Why food challenges are bad for everyone
by Simon Ward | 20 February 2012 | 
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From big breakfasts to 72oz steaks, here's why the growth of this trend isn't good news
Browse our nation’s tabloid newspapers and, on an almost weekly basis, you will find a photo of someone straining to munch through a monstrous breakfast.
The ‘rewards’ for victory are a spot of media infamy and a free meal – plus thousands of calories and perhaps a feeling of nausea.
Big breakfasts
In September, 29-year-old Stephen Magee became the first person to finish The Big One at the Hungry Hossee Cafe in Corby, Northamptonshire within the hour time limit.
The Big One is a (pretty much literally) heart-stoppingly huge breakfast plate containing three sausages, three beefburgers, three fried eggs, three rashers of bacon, three slices of black pudding, three square sausages, three portions of beans, three portions of mushrooms, three potato waffles, three potato scones, three hash browns, three portions of fried bread, three rounds of bread and butter and three rounds of toast.
Jesters Diner in Great Yarmouth is the latest cafe to have gained some valuable free publicity by launching a gut-busting breakfast. The Kidz Breakfast – so called apparently because, at 9lb, it weighs more than a newborn baby – consists of 12 rashers of bacon, 12 sausages, six eggs, four slices of black pudding, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes, two hash browns, an eight-egg cheese and potato omelette, four slices of bread and butter, four slices of fried bread and four slices of toast.
High steaks
Down in Newbury, Berkshire, the Hoggit and Hoof steakhouse offers another big challenge - a 72oz steak challenge, to be precise. The rules are pretty simple: you have an hour to eat the colossal slab of meat, plus a house salad and chips. You cannot leave the table or let anyone else share or touch your meal. Succeed and you don’t have to pay £49.95 for the ‘privilege’. At least if you don’t finish you can take the leftovers with you.
From Birmingham to Harrogate, more and more restaurants are dishing up similar challenges.
Almost inevitably, these food challenges are another import from across the Atlantic. Indeed, so ubiquitous have they become in America that an entire TV series - Man v Food - has been built around them.
Maybe the thought of a free meal is enough of an incentive in 'Austerity Britain'. But the other aspects of these food challenges - the size, the calories (thousands upon thousands), the potential waste of food (the stats show most people don't finish the meal) - are definitely at odds with the times we're living in.
What do you think of these food challenges? Harmless fun or horrific? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
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Comments
by TChilds1967 | on 23 February 2012
I really enjoyed the fun of man vs food, it was quite light hearted and fun viewing. There IS a serious side though. In some countries whole families might not even eat the calorie equivalent of one of these competitions in a week! Perhaps there is something wrong with this but it seems the Americanisation of Britain goes on.
by Orchard Fairy | on 28 February 2012
This is utterly disgusting. There are children in this country who don't eat proper meals from one day to the next. For £49.95 this steak could feed up to 30 primary school children for lunch. For £49.95 I could feed my entire family on nutritious meals for a week which do not contain thousands of calories and make them sick and/or fat.
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