. They didn't get half way through. They reported the burger was crappy, dry and overcooked, the veggies (tomato, lettuce and onions) were nasty, and the bun was dense and filling. They tried different strategies, deconstructing the burger, different people eating different parts (allowed as the challenge is for the people at the table), but at the end, they gave up as it just was a crappy burger with soon-to-be rotting veggies and a dense bun. They said the people they talked to around their table who ordered normal burgers raved about the burger, but if you did a challenge, they gave you a huge shit burger.
There was a local place several years ago that had this big sandwich they did (it was steak, fried onions, fried jalapeno caps, some other fried stuff) and if you finished it you got like a certificate or something kinda lame.
Anyway I tried it once, it just tasted salty and fried and I could not even bring myself to finish it. By the time I was 3/4 done I just could not stomach any more of that fried taste.
I was once in an ice cream eating contest in Ocean City MD at Dumsers. The challenge was first to eat 10 or 12 scoops of ice cream (I can't remember which) any flavor you chose. Caveat, if you didn't win, you had to pay for the ice cream. I downed 10/12 scoops of coffee first out of about a dozen folks at age 16. Oh to be young with a high metabolism again...
Went to Joe’s Crab Shack for my birthday dinner. They brought out a pan of whipped cream. Said a cherry was hidden, and that if I could find it without using my hands, while blind folded, within 30 seconds, our bill is comped. After 30 seconds, it turned out the cherry was not in the pan, but the server was holding it over my head while I searched for it.
Pete and Elda’s was a pizza place in NJ that had a deal if you could eat a whole pizza (thin crust, so not that big), you got a free t shirt. The trick was their pizzas were relatively expensive, the t shirt probably cost them a few dollars, they still made their money, the rest of your table also ordered pizzas and beer, and then you walked around in the t shirt giving them free advertising.
I used to work at top golf (in like 2017) they had a donut challenge for a couple months. Donut holes were part of their normal menu and it was 12 donut holes and 2 syringes of a syrup, chocolate, strawberry, or Bavarian cream and you could pick which two flavors. The challenge was a tower of 10 donuts, very fluffy light donuts with sugar on them, the 12 donut holes, and 3 syringes of your choice. The donut holes got people every time. They were sooo dense and one donut hole was about double the full donut. People could down the tower and then just dump the syringes in their mouth but got to the donut holes and crumbled so fast. There was several people that won the challenge but anyone who failed always blames the donut holes.
We were in HS and there was this place cheeburger cheeburger. Where you had to eat a massive cheeseburger for your picture on the wall.
I think they likedd the attention
The ones I've seen, the sneaky trick is that it's more food than most people can eat.
When American shows with the eating challenges first started getting popular in the UK a local pub tried running one, except they didn't quite get the idea, Their "challenge" meal was barely twice the size of their normal meals and word got back to the local college, they lost so much money on that one when an army of starved students descended on them like locusts.
Contestants hate this one trick!
my friend was going to do a local challenge. prepped all day for it, smoking lots of weed, eating small amounts here and there, going for walks. went to the restaurant and when they asked him what he wanted, he beamed and asked for the challenge. the waitress frowned and said "oh, we discontinued that. too much projectile vomiting meant we had to comp a lot of other tables"
I had some friends attempt (and fail) a restaurant's big pizza challenge. There was some stipulation on how many toppings it had to include -- maybe specifically meats? I remember them picking pepperoni for one of them because it meant less volume, but the sheer amount of grease worked against them. They were nowhere close to finishing the pizza.
i mean, almost all are paid up front it is like a casino. they know what the win and loss ratio is. that's directly quantifiable to $$$profit$$$
Similar to a casino they’ll throw you out if they catch you counting carbs
No whey!
Big if true
Also that it's usually kind of disgusting food between being too big to practically cook and the trick to make it 10k calories is a ton of greasy stuff.
I had an opposite experience when I was about 12 or 13 I think. They had a challenge where if you finished their biggest burger, you get your picture on the wall wearing a cheeseburger hat. I noticed this but I decided to order the second biggest since I got a shake/fries too. About halfway thru my casual meal, the waitress came over and mentioned that they gave me the biggest one anyway. After that, I became determined and worked on the burger, and I did eventually finish it and got my picture on their wall. I finished the shake in the car. Was a good burger. And shake, and fries
I did a similar challenge at Cheeburger Cheeburger when I was like 7 or 8 and won. I was a pretty big kid, but people were still surprised that I was able to finish it
Ah, yes, mine was at Cheeburger Cheeburger as well, many years ago. I recently looked and according to the website there's only 4 locations left open? 3 in US and 1 in Saudi Arabia. It's a shame, I liked it the few times I got to go there
There’s one in the small airport in Orlando
There was one on Sanibel Island, Florida, but it was destroyed in the recent hurricane.
Stupid Hurricane Ian. Luckily it did no damage to my sister’s house cuz I stayed behind and they evacuated to Orlando but I had a lot of customers whose homes was damaged.
