A charity worker says demolishing a monster 4,500 calories mixed grill in less than 30 minutes left him needing to lie in a darkened room 'in agony'. Max Stanford devoured the feast in just 27 minutes and 25 seconds, smashing the previous record time of 44 minutes.
Sporting loose-fitting jogging bottoms and a t-shirt, the 35-year-old barely broke a sweat as he gobbled a 20oz rump steak, 12oz gammon steak, 6oz cheeseburger and four sausages with his bare hands. The champion then took another protein hit tackling a chicken breast and BBQ chicken wings before guzzling a towering pile of chunky chips, two fried eggs, some veg and a mixed salad.
Max polished off the monster meal, containing more than double the recommended daily calorie intake of 2,000 calories for women, at Cattlemans Steakhouse at The Parkers Arms in Paignton.
Proving his eyes weren't bigger than his belly, Max not only won bragging rights but he was also awarded a place on the pub's winners' wall. But the eating machine concedes he needed a lie down after taking on the huge platter of food.
Max said: "I haven't done a mixed grill challenge before, it was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. When these things come out and they're huge I'm always like 'erm I don't know whether I'm actually going to be able to do this, it's a lot of food'.
"The thing that saved me and I liked the most is the variety. It had chips and onion rings so you could mix it up a bit, that definitely helped. I wear loose trousers for comfort [when doing eating challenges]. I wear jogging bottoms and a t-shirt - but sometimes even then that gets pretty tight.
"After I ate it I went and had a lie down in a dark room. I was in agony afterwards, it was uncomfortable. It was pretty late so I just chilled out. I was really pleased with that time as it was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be."
Manager at Cattlemans Steakhouse, Aaron King, said: "I've seen other people finish it and the amount of time they took compared to him is incredible. A lot of people try it and don't manage it. It was quite shocking and impressive to see how quickly he did it.
"You've got to finish it in 60 minutes to get it free and if you fail it, you don't eat it in that time or give up, it's £50."
MIXED GRILL CHALLENGE:
20 OZ RUMP STEAK - 1138 CALORIES
12 OZ GAMMON STEAK - 422 CALORIES
SAUSAGES X 4 - 660 CALORIES
BBQ CHICKEN WINGS X 3 - 210 CALORIES
CHICKEN BREAST X 1 - 250 CALORIES
6OZ CHEESE BURGER IN BUN - 370 CALORIES
10OZ OF CHUNKY CHIPS - 606 CALORIES
ONION RINGS X 6 - 503 CALORIES
WHOLE GRILLED TOMATO - 23 CALORIES
5 LARGE MUSHROOMS - 110 CALORIES
FRIED EGGS X 2 - 148 CALORIES
GRILLED PINEAPPLE RINGS X 2 - 60 CALORIES
MIXED SALAD - 17 CALORIES
TOTAL = 4,517 CALORIES