15 Of The Most Epic Restaurant Food Challenges Around The World
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It's undeniable that food challenges are very American. This is true whether it's competitors eating as much as possible within a time limit, or an eater vs. a gigantic meal at a restaurant. They're so American that the Fourth of July is celebrated with a number of competitive eating challenges. For anyone who wants to know more, former competitive eater Jason Fagone's book, "Horsemen of the Esophagus," is a great read.
However, food challenges aren't strictly American. Countries across the globe have restaurants offering massive meals that rival or surpass some of the largest in the States. It's been an international activity for centuries, with competitive eating challenges spanning history.
Let's focus on current affairs, though, and on countries outside the U.S. offering hopeful contestants the opportunity to prove themselves in a relatively short amount of time. Ranging from half an hour to an hour, some of these give competitors a mere 15 minutes to take on massive amounts of food. While we found a number of challenges that claimed to be American-inspired, some are uniquely designed for their countries.
The XXL kebab at Ali Baba Kebaphaus (Germany)
If you're familiar with Europe's food scene, you might know that Germany is called the "Kebab Capital of the World". For the unfamiliar, a true doner kabab (or kebap) is shaved meat wrapped in a flatbread with veggies and chili sauce. That brings us to the massive Doner Kebab Challenge at Augsburg's Ali Baba Kebaphaus, a place so popular that it goes through 440 pounds of kebab meat every day.
The challenge here is actually a chicken kebab, weighing in at about 5.5 pounds. It's filled with chicken, lettuce, onions, and sauce, and there's no flatbread here — this is served on a giant loaf of bread. There are also three glasses of ayran involved, too, and what's that, you ask? That's a Turkish drink made from water, yogurt, and salt (it's similar to the ariani, the creamy Greek drink that makes yogurt the star), which is reportedly the perfect thing to go along with a kebab. Those who finish it in 30 minutes get the meal free, with a €50 voucher.
+49 821 2185448
3 Konrad-Adenauer-Allee, Augsburg, Germany
The Grizzly Sandwich Challenge at Bear Grills (UK/England)
It turns out that America and England have a lot in common, and that includes a love of food challenges. For this one, we'll head to Bear Grills in Congleton. In 2020, the restaurant teased the Grizzly Sandwich, which is the current food challenge it offers at the time of publishing. The reward is a £100 cash prize for anyone who can finish it in 20 minutes — the current record is just under 9 minutes. The mountain to conquer is a full loaf of bread with eight sausages, four bacon rashers, eggs, and potato waffles, served with beans and melted cheese.
Bear Grills has a history of some next-level challenges. Along with the teaser, the restaurant announced it would officially retire its Hibernator breakfast challenge, which was an 8,000-calorie fry-up. It comprised a four-egg omelet, eight sausages, eight bacon rashers, four hash browns, and four fried eggs. The protein-heavy dish was paired with fries, a two-pint milkshake, black pudding, tomatoes, two ladles of beans, along with several pieces of waffles, toast, and fried bread.
+44 1260 400160
Market Street, Congleton, CW12 1BP
The challenges at Burger Boyz (UK/Wales)
Burger Boyz has a few locations across Wales, including restaurants in Cardiff, Swansea, and Port Talbot. It's also serving absolutely divine smash burgers. If you're wondering how good they are, they're so popular that this place has grown from a food truck to five brick-and-mortar locations in about four years. It's also the home of some wild food challenges, starting with The Chuck Norris Challenge. That's three burgers (totaling 7.7 pounds), 2.2 pounds of fries, 1 pound of pulled fried chicken, and 8 halloumi fries to be consumed in an hour. The record is just over 17 minutes, and this is the kind of food challenge that only professionals have completed.
There's also The Beast Challenge. That's a 2.2-pound Beast burger, and the record for finishing off this 8-patty burger (with 24 slices of cheese) is about a minute and a half. Finally, there's also The OG's Big Brother (pictured), which is a 12-pound burger with 6 patties, 128 cheese slices, 40 pickles, and all the toppings. And yes, a competitor once polished it all off!
Multiple locations
Mister Spaghetti's 5-pound pasta challenge (Belgium)
Love pasta so much that you've considered making an entire batch of Instant Pot spaghetti just for yourself? Yes? If that's the case, you might need to plan a trip to Belgium for Mister Spaghetti's XL Challenge. You'd be facing off against a 5-pound bowl of pasta and sauce, and you'll have just 30 minutes to finish the whole thing. Hilariously, the rules specifically state that you only have one chance per day to attempt the challenge, which makes us wonder what's going on in Belgium.
There are two more rules we need to mention here because they're uncommon and stood out during our wild ride researching these food challenges, and we absolutely appreciate them. First, Mister Spaghetti stresses that it has a no-waste policy, so whatever's left after challengers fail will be packaged up as leftovers. Secondly, that bowl is smokin' hot: Once it's on the table, you have just two minutes to let it cool, and then it's time to dig in — carefully.