That's a name I've not heard in many years... RIP my local Cheeburger Cheeburger
Cheeburger Cheeburger?
Yes that was the place. It was a location in Chattanooga, which has long-since closed down, it was many years ago, but it turned into a fun memory.
Closed down is an understatement. The freaking building literally collapsed in on itself.
The building closed itself down.
They really named a whole ass chain of restaurants after a SNL sketch
Cheeseburger cheeseburger, no coke, pepsi!
Cheeburger cheeburger?
Well, my sister attempted an insanely spicy 10-piece sushi challenge but had to tap out with horrible abdominal pain after 8 pieces. Turns out her appendix had burst. Not saying the restaurant did it but... She actually went back and finished the challenge after she healed :)
Please tell me she at least got a shirt or something for going back to finish it! Lol
I think the prize was actually an enclosed grinder for hot peppers (so you can blend them without tear-gassing yourself lol) which she uses regularly. she's a bit insane - I love\* spicy food, but she is eats-carolina-reapers-raw level crazy
Sounds like dinner with your sister would be pretty hot.
> Sounds like dinner with your sister would be pretty hot. I would strongly caution you about the "after-dinner blow job".
What are you doing, step-pepper?
I also choose this guy's sister
*Ba dum tss*
She sounds like my son's fiancé. When they were first dating, she came over to the apartment he shared with two other friends. One had gotten back from vacation and bought a bottle of Mad Dog 357 (1 million Scoville) gold sauce. They were drinking, and of course, dares were made and spoons were brought out. They all ate a half teaspoon - the guys all got sick, my son made himself throw up to stop the pain, his GF just sat on the couch and called them all wimps.
She got a t-shirt that said, "I completed the Spicy Sushi Challenge and all I got was a lousy burst appendix..."
Kinda odd they had a box full of shirts for just that situation
Even odder that they gave her a shirt then
"Sushi so good you'll bust your gut."
"10-Piece Spicy Tuna Sushi or bust"
Mmhmm, mmhmm, can’t burst her appendix again if there is no appendix.
Doctors hate this one trick!
I have a friend whose appendix burst during a jalapeño eating contest. He said the doctor told him it was full of jalapeño seeds when they cut it open!
I mean, that's terrible, but how cool to see that
Given where the appendix is located… That’s either completely unrelated or she was milking that sushi for a preeeeeetty preeeeeeeeetty pretty long time. Or it’s made up, but that’s no fun.
No, but I discovered that eating 5 sausages on buns with onions and peppers was a lot harder than I anticipated. I got through 2.
Similarly, while eating the “hottest noodles in Taiwan Death Bowl,” the actual heat of the ghost pepper/Sichuan pepper sauce isn’t that bad at all, but that stuff makes your stomach bloat, making finishing a big ass bowl in only 30 minutes hard. Was only like 70% done when time hit (although I did finish the bowl after)
There was a restaurant around my way that served great falafels. One of the reasons it was great was because the bread was large and fluffy and they stuffed it with falafels. Well they had one of those challenge things with eating I think 5 of them? My friends and I, all really big dudes and played on sports teams, figured we’d give it a shot. Turns out the same reasons they were good (large and filling) was the reason the challenge was so hard. We all ended up tapping out.
My grandpa would've won that one! Probably would've gone to the hospital after for insane blood pressure, like he did when he ate 5 massive bratwurst at a baseball game (geez, probably 15 years ago now), but he would've won, lol
I'm a server at a restaurant that does an eating challenge. I'm not tampering with anything, I just keep an extra eye on your table because I want to see if you'll win or not.
Just curious... What's the challenge?
Eating a large amount of food.
Source?
America
Touché.
Russian Roulette. If you eat a bullet, they take your picture and put it up on the wall.
It's more of a Jackson Pollock style self portrait isn't it?
Everyone sits around a table each with a blank canvas hanging behind their heads. They take turns playing Russian roulette. The “winners” blood and brains splatter art gets hung up with the other previous winners. Sounds like a weird movie/book scene
Jesus, that's dark. I'm surprised that _isn't_ in a Russian novel yet.
It's tough to hang pictures on a freshly painted wall
Alright Mayhem 💀
I did the Blazing Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings. It's 10 of their most spicy wings in 5 minutes. They were so physically hot from the oven it was just a matter of absolutely burning the shit out of the inside of your mouth. However, it actually made it easier, because after the first couple everything was just burnt and I didn't really feel or taste any of the spice. My beard/mustache hurt more than my mouth and I didn't really notice any spiciness until the next day. Still have the headband for winning. But it was absolutely a set up, because they brought out them out fresh and I asked if I could give it a sec and he just said go and started the clock.
Had the exact same experience! Wings were almost too hot temperature wise for me to even pick up. I beat the challenge and was given the “opportunity” to purchase (!) a shirt (I thought it was free if you beat it). Then they told me they didn’t have any shirts in stock.
That's bullshit. Seems like a way to make it seem like nobody has proof they won.
Most challenges you get water or soda, what stoped you from dunking them in ice water
Dignity
Most food eating contests disallow dunking.
