I flew 3,000 miles from Canada to take on a 6,300-calorie British Sunday Roast challenge — the gravy was the hardest part to swallow
A fitness model turned competitive eater flew more than 5,000 miles to complete a 6,000-calorie British Sunday Roast challenge.
Joel Hansen, from Toronto, Ontario, flew to Britain from Canada for a 10-day trip to tackle the Holy Roast Challenge at Cattlemans Steakhouse at The Parkers Arms in Paignton, Devon.
The heartbreaking meal weighed a whopping five kilos and contained an eye-watering array of meat, vegetables, puddings and bread. The pub offered it for free to those who can devour it within an hour.
Joel, who has a slim waist of 81cm, made the trip to experience English 'history and culture' and see if he could work through the hefty 6,336 calorie meal in 60 minutes.
The 28-year-old made easy work of it, polishing off the mammoth dish in just 34 minutes and 25 seconds and also pocketed £200 for beating another competitive eater's previous time.
Joel Hansen, from Toronto, Ontario, flew more than 5,000 miles to complete a 6,000-calorie British Sunday Roast challenge
Surprisingly, it wasn't the mountain of food that overwhelmed Joel, but the generous pot of gravy, who went on footage complaining that he 'would rather drink mustard than gravy'.
After being crowned the winner, the content creator admitted he 'didn't eat much the next day' and got another culture hit by visiting the prehistoric site of Stonehenge in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Joel said: 'It was the food challenge that drew me from Canada to Britain.
'The Holy Roast challenge is a 5kg dish. I was more shocked by the amount of gravy 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. I just didn't expect it to be two liters of gravy, I really don't like it.'
Footage shared online in December showed Joel presenting the giant meal to the camera, saying: 'I'm not a gravy fan, I think it's disgusting. I'd rather drink mustard than gravy.'
The clip shows him methodically working his way through the groaning platter of food, including the gravy, before being crowned the fastest spotter.
Joel said: 'My tactic is a little 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, which is definitely not North American.
After 26 minutes, the competitive eater took a break for a drink to wash down the huge meal – with bread and Yorkshire puddings still to eat
The 28-year-old made easy work of it, polishing off the mammoth dish in just 34 minutes and 25 seconds and also pocketing £200 for crushing another competitive eater last time.
After being crowned the winner, the content creator admitted he 'didn't eat much the next day' and took another culture hit by visiting the prehistoric site of Stonehenge in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
“It wasn't about getting a record, it was more about completing it. I was really happy that I could complete it.
'I tried not to rush it, I probably could have done it faster if I wanted to, but I really enjoyed the culture as I went through it and embraced such an English dish.
'Let's just say the way the filling, the vegetables and the Yorkshire puddings are prepared, it's like you really get a sense of the history and the culture through the way the food is prepared and what the ingredients are.'
The next day, Joel set off on a trip to Stonehenge to check off one more cultural site he wanted to visit.
Joel said: 'I don't think I ate much the next day and I went to Stonehenge. I drank fluids, did some light walking and let things happen.”
The heartbreaking meal weighed a whopping five kilos and contained an eye-watering array of meat, vegetables, puddings and bread. The pub offered it for free to those who can devour it within an hour.
The 5kg Sunday roast, the Holy Roast Challenge, is filled with meat, potatoes, vegetables and even four Yorkshire puddings
Footage shared online in December showed Joel presenting the mammoth meal to the camera. He said the worst part was the gravy, and that he 'would rather drink mustard'
Hungry punters who complete the meal in less than an hour will receive £50, if they fail they will have to spend £50.
Joel said: 'The most important thing people need to realize is that it takes a lot of training to be able to do this.
“Just like if you want to run a marathon, you don't just wake up one morning and run a marathon.”
Manager at Cattlemans Steakhouse, Aaron King, said: 'About one in ten people complete our challenges, but the Holy Roast is next level as it involves 5kg of food.
“So far it's only pro eaters who have completed it, it was very impressive to see how quickly Joel completed it.”