The Craziest Food Challenges In The World—And How To Beat Them

The Craziest Food Challenges In The World—And How To Beat Them

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  • The world is home to plenty of insane food challenges designed to push people to their limit
  • Here are some of the craziest feats offered by restaurants and others you can whip up at home—and the best strategies for coming out on top
  • Check out more stuff about food here

Crazy food challenges are commonplace in countless restaurants across the nation.

Restaurant owners challenge patrons to gorge on excessive amounts of food with the promise of rewards if emerging victorious. Finish the meal and prizes like cash, the entire check on the house or a picture on the wall await the “winner.”

Decades ago, the idea of hosting a contest pitting man against morsel tasked with devouring pounds of food for bragging rights would seem downright barbaric. “You’re going to eat 72 ounces of steak? On purpose? To get your photo on a wall?”

The eagerness to defeat food is the new American pastime and crazy food challenges have become the norm.  With common folks sitting down to eating challenges every day, we felt it our obligation to arm them with the knowledge needed to tackle the craziest food challenges and come out plump but victorious. We’re not suggesting you try any of these crazy food challenges, but if you do, at least you’ll be prepared.

Here’s a list of the nine hardest food challenges and a few tips on how to beat them.

The 72-Ounce Steak Challenge

If you think you’ve got the guts, you can head to the Lone Star State to try to consume The Big Texan 72-ounce steak along with a buttered bread roll, shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, ranch beans, and a side salad and the meal is free. They’ll even wheel you out to your car when you’re finished.

HOW TO BEAT IT: The trick to consuming steak, especially a 72-ounce slab of beef, is to cut the massive meat into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces. Also, be sure to eat in order: meat first and carbs (baked potato, roll, and beans) last.

The 15 Dozen Club Challenge

Sit down at the Acme Oyster House in New Orleans, Louisiana for this crazy food challenge. All competitors need to do is consume 180 oysters in one sitting. If you’re gunning for number 1, the record holder at Acme Oyster at 645 in one meal. The winner gets a comped meal and a free t-shirt.

HOW TO BEAT IT: The great thing about oysters is they come with their own handy beverage to aid in getting a ton down the throat. Don’t bother with a drink (water is best) and just start shoveling oysters into your mouth. If they’re a smaller size, maybe even skip the chewing to save on time.

The Inferno Bowl Challenge

The Inferno Bowl Challenge sounds like one of the most uninteresting of all the BCS bowl games but this crazy food challenge WILL keep you on a different type of bowl for a while. This 48-ounce soup is made from bhut jolokia, known as the ghost chili and one of the spiciest peppers on the planet. Contestants have just a half-hour to down the whole thing. The winner walks away with a grand.

HOW TO BEAT IT: Most competitive eaters will tell people that when it comes to spicy food challenges, the smartest thing to do is just eat. Get through the challenge as fast as possible and find the quickest relief — usually milk or other fat and thick drinks — and try to get your mind off the task at hand. Ask to listen to headphones or watch a TV in proximity to get your mind off the challenge and the pain. Or concentrate on the possibility of walking away with $1K.

The 7-Pound Italian Challenge

This one comes courtesy of Mick and Angelo’s, a (you guessed it) Italian restaurant located on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

Contestants have an hour and half minutes to devour almost every classic Italian dish grandma could create: spaghetti, grilled sausage, lasagna, chicken parmesan, cheese manicotti, cannelloni, garlic bread, vegetable soup, and an apple crisp for dessert. This crazy food challenge has only one rule to win a T-shirt, a comped meal, and your photo on the wall of fame — you’re not allowed to leave the table until you’ve cleaned your plate.

HOW TO BEAT IT: Much like the steak challenge, try and eat the meat first and carbs last. Since most of the meal is carbs, try and get the milk-based and heavier foods out of the way.

The Pointersaurus Challenge

The Pointersaurus from Pointer’s Pizza in St. Louis, Missouri involves a 28-inch, ten-pound, two-meat-topping (or four if you’re a vegetarian and only want veggies on the pie) pizza, and a $500 reward.

Unlike the other competitions, this crazy food challenge allows for two contestants to tackle the massive pizza pie.

HOW TO BEAT IT: Divide and conquer but each person should follow this strategy — eat the entire inside of the pizza first (cheese, sauce, and whatever toppings) and save the crusts for last. The interior makes up a huge portion of the pizza so get it over with early.

The Kitchen Sink Challenge

The San Francisco Creamery is home to the Kitchen Sink Challenge, which consists of: three sliced bananas, eight scoops of ice creams (contestants’ choice), eight servings of toppings, mounds of whipped cream, chopped toasted almonds, and cherries.

Eat everything in the kitchen sink and get free ice cream for a year.

HOW TO BEAT IT: Using a warm or hot liquid (coffee or tea) to aid in faster consumption.  Try stirring the ice cream up so it’s not as hard, or hard to consume.

The Peeps Challenge

This one doesn’t require you to make the trek to an actual restaurant. All you have to do is stock up on the marshmallow treats known as Peeps and see how many you can house in five minutes (if you’re trying to break the record, you’re going to need to stock up the record, as the record currently sits at 255 courtesy of competitive eating legend Matt Stonie).

HOW TO BEAT IT: Water. Drink after every mouthful of Peep. The water will help dissolve the sugar and aid in chewing and swallowing.

The One-Gallon Challenge

This one is another one you can do on your own (just like countless teenagers with nothing better to do have done over the years). The gallon challenge is simple: one hour to chug a gallon of whole milk without throwing up. Milk does a body good but probably not in such large quantities.

HOW TO BEAT IT: First let’s say that drinking a gallon of anything in an hour can be hazardous. The best way to beat it is to not attempt it in the first place, but if you must, attempt it on an empty stomach, and don’t attempt it all in one massive chug.

Chris Illuminati avatar
Chris Illuminati is a 5-time published author and recovering a**hole who writes about running, parenting, and professional wrestling.