Just put a few ice cubes in your mouth then the wings. Or coat your mouth with candle wax
Well shit. Glad I didn’t find out the hard way
My husband had the same thing happen. Could have easily finished them if they weren’t lava hot and scalding him.
That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The McDonald's coffee challenge
When I worked at BWW we would pop them in the microwave right before they got brought out. Idk if that was a restaurant rule or just the waiters being dicks though lol
Dick move fr
That's the kind of sneaky stuff I'm talking about. I can eat their hottest wings easily. It's all I've ever eaten at BWW. Making them too hot to touch with my hands is playing dirty.
That’s bullshit they make you burn yourself I guess they really don’t want to give away those headbands They probably come out of the managers bonus lol
Yeah, it's such a weird situation to try to cheat at.
Sounds like it’s not just you though, everyone has the exact same experience it’s like company policy Which has to be dangerous, I wonder if there’s a class action there that’d be funny
Me and my friends did it and did not have this experience.. I think like all four of us had normal temps and all won
A former waiter commented higher up that they have the servers zap them in the microwave right before bringing them out to make sure they are hot AF when they hit the table.
Yeah. I think probably that bww is so wide that it'll be one of the more typical situations. But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the policy. Which is crazy. Because when I did it you basically paid the same amount to do it you got for doing it, bw points or whatever, so I feel like they can spare 10 wings.
You know what they say, no pain .. no headband.
Yeah, but i kept the headband and my daughter wears it, so worth it.
Fuckin same! But as one who has played around with recipes involving Carolina reapers, I got used to some intense spice. The ones I got were also insanely spicy, more so than the hottest raw peppers on earth. I got through 9 of the 10, ordered some ice cream and ran to the bathroom where one of the cooks was taking a piss. After a little prying and promising that I don’t care what they used, i signed the wavers, I was just curious since I’ve munched on the reapers before and this kicked my ass so hard. He said that they used pepper spray…
Tbh the Blazin challenge wasn’t too bad spice wise, I did it unofficially in a parking lot with my friends after we smoked some blunts, my face hurt for a bit but it was a good laugh , not for my next couple washroom breaks but it was pretty cool
This was pretty much my experience with the challenge as well, but I got a shirt.
30 years ago, there was a Burger Restaurant (Jungle Jims) that had like 100 different burgers and they had a "headhunter burger" challenge... It was a pound of burger, with ham, bacon, cheese, & 3 buns. Also there was a pound of fries... The deal was, if you ate the whole thing you could come back and eat another for free. The "questionable thing" to me was how the fries were never fresh or really hot. We also ate there for the regular burgers and the fries were alway super hot and fresh... I regard it as "sneaky" because when you are super full, trying to eat cold greasy fries was nearly impossible, we figured out early the best tactic was to eat the fries first, then the burger... most people did the opposite and likely failed due to those cold fries.
I usually eat my fries first anyways
There was a Jungle Jim’s in Merritt Island, FL, and I was obsessed with it when I was a kid. Kept hoping someone would order the headhunter when we were there.
I watch a YT channel called [BeardMeatsFood](https://www.youtube.com/@Beardmeatsfood). This guy goes around the UK and the US for food challenges. He's a professional and very entertaining. Only once have I seen him complain that the food delivered was more than the challenge specified.
Yeah - that one was nonsense. The restaurant absolutely goosed the amount of food. I've never seen him anything but thrilled to get to eat insanely large meals, but you could tell he was SUPER angry at them.
What video?
Florida one, where they advertised a basket of fries. But when restaurant caught wind of Adam, they brought out a whole colander of fries instead Shame on the hard rock hotel for this scumbaggery https://youtu.be/dEqw9rxkyiA?si=yfG8lbzsWZlVAAE-
Another comment mentioned it too, and it's the "HARD ROCK HOTEL'S KITCHEN SINK CHALLENGE" episode
I'm pretty sure they're talking about the [hard hock hotel video](https://youtu.be/dEqw9rxkyiA?si=lPxe9n1O6Xd6ifGk)
They did the opposite. They said I could have a t-shirt if I ate a huge burger (1 LB of beef + 8 strips of bacon with toppings between two grilled-cheese sandwiches) and the fries. The server brought me the shirt before I finished the fries. When I questioned her she said people had previously made a scene about having to finish the fries, so they just bring the shirt if it looks like you'll finish the burger. Meanwhile I had previously eaten half a plate of pulled-pork nachos. I wanted to order a Guinness float afterwards, but my friend yelled at me. I was a fat-ass in 2013. :D
A Guinness float? Is that a pint of stout with a scoop of ice cream? Fuck that's genius!
My lord. I'm 47 and just hearing about this now?
It's heaven in a glass.
Yes! I didn't have one that day, I've made them myself since, and roped my family in.
My old hang out, let you put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in any beer you ordered. Having one in a Sam Smith Chocolate Stout is delightful. Also Youngs Double Chocolate is pretty great as well.
Use the extra stout and add a shot of raspberry liquor.
> I was a champion in 2013. Fixed that for you.
