Post by Kaiti on Dec 5, 2012 18:15:56 GMT
You've seen Man Vs. Food, now it's time for FEMAIL Vs. Food: Adam Richman teaches one writer how to tackle the challenge of eating a 5lb burger and chips in 30 minutes
By Martha De Lacey
PUBLISHED:09:49, 5 December 2012| UPDATED:14:45, 5 December 2012
Adam Richman is wiping ketchup off my eyebrow.
This will make my brother - a 27-year-old, heterosexual solicitor, to give you some context of how weird this is - exceedingly jealous.
Richman, you see, has become something of a demigod to fans of his cult 'food reality' television show, Man Vs. Food, in which the hungry American travels around his homeland sniffing out timed 'eating challenges', then performing them in front of live audiences of hundreds - and global audiences of millions.
The 38-year-old Brooklyn native has, over three series, scoffed giant doughnuts in Austin, a 7.5lb burger in Memphis, an 11lb pizza in Atlanta, the 'hottest curry in the world' in New York (which reportedly had one diner bleeding from the nose), 180 oysters in New Orleans, a 46-cm 'BurritoZilla' in San Jose, California, a Texan burger so spicy it has to be assembled wearing latex gloves, and a two-gallon sundae in San Francisco. And, most of the time, he wins.
But now, pretty stuffed-to-busting-at-the-seams with meat and chips and barbeque sauce, Richman - who is not anywhere near as large as you might expect him to be - has hung up his bib and passed the forky baton on to someone else: his entire nation.
The 38-year-old Brooklyn native has scoffed giant doughnuts in Austin, a 7.5lb burger in Memphis, and the 'hottest curry in the world' in New York, which had one diner bleeding from the nose
'The idea,' he tells me when we meet in a central London kitchen, 'is to give something back to the communities where these challenges took place.
'The local people who live in the towns and eat in these restaurants are so integral to the success of the show that it seemed only fair, after three series, to stop being the guy who comes in to town with a camera crew and gets all the attention, and instead show the communities how they can do these challenges themselves.'
The premise of his current show, Man Vs. Food Nation is that Richman travels around America teaching those same local communities, who roared with support as he ate all their food, how to eat like he does.
But first, he's going to teach me. Well, me and two other brave (read: demented) journalists. And this is why he is wiping ketchup off my eyebrow.
Bib at the ready, Martha prepares to tackle the 5lb burger challenge
Devouring an enormo-burger such as the one which has just been placed before me is no mean feat, especially since the plate is laden with chips and the patty not only weighs 3lbs but is sandwiched inside a brioche bun the size of a birthday cake.
In total, the whole giant stack weighs a gut-busting 5lbs. And we have 30 minutes to eat the whole gargantuan thing. As I look at the burger, then at the clock, my palms begin to sweat. I thank Ronald McDonald I ate only a pear for breakfast.
The enormo-burger is made up of 3lb patty with a 1lb bun and 1lb of chips
Assuming I will die before I finish it, I give it a good bash (and if you don't believe me, there's video evidence, recorded by the good people at Food Network who brought Richman across the Atlantic).
'Cut it up like a pizza pie,' hollers Adam as we don our bibs and clutch hold of our cutlery. 'You want it in manageable chunks, and you must eat the hot bits first: trust me when I say that cold chips and cold meat are much less palatable than cold bread or tomatoes.'
Trusting that this is a guy who knows what he's talking about when it comes to competitive eating, I listen to him, pushing the messily sliced sweet brioche bun to one side and concentrating on the meat and chips.
Mid-challenge, the three journalists attempt to pick through the rubble of their 5lb enormo-burgers
'Don't drink water, or the bread will swell inside your stomach,' he warns as I reach for the glass. 'Chew on a tomato instead if you're thirsty.'
The ludicrousness of this situation is not lost on me, but, never one to resist a or a dare, I press on, gobbling forkfuls of burger and lettuce, dipping every other bite in ketchup, mayonnaise or hot sauce to reduce the 'very real problem of flavour fatigue'.
(This is when the same old flavour, bite after bite, makes you want to hurl yourself out of the chair and onto the floor, wailing 'Defeat! Defeat! I admit defeat! No more! Take it away!' until the people in white coats do just that.)
