A fitness model turned competitive eater jetted more than 3,000 miles to take on a 6,000-calorie British Sunday roast challenge.
Joel Hansen, from Toronto, Ontario, flew to the UK from Canada for a 10-day trip, to tackle The Holy Roast Challenge at Cattlemans Steakhouse at The Parkers Arms in Paignton, Devon.
The gut-busting meal weighed an astonishing five kilos and contained an eye-watering array of meat, veg, spuds and bread – with the pub offering it for free to those who can gobble it down within an hour.
Joel, who boasts a trim, 31-inch waist, made the trip to experience the English ‘history and culture’ and see if he could polish off the hefty 6,336-calorie meal within the 60-minute time.
The 28-year-old made light work of it, polishing off the titanic dish in just 34 minutes and 25 seconds and also pocketing £200 for smashing the previous time held by another competitive eater.
Joel Hansen, from Toronto, Ontario, jetted more than 3,000 miles to take on a 6,000-calorie British Sunday roast challenge
Surprisingly it wasn’t the food mountain that overwhelmed Joel but the hefty saucepan of gravy, lamenting in footage he’d ‘rather drink mustard than gravy’.
After being crowned victorious the content creator admitted he ‘didn’t eat much the following day’ and got another culture hit by visiting prehistoric site Stonehenge in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Joel said: ‘It was doing the food challenge that enticed me over from Canada to the UK.
‘The Holy Roast challenge is a 5kg platter. I was more shocked at the amount of gravy that had to be consumed.
‘Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of food, but I knew it was going to be a lot of food. I just didn’t anticipate it would be two litres of gravy, I very much dislike the stuff.’
Footage shared online in December, showed Joel present the mammoth meal to the camera and said ‘I’m not a gravy fan, I think it’s disgusting. I’d rather drink mustard than drink gravy’.
The clip then shows him methodically chomp his way through the groaning platter of food, including the gravy, before being crowned the quickest scoffer.
Joel said: ‘My tactics are a little bit of stupidity and a lot of willpower. I love vegetables and they were all very delicious. The only thing that was different for me was the cauliflower cheese, that’s definitely not a North American thing.
At 26 minutes in, the competitive eater paused to take a drink to help wash down the massive meal – with bread and Yorkshire pudding still lef to eat
The 28-year-old made light work of it, polishing off the titanic dish in just 34 minutes and 25 seconds and also pocketing £200 for smashing the previous time held by another competitive eater
After being crowned victorious the content creator admitted he ‘didn’t eat much the following day’ and got another culture hit by visiting prehistoric site Stonehenge in Salisbury, Wiltshire
‘It wasn’t about getting a record, it was more just completing it. I was really glad I was able to complete it.
‘I wasn’t trying to rush it, I probably could have done it quicker if I wanted to but I was really enjoying the culture as I was going through it and embracing such an English dish.
‘Let’s say the way the stuffing, the vegetables and the Yorkshire puddings are done – it’s like you really get a sense of history and the culture through the way the foods are prepared and what the items are.’
The following day Joel headed on a trip to Stonehenge to tick off another cultural to-visit spot.
Joel said: ‘I don’t think I ate much the next day and I went to see Stonehenge. I drank fluids, did a little bit of light walking and let things work their way through.’
The gut-busting meal weighed an astonishing five kilos and contained an eye-watering array of meat, veg, spuds and bread – with the pub offering it for free to those who can gobble it down within an hour
The 5kg Sunday roast called the Holy Roast Challenge is filled with meat, potatoes, veg and even four Yorkshire puddings
Footage shared online in December, showed Joel presenting the mammoth meal to the camera. He said that the worst part was the gravy, and that he’d ‘rather drink mustard’
Hungry punters who complete the meal in less than an hour will pocket £50, if they fail they must fork out £50.
Joel said: ‘The most important thing for people to realise 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 go run a marathon.’
Manager at Cattlemans Steakhouse, Aaron King, said: ‘About one in 10 people do complete our challenges, but the Holy Roast is next level as it’s 5KG of food.
‘So far it’s only been pro-eaters who have completed it, it was very impressive to see how quickly Joel completed it.’