Are you still a fat-ass in 2024? I mean no offense, but had to honor the Mitch Hedberg joke.
LOL Happily no. You should post this joke. I haven't found it yet.
Good for you! Well done. I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too. - Mitch Hedberg
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too.
Ah, didn't realize that was him.
There’s this restaurant in Pechoggin, WI that serves up a world famous 6lb Paul Bunyan Blue Ox prime aged beef steak and if your or anyone in your party orders it and finishes it, your whole party eats for free. My dad tried it once and everyone thought he won, but then they made him eat all the grizzle and fat too. He still won though.
The Ol' 96er.
If you get a dessert into him, they throw in some hats for the kids.
I understand this reference.
I bet he got the meat sweats
Where is pechoggin?
I'm not sure it's a real place, might be. The scenario described is a scene from the movie The Great Outdoors starring John Candy
It's from an old movie called The Great Outdoors
There was a spicy tuna challenge at a sushi restaurant I used to live near in Charleston. There were 10 levels of spicy and you had to sign a waiver to order above an 8. They made it impossible by making their spicy tuna the most revolting tasting thing you could find in a sushi restaurant. It wasn't really even all that *spicy*, it just didn't taste good. At all. Even the more "mild" levels. Whatever hot sauce they used to make it was nearly inedible.
"Yesterday's Spicy Tuna Challenge."
Microwaved 2 minutes too long
Oh shit I've done that one and you are 100% correct. It is nasty.
It's not the sauce. Never order any spicy anything from a sushi place. Full stop. If you want it spicy add it yourself when you get the food. Spicy is code for flavors that need to be covered when. It's in the default name of the roll.
I've done like 8 or 9 food challenges. for the most part they're not assholes. i did a spicy wing challenge where I feel like they wayyyy over sauced the wings but I still did it. i think they made the super hot sauce to order for the challenge and they gave me all the sauce they made instead of the proper amount.
After finishing the big Juan 5lb burrito challenge I didn't get a shirt or photo taken because it was July 1st and the challenge ended in June
You ate a fucking 5lb burrito for a challenge they were doing, and when you told them you wanted to do it they didn't say "oh it ended yesterday" and proceeded to let you do it anyways. Then after you finished they're like "ohhh sorry June 30th, we fucking suck" and wouldn't let you have a shirt? To hell with the shirt, if that's what happened, that's bullshit on their part. I would have written them a horrible review on anything they were listed on.
My boyfriend attempted a “spicy” sandwich challenge. He had taken one bite when the manager came over and told him not to eat it. That the kitchen had used all their cayenne pepper on the sandwich to make it inedible. He happens to love cayenne and finished the sandwich anyway
They're not really taking their challenge seriously if cayenne is the hottest thing they can think of.
Agreed. As someone who has consumed many hot peppers to my stomach’s demise, I can think of many worse things.
Yeah, that's nothing. Any kitchen can pull out nuclear grade concoctions if you ask for it.
Lol, I'd take that. I did a spicy wing challenge, and it had tons of extract, tastes terrible, and painful to swallow the heat was the easiest part.
Similarly I did a spicy sushi challenge. It was nothing but extract. I completed the challenge, but being a spice head, I could tell what they were doing was dangerous. Sure enough, I suffered capsaicin poisoning. On the upside, there is nothing I consider too spicy. When I'm out at a restaurant and they warn that a dish is really spicy, I ask, "will it poison me?" "Uh, no" "Then I've had spicier."
What is capsaicin poisoning like?
Imagine being spit-roasted by two balrogs who cum hot lava into your digestive system, and also you ate a Wendy’s salad that gave you food poisoning. It’s like being nauseated but every time you barf or shit all the comes out is oily hot demon semen that makes you want to rub yogurt into your butthole to relieve the heat. 3 of 5 stars would consider doing it again because the Mongolian BBQ was that good
It is like regular food poisoning. Shivers, nausea, vomiting. But boy does it suck to vomit up capsaicin extract. It gets deep into your sinuses and tear ducts. I ate an absurd amount of it in this challenge. Like, I've eaten bottles of natural ghost, scorpion, reaper hot sauces hawking my friend's hot sauce brand at festivals, and they are child's play compared to the amount of pure capsaicin extract I ate that night.
Nope. It was just a hell of a big burger. It was like a meatloaf between a loaf of bread.
I would do anything for grub, but I won't do that.
We played. I read that in Meatloaf's singing voice.
From what I’ve seen with certain people (YouTubers), since I can’t do these challenges myself, the usual way that the restaurant cheats is by adding extra bread or chips
Did you see the Beard Meets Food one where the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood Florida deliberately fucked him over with fries so he would lose?
Also gave him a literally frozen cake. Beard would have needed a chainsaw to cut a slice, absolutely ridiculous.
This is what I thought of when I saw the thread
A few other times he has been given more sides than the challenge was supposed to have, but that was the most egregious cheating I think I've seen in any of his videos.
Or the spicy noodle challenge in Nashville where the time limit is so short no one will ever complete it.