Multiple locations
Big Roddy's Rippin' Rib Shack's Hungry Horn Challenge (Australia)
Food challenges can be difficult for various reasons, including heat and the quantity of food. But sometimes, there's added difficulty thanks to dairy or the sheer effort required to chew everything on the plate. We're going out on a limb here to say that the Hungry Horn Challenge at Big Roddy's Rippin' Rib Shack is a food challenge that would probably take a ton of work to get through. This is because it starts with two full racks of BBQ pork ribs.
There's also 2.2 pounds of Buffalo wings, a double serving of coleslaw, and either poutine or chili fries. It's all got to be finished in an hour. The rules specify that the meat has to be cleaned off the bones, swallowed, and kept down. It's AU$150 to enter, and winners get it back as a voucher to spend at the restaurant. There's a wall of fame, too, and another interesting prize: Not only do you get a T-shirt, but also 10% off future visits when you wear it back.
+61 458 307 829
67 Fish Lane, Brisbane, Queensland, 4101
Big D's 8th Wonder of the World challenge (Canada)
It doesn't get much more Canadian than a traditional poutine (here's an easy recipe). When we were looking for international food challenges and got to wondering if there was a Canadian option involving poutine, we were not disappointed. Head to Big D's Poutine and you'll find the 8th Wonder of the World challenge, which starts with a ¼-pound donair on a pita, a triple classic smash burger, an old-fashioned milkshake, a foot-long hot dog, and a side. That's not quite everything, though; you'll also have to finish off poutine and a mac and cheese of your choice.
There are several choices when it comes to poutine. Options include chicken bacon ranch, deep-fried pickles, pulled pork, butter chicken, and bacon and egg. Is there an easy choice? Not really, but we will add that the meal's free if you finish it in an hour, and even if you fail, you kind of win: Part of the proceeds go to charity.
+1 (506) 216-9505
82 Hampton Rd, Rothesay, NB, Canada, E2E 2P5
The McTongerlo (Belgium)
For this one, we're going to a restaurant called Frituur 't vol Bekske, because it's serving a massive burger called the McTongerlo. It's meant for two to four people to finish comfortably. The dish includes four patties, four pieces of bacon, two tomatoes, three eggs, two slices of pineapple, lettuce, onions, and sauce. It's all set on bread that's nearly a foot in diameter. Oh, and there's a massive pile of fries with that, too. Anyone who finishes it gets a voucher for a free burger on their next visit. This massive burger only costs €18.
When Adam Moran of Beard Meets Food took on the challenge, he reported that the burger was absolutely delicious and that hard-boiled eggs are pretty darn tasty on a burger. When a bystander chimed in and admitted they had only gotten about halfway through, Moran called it an excellent attempt. This was before he had made significant headway, but he was still optimistic. He finished the challenge in just over 43 minutes. It was — much to the delight of his cameraman — extraordinarily difficult, even for him.
+32 498 46 73 49
Keyartstraat 29, 3960 Tongerlo
Man vs. Hogs challenges at Hogs & Heifers (Ireland)
Hogs & Heifers has two locations in County Dublin: one in Swords and the other in Liffey Valley. This place is heavy on the burgers and cocktails, and offers two food challenges, too. Opt for a burger challenge or a dessert challenge, and either way, you're going to have your plate full.
First, the burger challenge. That's six beef patties with chopped brisket, slices of bacon, steakhouse onions, cheese, a bowl of fries, and a pint of beer, all of which have to be finished in 45 minutes. Sounds easy? These are no McDonald's patties, and seriously, look at that thing! The dessert challenge is just as massive, and has a time limit of 20 minutes. For that one, there are 6 waffles, 10 scoops of ice cream, marshmallows, raspberries, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, white sauce, and Smarties (which are similar to M&Ms).
Multiple locations
Cattlemans Steakhouse's multiple food challenge (UK/England)
There are many food challenges going on at Cattlemans Steakhouse, and we'll start with the one pictured. That's the Holy Roast, and this take on a beloved U.K. Sunday tradition includes about 12 pounds of food that challengers have an hour to finish. The larger of these also includes some steak challenges, one of which is meant for four people and requires the team to polish off 200 ounces of steak in an hour. In other words, that's 12.5 pounds of steak.
If you don't have three friends to join, there are other steak challenges, too. Apart from the 150-ounce challenge (for three people), you'll also find the 50- and 72-ounce solo challenges. Don't worry if dessert is more your thing, there's also a gateaux challenge. But it has a pretty big catch: One person has 15 minutes to finish the whole thing, and if you have help, you'll get just 12 minutes.
