We aren’t complaining that food challenges are becoming more popular in our society. But that doesn’t stop us from going one step further and setting world records! Every restaurant opens up with crazy food challenges, which leave the winner feeling victorious and somewhat ill.
Guinness World Records has been around for more than 60 years, and the number of food records that have been held over this period is staggering. We decided to look more closely at the record-breaking food achievements and the outrageous foods these people have chosen to indulge in, complete with illustrations. Below are some of their mouthwatering favorites.
Don Lerman – 28 Ounces Butter in 5 Minutes
Yes, that’s right, 28 ounces butter. Don achieved this feat in just 5 minutes. However, Donate 28 ounces of butter. That’s the equivalent of two footballs. To train for this record-breaking feat, we are curious how much butter he has eaten throughout his life.
Don “Moses” Lerman is a New Yorker who is very competitive and has set a few eating records over the past decade. These include eating 6lb of baked beans in just 48 seconds and eating 11 burgers in ten mins (that’s quite a lot of bread). He has eaten 28 ounces of butter in just 5 minutes. It’s also 28 ounces of salted butter! Lovely…
Many people have tried Don’s challenges to win, but Don has the record.
Ken Edwards – 36 live cockroaches in 60 seconds
Ever wonder what it is like to eat live cockroaches? Maybe 36? We don’t know! That’s what Ken Edwards thought back in 2001.
Ken Edwards from Derbyshire, UK, decided to take on the challenge and eat 36 Madagascan Cockroaches in a matter of minutes.
This species of roaches can grow to as much as 3 inches in length. Ken also ate his crunchy bugs while they were still alive. PETA was not pleased with this idea; in 2006 criticized Six Flags for giving away a VIP season pass to anyone who could beat their record. Despite PETA and Ken Edward’s disappointment, the challenge was accepted. However, all attempts to break the record were unsuccessful. Ken holds the record for eating 36 live Cockroaches in 60 seconds.
Takeru Kobayashi: 57 Cow Brains in Just 15 Minutes
While we have witnessed an increase in food problems over the last couple of years, the early 2000s still hold the record for most, shall we say, usual, challenges.
2002 saw Takeru Kobayashi, a Japanese competitor, set a new record by eating 57 cow brains within 15 minutes.
Takeru ate 57 cow brains. This equates to just under 8kgs. Takeru ate 57 cow brains, which was a great meal, but the challenge made us think “less is more”.
Takeru Kobayashi, or “The Tsunami”, is known in the world of food challenges, holds the records for 8 international competitive eating challenges. His records include eating 106 tacos in ten minutes and drinking 14 Twinkies in one minute. He also holds two hot dog challenges. Takeru Kobayashi seems to love his food!
Joey Chestnut – 74 Hotdogs In 10 Minutes
Coney Island, New York, is well-known for its hot dogs. Every year, thousands of hot dog-loving contestants travel from all over the globe to enjoy them. Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is the most famous hot dog contest.
Joey Chestnut set out on a journey to Nathan’s to eat as many hot dogs in 10 minutes as possible in 2018. This was to surpass the previous year’s record, which he set in part. Joey has won 11 hot dog competition records at Nathan’s.
Joey is a huge fan of hot dogs. He could eat 74 hotdog sausages and buns within the stipulated time frame. That’s one hot dog for every 8.1 seconds! Joey isn’t content with just eating large quantities of food. He also has set records for eating 141 eggs in 8 minutes and 4.5 lbs of steak in 9 minutes. Joey, it’s safe for us to say that you are a true beast!
Gideon Oji 408oz Kale in 8 Mins
Kale Yeah began as an event within the World’s Healthiest Eating Championship contest in 2016. Gideon Oji won a 2016 kale eating contest. We aren’t certain that eating that much Kale is healthy, but it’s better than hot dogs and cow brains.
We know what you are thinking: “Kale?” It’s simple! But have you ever considered how much Kale gets eaten? 408oz is equivalent to 11.5kgs, which is a ridiculous amount for this superfood, considering how small each piece weighs.
Kale bowls are served raw, so they don’t need dressing. It cannot be easy to swallow after only a few bowls.
Gideon Oji attempted to beat his previous record in 2017 but was unsuccessful. However, he still holds the record for eating most Kale in the shortest time of 8 minutes!
Oleg Zhornitskiy: 128 Ounces Mayonnaise in 8 minutes
Okay, we were sick before we even looked into the contest. Are that 128 ounces of mayo?
Oleg Zhornitskiy, a Ukrainian-born Ukrainian national, didn’t feel this way when he consumed 4 huge bowls of the stuff in 2017. Oleg ate 80 golf balls for the amount he consumed.
You can see, many contestants failed to attempt this mayonnaise-eating challenge again. Fortunately, they didn’t come even close to breaking his record.
One of us wants the competition to die quickly, while the other wants to see him munch on this amount of mayo. Is that right?
Alex Williams – Alex Williams – 5ft. of Stinging Nettles In 1 Minute
We meant everything when we said that Guinness World Records covers everything.
We know what you are thinking. “What in the …??” We’re sorry, but this is true! Alex Williams, a Brit from Dorset, ate 5ft of nettles in a minute while he was on television at the World Nettle Eating Championships.
Alex challenged pub-goers to find stinging nettles larger than the 15th 6inches. He would eat it.
Alex was not pleased with the outcome. However, he did manage to find a 16-foot-long nettle and, true to his word, ate it.
It’s not the most disgusting thing you can eat, but nettles have a lot of health benefits. Nettle soup, anyone?
Matt Stonie – 255 Peeps in 5 Minutes
Matt Stone ate 255 Peeps in 5 minutes in 2017. This broke his 2016 record of 200 little pink rabbits that he had consumed in 2016.
Peeps are small; sweet marshmallow treats that are eaten over Easter. Peeps are extremely sweet and packed with numbers. God only knows how he managed 255! This is a good example of pure sugar.
They will make you sick. We think that we could only eat 2 to 3 before our bodies heat up. But surely he would be on a sugar-high. These little creatures are not for the faint-hearted.
Kelvin Medina – 12 Inch Pizza in 23 Seconds
First, let’s say that eating a 12″ pizza isn’t difficult. This is something most people do at least once per month. But how fast can you do it in 23 seconds? It’s a joke! That’s impressive!
Kelvin Medina, a Filipino man, set his sights to break the world record for eating a 12-inch pizza in the fastest time. He did it by beating the previous record by 15 seconds. You read that right, no hands! He ate the entire pizza in 23.62 seconds.
This particular competition involved knock-out rounds, in which contestants ate as fast as possible to make it 2 out of 2. Kelvin won the competition, but he was only 0.4 seconds ahead of his head-to-head rival. Two pizza-eating maniacs are running around.