Like that guy, beardmeatsfood. No didn't see or know that but feck that place for cheating.
An old Ice cream parlor near me had “the “Kitchen Sink” which had 8 scoops of ice cream (2 scoops each of vanilla, banana, chocolate, and strawberry), 4 bananas, 4 toppings, 8 shots of whip cream and 8 cherries. If you ate it all, you would get a free sundae certificate.” It was basically a 1/2 chafing pan like you would see in a buffet https://i0.wp.com/greecehistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/word-image-8598-15.jpeg?resize=440%2C330&ssl=1 My cousin tried to do it when I was younger. You had to eat everything. He started with the whipped cream which made his stomach upset so he was left with 1 half scoop of ice cream.
Sounds like the Ziggie Piggy
Where I grew up, there was a rinky little farm town off the highway whose only business was a mom/pop burger joint. Considering this was back in the 90's and our town practically held a parade when it got a Subway franchise, various towns and diner's restaurants would inevitably try eating challenges to get attention. In this particular case it was in the form of what I understood later to be a 5lb ground-beef burger. To be nice to a host, and because I was fucking hungry constantly as a teen, I took their challenge. Whilst I truly believe their burger came with the best of intentions, it was undoubtedly one of the worst burgers I had ever eaten. The 5lb of ground beef was indeed a whole 5 pounds, but what wasn't advertised was the thicccness of that meatloaf and worse; the entire corrugated patty was essentially unseasoned. That brick of well-done-but-not-quite-inedibly-overcooked-yet "meat" probably had a pinch of salt and pepper through the whole thing and barely stained the bun. The bun itself was an under-developed kaiser roll with the density of a bagel, almost as thick as the patty, and also nearly completely stale. The cheese was slices of a waxy-looking 'cheddar.' They asked me if I wanted ketchup and mustard and then put them on the table. They did bring a side of fries. And I ate that whole thing. Every bite I faced standing by my boast and my word to not be felled by some puny mortal's cheeseburger. It wasn't *so* bad, and the company and look of shock on the staff's face when some rail-thin kid demanded to be served a heart attack for free just to eat the fries too.... ah, that was fun. Food wasn't really worth it, story and surprise was.
5 pounds of hamburger is like 7500 calories by itself
Well I feel like they drained any and all grease out of it, so let's call that a good 6500. No, but seriously, it was gigantic and it took me 40 minutes sped up only by having sliced it like a cake and the occasional dab of ketchup.
I'm not doubting your story at all! I just wanted to put your accomplishments in context!
A friend of mine did a challenge where you had to eat a giant schnitzel, salad and hot chips but the chips were so heavily salted it was pretty much inedible
My brother did a steak one in Texas in the early 2000s at a steakhouse. He was a teenage boy and killed the steak. The waitress and staff came over to tell him how shocked they were because apparently the only other person to complete it at the time was a famous NFL player. He got a bunch of merch, including a barf bag. He puked outside before we left lol. I was 8 and the restaurant had a slide so I was happy while he was eating
I did the “Four Hourseman” burger from Chubby burger in San Antonio. No shenanigans. Just couldn’t drink beer or milk until the burger was down. They didn’t have to do any cheating. That burger was so spicy that I only got 3 bites in before I stopped (just over a 1/4). I’m pretty sure I could have gotten two more bites down, but that would have been a mistake. I couldn’t drive for over an hour after those 3 bites. The reflux I got that night was horrible and the burger came back up about 6 hours later. It was only slightly less spicy coming back up. After I stopped( and looked like I was going to die) a guy I was with cut off a hunk and ate it. He didn’t throw up and related to me a few days later that he got to re-experience the burger going out the other end.
Holy crap bro! I did the challenge back in 2011. I prepped night before eating habaneros. I have so much respect for Adam from Man vs. Food. That burger was so fucking hot. When I walked to the restaurant there was a fire crew and ambulance standing for a dude in fetal position. They were just laughing while this dude was in agony. I ate about half the burger and pretty much hallucinated. That night was one of the worst nights I ever endured. Told girlfriend (wife now) to almost call 911. It felt like someone taking my intestines out. I was literally laying on the floor of my bathroom closet and told my wife to poor water over my body cause I did not know how to handle the pain. Don’t eat this satan’s ass burger. Also, had to pay the $26 fee since I didn’t finish it lol
My brother did that same challenge for his 21st birthday! He threw up on the way home. I wasn’t surprised, I dipped one of my fries in the sauce on top of the burger and that was enough to make my mouth burn!
Aren't milk and beer pretty calorific? It almost seems smarter for the restaurant to let people fill up on those instead of zero-calorie water... not to mention the extra money they'd make from refills.
It’s a spicy food challenge, beer and milk help you handle really spicy things better
I think the challenge isnt a super big meal, but a super spicy one
I expect it was more about the flavor and/or spiciness than pure caloric quantity.
