A former fitness model traveled more than 3,000 miles to take on a 6,000 calorie British Sunday roast challenge – but was horrified to discover it involved drinking two liters of gravy. Joel Hansen flew to the UK from Canada for a 10-day trip to take on The Holy Roast Challenge at Cattlemans Steakhouse at The Parkers Arms in Paignton, Devon.
The astonishing meal weighs a staggering five kilos and contains an astonishing amount of meat, vegetables, spuds and bread – and the pub is offering it free to those who can devour it within an hour. Joel, who boasts a 31-inch waist, made the trip to experience English “history and culture” and see if he could polish off the hefty 6,336-calorie meal in 60 minutes.
The 28-year-old made light work of it, polishing off the titanic bowl in just 34 minutes 25 seconds and also pocketing £200 for smashing the previous time held by another competitive eater. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the mountain of food that overwhelmed Joel but the hefty pot of gravy, lamenting in pictures that he would “rather drink mustard than gravy”.
“The Holy Roast challenge is a 5kg barrel. I was more shocked at the amount of sauce that had to be consumed. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of food, but I knew it would be a lot of food. food. I just hadn’t anticipated that there would be two liters of sauce, I dislike that kind of thing a lot.”
Footage shared online in December shows Joel presenting the mammoth meal to the camera, saying “I’m not a sauce fan, I think it’s disgusting. I’d rather drink mustard than drink sauce. The clip then shows him methodically hacking his way through the groaning platter of food, including the sauce, before being crowned the fastest spitter.
Joel said: “My tactic is a little bit of stupidity and a lot of willpower. I love vegetables and they were all very tasty. The only thing that was different for me was the cauliflower cheese, it’s definitely not a North American thing.
“It wasn’t about getting a record, it was more about just completing it. I was really happy that I was able to complete it. I wasn’t trying to rush it, I probably could have done it faster if I wanted to, but I really enjoyed myself of the culture as I passed through it and embraced such an English dish.
The following day, Joel went on a trip to Stonehenge to check off another cultural site to visit. Joel said: “I don’t think I ate much the next day and I went to see Stonehenge.
“I drank fluids, did some light walking and let things work themselves out.”
Hungry punters who complete the meal in less than an hour get £50, if they fail they have to fork out £50.
Joel said: “The most important thing for people to realize is that it takes lots and lots of training to be able to do this. Just like if you wanted to run a marathon, you don’t just wake up one morning and run a marathon.”
Head of Cattlemans Steakhouse, Aaron King, said: “About one in 10 people complete our challenges, but the Holy Roast is next level because it’s 5kg of food. So far only pro-eaters have completed it, it was very impressive to see how quickly Joel did it.”
THE HOLY ROAST CHALLENGE INCLUDES:
20 oz steak – 1138 calories
12 oz gammon steak – 422 calories
Large chicken breast – 250 calories
12 oz French fries – 567 calories
Yorkshire puddings x4 – 312 calories
A large serving of cranberry and apple filling – 500 calories
Two whole baguettes – 522 calories
Swede mash – 103 calories
Cauliflower cheese – 996 calories
Boiled new potatoes (10) – 620 calories
Roasted parsnips – 148 calories
Honey Roasted Carrots – 110 calories
Broccoli – 70 calories
Red cabbage – 88 calories
Two liters of sauce – 520 calories
TOTAL = 6,366 CALORIES