+44 01803 552273
343-347 Totnes Rd, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7DE
Huggys 5-pound burger challenge (Belgium)
Belgium seems to love its food challenges, and this one is at multiple locations of a restaurant chain called Huggys. The chain prides itself on scratch-made and specialty burgers, and it's not messing around with the XXL burger challenge. At the same time, though, it looks pretty incredible, especially because it starts with a ¾-pound loaf of artisan bread.
And then? Buckle up, because that gets two pounds of beef patties, 12 slices of cheddar, 12 slices of bacon, fresh veg, sauce, and there's a pile of fries and some coleslaw involved in this, too. At the time of writing, it has a success rate of just over 7%, with a record time of 20.40 minutes. But seriously, though, just look at that loaf of bread. Finishing the whole thing in less than an hour gets you a T-shirt and the meal for free, and we can honestly say that if some food challenges looked this good, we might be in on trying more.
Multiple locations
Shrimp Prawn Seafood's 100 Moo Ping Challenge (Singapore)
Most food challenges in the U.S. and overseas offer prizes like a free meal, a T-shirt, and bragging rights if you manage to finish it. So, trust us when we say that we sat here and stared at the cash prize being handed out by Shrimp Prawn Seafood for a good, long while. Finish off 100 Moo Ping in less than 53 minutes, and you'll score a whopping S$10,000.
But since it's Singaporean dollars, we assumed that once we convert the amount into U.S. dollars, the prize would be the industry standard. Boy, were we wrong! At the time of this writing, that S$10,000 translates to roughly $770. If you and a friend try it, there's a lot of money at stake. To be clear, it's not a small challenge: You're looking at around 11 pounds of food.
+65 9888 8853
53 Boat Quay, Singapore, 049842
Hot wings at the Red Dog Saloon (UK/England)
You'd be forgiven for thinking that the hot wing challenge at the Red Dog is pretty standard stuff. The listing on the website promises that since 2012, this place has been serving some seriously hot wings, and they're still going strong. Aside from the fact that you'll have to eat 6 wings in 10 minutes, then wait another 5 minutes before getting anything to drink. Easy? Well, one look at the dish, and you'll see things aren't quite as easy as they might seem.
The wings are doused in a sauce made from Thai finger hots, habaneros, green Taiwan peppers, dried chili flakes, extra-hot chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried chilis, and Frank's hot sauce. The peppers are chopped, cooked down with spices, then blended. That sauce is blended chilis, and you can tell by its color that nothing good will come from it.
Multiple locations
Johny's Burger XXL Burger challenge (Austria)
This one is a little bit different and has a touch of diabolical elements. Or — depending on how you look at it — perhaps those who created it just wanted to teach would-be challengers an important lesson about their decision-making capabilities. That burger weighs about 5.5 pounds, and almost 3 of those pounds come in the form of beef patties. There's a giant roll, lettuce, tomato, and all the standard stuff, along with a time that starts ticking from the moment you finish — if, that is, you do.
Once you finish, you'll have to sit there for a full hour. If you've ever watched food competitions and wondered what happens in the privacy of the bathroom when the cameras stop rolling, you might be the sort of person to dream up this challenge. It's unclear how many people have successfully finished eating and kept this burger down, and honestly, there are some things that we're fine with being a mystery.
+43 02757 2336
Regenburgerstrasse 35, 3380 Pochlarn, Austria
The World's Largest Paella (Canada)
Anyone who flips straight to the seafood section of a menu might love an outstanding, classic seafood paella. There's no need to pick just one kind of seafood or shellfish for this — fans know there's some serious flavor going on here. It doesn't matter how much you love paella, though. We're pretty confident that most people will probably struggle with the paella food challenge at Toronto's Tapas at Embrujo.
The challenge is described as the world's largest paella, and it's meant to feed 10 to 12 people. It weighs in at around 10 pounds, so it's not entirely surprising that if you decide you want to try this, you'll need to call ahead and set up a time. You'll have 45 minutes to finish the dish of chicken, rice, mussels, and shrimp — and yes, it's been done. At the time of writing, the record is just over 25 minutes.
(647) 705-7880
97 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2
Pancake towers and burgers at the Polo Bar (UK/England)
There are a few food challenges at the Polo Bar in London, and we'll start with the one featured in our photo. That's the Burger Stack Challenge. It's five steak burgers — each a full burger, with cheese, onions, and buns, top and bottom — with a giant pile of fries and onion rings. That's tough enough, but it comes with a 15-minute time limit. On the plus side, you'll get £50 and a bottle of prosecco, so that's a win.
There's also a version for those with more of a sweet tooth: A stack of 12 pancakes layered with whatever fresh berries are in season. There's a banoffee and Biscoff option, too. Cookies and cream more your thing? That's also available. Yes, there's a 15-minute time limit on this one as well, and while you'll score £10 less, that bottle of prosecco is still up for grabs. After these challenges, you'll need it.
+44 020 7283 4889
176 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4NQ