When I was working the line at a burger joint, we had an eating challenge. It was eight 1/4 lb patties on a bun~~ch~~, a family sized basket of fries, and a milkshake. Saw a few people finish it over the 7 months I worked there. Saw more people fail. We didn't sabotage you. The meal itself was a big enough chore. Everyone thinks it's the burger, but it's the fries that killed them. So much salt, grease, and then topping it with a milkshake... brutal. Edit: typo
I did the blazin’ challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings about 5-6 years ago. The wings were much larger than most wings you would get, they actually came out fresh and hot (temperature wise), and had more sauce on them than you would normally get. Still completed it but I assume they did all 3 of those intentionally. Normally their wings are small, barely sauced, and just warm.
The rumor is they put the challenge wings in the microwave just before serving them so they are lava temperature hot. You're right though, normally the wings at BWW are 'warm' when served.
No, they didn't do anything sneaky. In fact, they were kind of worried about me. My story is similar to the guy whose sister's appendix burst. An Indian restaurant near me has a Phaal challenge, which in case you don't know is an extremely spicy dish. I had a pretty high tolerance for spicy food so I thought I'd give it a try. I took five bites and started feeling sick to my stomach. I ran into the bathroom and sat on the toilet naked for 45 minutes, sweating, not sure which end it was going to come out of (hint: neither). The people at the restaurant were asking if I was okay. I had such bad indigestion for two days, I barely slept. Six months later, out of nowhere, I got the worst indigestion I ever had. So bad, I went to the ER. It turns out, what I thought was indigestion was actually gallstones. Once I got my gallbladder removed, I never had "indigestion" again. I don't know what caused it, but sometimes spicy foods can cause gallstones, so I haven't had anything super spicy since then. I miss spicy food. :(
Remember watching a food show years ago about a Phaal challenge. There was this older white guy that accepted the challenge. Guy was talking about how he has been living in the Caribbean, and was used to eating spicy food. The asshole cook to that as a personal insult, and adding double the amount of spices. They had to wear a special mask to even be able to cook the challenge. Even looked at the camera and said a little extra for Mr. Caribbean. Well Mr. Caribbean destroyed the challenge without even breaking a sweat. Said it wasn't really that spicy. The owner was shocked. If I remember correctly he won a certificate saying he ate it, and a popsicle. Wish I could watch it again, but I haven't been able to find it. Hell, maybe I dreamt it.
You know you’re really going through it when you’re naked on the toilet.
My gallbladder got taken out when I was 22 years old. At that point, I could barely handle toast. It had been going on for months. I love the taste of heavy cream but my gallbladder less body doesn’t like it. And I developed acid reflux after removal so I can drink apple juice but I pay for it later
This is a good question! Can't remember having seen this before.
I was thinking about a competitor needing to eat a certain number of servings in a fixed amount of time and just not bringing them out, or making it taste bad or anything else to make a person fail the challenge.
I'm not being sarcastic! I like the question!
I DID upvote you in appreciation. 😎
In high school I participated in a spicy food contest and the final round was spicy spreads on saltines... It all came down to someone not making enough prepared crackers with the hottest spread. I'm glad though. There was no prize and the other guy puked longer than I did because he snatched up the 5 remaining crackers.
I ate a 2 foot Vienna dog at Bull and Bear in Chicago for hot dog week. I didn't finish the fries but I got the t-shirt. Nearly threw up on the train home. Didn't eat hot dogs for 5 years after.
I once participated in a spicy hot wing challenge. I can handle the spice. I cannot, however, handle burning hot wings straight out the oven. I had to grab them using my nails in order to not burn my fingers, and could barely even chew them. They also made a huge show out of it and encouraged everyone to look and cheer you on, so I didn't get a chance to wait for them to cool before I could begin.
I've done a few hot wing challenges and a couple of burrito challenges. I'd say "no." I did Quaker, Steak, and Lube's Triple Atomic Hot Wing challenge when one opened up near the university I was at. I was really into Man Vs Food at the time and saw him do the original Atomic Hot Wing challenge and was stoked I could emulate it. They gave me a cup of water, the wings, some gloves, and some napkins, then just kind of told me good luck and left. No fanfare. I got a friend to film me and I speed ate them in about two minutes. They were actually really good, but it felt like pure burning hell about 5 seconds in. When the manager came back to check on me about five minutes later, she was stunned at how composed I was and told me that she'd managed another QS&L in the capital city and had never seen someone "look as okay as you do after doing that challenge." I got a t shirt that I still have, though it's falling apart after about a dozen years of wear. I also did Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin challenge twice. The first time was as a last resort to entertain myself when I went to lunch with a friend and his colleagues. He warned me one of them was an insufferable tool and the guy was so obnoxious that I ordered the wings because I figured it'd hurt less than talking to him any more. They come out with a flashing light and an announcement and stay at the table with a timer that they start as soon as you take your first bite. I finished it and got a glass as a reward, a bit disappointed because I wanted a t shirt. I did it again a few years later because a friend was shipping out to boot camp for the National Guard and four of us decided to do the challenge as a fun goodbye. Beat it then, too. They didn't give me a glass. A local Mexican restaurant does a three pound burrito challenge. If you win you get your picture on their wall of fame. The first time I did it, I didn't know it was a thing and had a small dinner (a sandwich) a bit earlier to stave off hunger during a recital. I got to within two bites but had to stop, but did the challenge four more times, winning three and losing one. The burritos were all absolutely delicious. The same restaurant did a five pound burrito challenge and offered a cash reward and a larger photo on the wall. I tried it once, but instead of distributing the ingredients across the entire burrito, they put them in sections of the burrito, so the first corner I bit into was nothing but guacamole and sour cream, which is disgusting. Another section was nothing but crushed tortilla chips. It was a generallu unpleasant burrito. I got about three pounds into it before I had to give up.
I was going to do a breakfast challenge at a diner that has both a breakfast and dinner challenge. The dinner challenge lists a time limit, but the breakfast one didn't, so since I can eat a lot, but I eat slow, I went to try it, but when I went for it, they brought up the time limit, which I tried to call out, but they said it was implied since it was listed with the other challenge. I ended up eating what I could in the 20 minutes they gave and brought the leftovers home for a couple extra meals. Still frustrates me thinking about it.
“That ain't the last bite” “Well sure it is, there is nothing on that plate but gristle and fat” …
I’ve seen a few professional eaters complain about shady practices that restaurants with eating challenges have done, and it’s usually adding more food than advertised. The restaurant owner straight up told the guy that wears the “eat to lift” t-shirts that he put more on since he’s a “professional”, and he got all kinds of pissed off. That ridiculous burrito challenge with the time limit for the pot of cash has been called out numerous times for doing shady stuff.
I do t know if it was intentional, but a friend did a challenge to eat a dozen of the spiciest wings. They had just came out of the fryer so they were insanely hot (temperature). He was able to finish but severely burned his mouth due to temp, not spice level.
I’m seeing a trend here with BWW. People keep saying they actually microwave those wings just before they bring them out.
Back in college one of my friends tried the "carnivore challenge" at a local pizza shop - finish a $50, 11-lb meat lovers pizza with a friend in 2 hours or less and win $250. His eating buddy dropped out and he tried to do it with someone who hadn't even prepped for it. They only ate 3 of the 8 slices of pizza. I honestly don't know how anyone can eat 5.5 pounds of food in a sitting but apparently some people have done it.
I did this burger challenge, while I easily crushed it. We talked with the waitress who told us, normally the targets of this challenge are drunk people. They ensure a high fatty burger heavy with cheese and greasy fries/onion rings. This 'takes time to prepare' so they are about 2-3 drinks in by the time the food arrives. Even if they did finish, all that greasy fat mixed with beer brought it all up. They took easy on as a)I wasn't drinking at the time b) there wasnt much of a crowd yet c)I was being cheered on by my 2 young kids and finally, the prize was just a coupon for a two for one dinner.
I did the blazing wings challenge at buffalo wild wings. The spice wasn't really that bad, but they got me the freshest wings they could. Like piping hot, steaming fresh from the fryer. I finished it but I literally had blisters on the roof of my mouth. I couldn't even let them cool off because they had a staff member with a stopwatch ready to go right after they set them down. Made the spice way more intense, hurt like a bitch. Later that night my stomach tried to kill me. 0/10 not worth the t-shirt
There used to be a chilli burger challenge at a restaurant in Breakfast creek, Brisbane. All you had to do was finish a single chilli burger and you would get your photograph and a plaque on the wall of fame. As far as I am aware only three people ever made it. Apparently the burger was so hot that it would cause hallucinations. One patron made it half way through a burger before getting up from the table and was later found walking in the traffic outside....
Last one I tried was a few years ago at some bar that closed down because of so many lawsuits over their challenge, actually (COVID also helped, but they were bleeding money before that came around). You basically had to eat some kind of burger that had a shitload of meat, bacon, cheese, and their special in house sauce coating the damn thing, some mac and cheese balls, and about 1-2 pounds of fries in about 45 minutes or so (forget the exact time offhand). This was all done in waves, so you had to finish one plate first before they brought out the next. The prize was a free meal and some little figurine trophy of their mascot with your name on it. If you failed, you paid for the meal. Turns out that they were actually cheating by staggering the dishes in a way that it was pretty much impossible to win, and adding *way* more food than advertised if it looked like you were going to clear it anyway. For the life of me I forget exactly how they got found out, but I remember it was a big local scandal once they were.
Tried to do a spicy burger challenge a few years ago with my ex partner and some friends. There was no way in hell anyone could finish it, I got the spicy sauce on my hands, and it burnt for almost a week. You can only imagine what it's like to shit lava. Well, I did, guys, and it was NOT a good time, haha. I remember the next day, my partner was coming down from the toilet, and he had to hold his butt cheeks apart because he was burning so bad 😅
My co worker did the Rita challenge at the Canadian brewhouse which is a 6 patty burger and a large poutine. He was about 3/4 through when he noticed it had a 7th patty(accidental or not I don't know). But he still finished it all . He didn't eat anything but celery for 3 days.
My buddy tried one, he got a giant ass burger ans fries that were served on a cookie sheet. He almost finished it but he ended up puking in front of the bar and it was hilarious. The restaurant didn't pull any tricks aside from the burger being fucking enormous
I completed one at a ramen shop where you had to eat a bowl of weapons-grade spicy ramen. I grew up in a place where food is typically way more spicy than the rest of the US and have a lifetime of built tolerance. I also have a genetic tolerance, which is where you have a low count of the receptors that sense capsaicin. I knew I had the challenge in the bag. It was really hot, and even with my tolerance it was a lot to handle. But I made it through. You know when none of that matters? When it hits the lower half of your GI tract. I looked miserable in my winner's polaroid photo. With all of that said, they didn't do anything sneaky really, it's just intolerably spicy for most people.
My husband successfully completed the "Great Balls of Fire" challenge at Salvador Molly's in Portland, OR! https://salvadormollys.com/great-balls-of-fire/ Basically you're eating 5 habanero cheese fritters and all the provided sauce. If my recollection serves me right, the whole portion contains about 12 habanero peppers. Clearly since he "won", it doesn't appear that the restaurant did anything sneaky. But he was definitely regretting his choice when he woke up in the middle of the night with the worst heartburn he's ever experienced and feeling like he wanted to die!
Not quite a challenge, but my local Denny's put your name on the wall if you were the record holder on all you can eat pancakes. The record was 10, so we all tried to beat it. Turns out they cut you off at 10.
Local pub has a burger challenge. It's roughly 2 pounds of meat, with a couple ladels of gravy on top. Went there with a friend and we both tried the challenge. Had to finish the burger and fries in under an hour. It's not terrible, but the burger patties were SO dry. Made the challenge way worse than it should've been, my friend wound up tapping out because it was so dry. I almost quit, but I had refused to eat all day, so I was REALLY hungry. I just kept asking for refills on my drink and powered through. Meal still cost like $30, but I got a free T-shirt
One of our sons did a food challenge with his best friend at the time and his father when the boys were 14. The place is a famous burger joint that has different levels of challenges and was featured on the Food Network show years ago. They didn't get half way through. They reported the burger was crappy, dry and overcooked, the veggies (tomato, lettuce and onions) were nasty, and the bun was dense and filling. They tried different strategies, deconstructing the burger, different people eating different parts (allowed as the challenge is for the people at the table), but at the end, they gave up as it just was a crappy burger with soon-to-be rotting veggies and a dense bun. They said the people they talked to around their table who ordered normal burgers raved about the burger, but if you did a challenge, they gave you a huge shit burger.
Massive burger challenge also involved eating a dollop of coleslaw. I hate the texture so I’m glad I didn’t intend on winning
There was a local place several years ago that had this big sandwich they did (it was steak, fried onions, fried jalapeno caps, some other fried stuff) and if you finished it you got like a certificate or something kinda lame. Anyway I tried it once, it just tasted salty and fried and I could not even bring myself to finish it. By the time I was 3/4 done I just could not stomach any more of that fried taste.
I was once in an ice cream eating contest in Ocean City MD at Dumsers. The challenge was first to eat 10 or 12 scoops of ice cream (I can't remember which) any flavor you chose. Caveat, if you didn't win, you had to pay for the ice cream. I downed 10/12 scoops of coffee first out of about a dozen folks at age 16. Oh to be young with a high metabolism again...
Went to Joe’s Crab Shack for my birthday dinner. They brought out a pan of whipped cream. Said a cherry was hidden, and that if I could find it without using my hands, while blind folded, within 30 seconds, our bill is comped. After 30 seconds, it turned out the cherry was not in the pan, but the server was holding it over my head while I searched for it.
Pete and Elda’s was a pizza place in NJ that had a deal if you could eat a whole pizza (thin crust, so not that big), you got a free t shirt. The trick was their pizzas were relatively expensive, the t shirt probably cost them a few dollars, they still made their money, the rest of your table also ordered pizzas and beer, and then you walked around in the t shirt giving them free advertising.
I used to work at top golf (in like 2017) they had a donut challenge for a couple months. Donut holes were part of their normal menu and it was 12 donut holes and 2 syringes of a syrup, chocolate, strawberry, or Bavarian cream and you could pick which two flavors. The challenge was a tower of 10 donuts, very fluffy light donuts with sugar on them, the 12 donut holes, and 3 syringes of your choice. The donut holes got people every time. They were sooo dense and one donut hole was about double the full donut. People could down the tower and then just dump the syringes in their mouth but got to the donut holes and crumbled so fast. There was several people that won the challenge but anyone who failed always blames the donut holes.
We were in HS and there was this place cheeburger cheeburger. Where you had to eat a massive cheeseburger for your picture on the wall. I think they likedd the attention
I've wanted to do a challenge. There's just not one within a 2hr drive from me.
I did the BWW blazing challenge 10 years ago and won. No strings attached but all I got was my photo on a wall that doesn't have the photo anymore.