Three journalists, three burgers, three massive stomachaches
I don't finish the burger. None of us do. But I do pretty well (or so he says, patting me on the back and draping a damp tea towel over my shoulders 'to cool me down').
And when 30 minutes rolls up I feel, to be frank, lucky to still be alive. Richman has ensured the world he is in 'good health' but I fear no doctor in the world would advise doing what he does day after day after day.
He says he brings a skipping rope with him wherever he goes, hopping away for hours before each challenge to speed up his metabolism and make room for the extra calories.
And as I roll myself, hiccuping, back to the office I'm beginning to wish I'd asked to borrow it.
Adam Richman and Martha in front of the enormo-burger
Watch Adam Richman in Man v Food Nation weekdays at 21:30 on Food Network UK (Channel Freeview 48 and Sky 262/263 ) – visit www.foodnetwork.co.uk for more information
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2235268/Man-Vs-Food-Adam-Richman-teaches-Martha-Lacey-eat-5lb-burger-30-minutes.html#ixzz2ECZbhUKP
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By Martha De Lacey
PUBLISHED:09:49, 5 December 2012| UPDATED:14:45, 5 December 2012
Adam Richman is wiping ketchup off my eyebrow.
This will make my brother - a 27-year-old, heterosexual solicitor, to give you some context of how weird this is - exceedingly jealous.
Richman, you see, has become something of a demigod to fans of his cult 'food reality' television show, Man Vs. Food, in which the hungry American travels around his homeland sniffing out timed 'eating challenges', then performing them in front of live audiences of hundreds - and global audiences of millions.
Adam Richman, the man behind cult TV show Man Vs Food and Man Vs Food Nation
The 38-year-old Brooklyn native has, over three series, scoffed giant doughnuts in Austin, a 7.5lb burger in Memphis, an 11lb pizza in Atlanta, the 'hottest curry in the world' in New York (which reportedly had one diner bleeding from the nose), 180 oysters in New Orleans, a 46-cm 'BurritoZilla' in San Jose, California, a Texan burger so spicy it has to be assembled wearing latex gloves, and a two-gallon sundae in San Francisco. And, most of the time, he wins.
But now, pretty stuffed-to-busting-at-the-seams with meat and chips and barbeque sauce, Richman - who is not anywhere near as large as you might expect him to be - has hung up his bib and passed the forky baton on to someone else: his entire nation.
The 38-year-old Brooklyn native has scoffed giant doughnuts in Austin, a 7.5lb burger in Memphis, and the 'hottest curry in the world' in New York, which had one diner bleeding from the nose
'The idea,' he tells me when we meet in a central London kitchen, 'is to give something back to the communities where these challenges took place.
'The local people who live in the towns and eat in these restaurants are so integral to the success of the show that it seemed only fair, after three series, to stop being the guy who comes in to town with a camera crew and gets all the attention, and instead show the communities how they can do these challenges themselves.'
The premise of his current show, Man Vs. Food Nation is that Richman travels around America teaching those same local communities, who roared with support as he ate all their food, how to eat like he does.
But first, he's going to teach me. Well, me and two other brave (read: demented) journalists. And this is why he is wiping ketchup off my eyebrow.
Bib at the ready, Martha prepares to tackle the 5lb burger challenge
Devouring an enormo-burger such as the one which has just been placed before me is no mean feat, especially since the plate is laden with chips and the patty not only weighs 3lbs but is sandwiched inside a brioche bun the size of a birthday cake.
In total, the whole giant stack weighs a gut-busting 5lbs. And we have 30 minutes to eat the whole gargantuan thing. As I look at the burger, then at the clock, my palms begin to sweat. I thank Ronald McDonald I ate only a pear for breakfast.
The enormo-burger is made up of 3lb patty with a 1lb bun and 1lb of chips
Assuming I will die before I finish it, I give it a good bash (and if you don't believe me, there's video evidence, recorded by the good people at Food Network who brought Richman across the Atlantic).
'Cut it up like a pizza pie,' hollers Adam as we don our bibs and clutch hold of our cutlery. 'You want it in manageable chunks, and you must eat the hot bits first: trust me when I say that cold chips and cold meat are much less palatable than cold bread or tomatoes.'
Trusting that this is a guy who knows what he's talking about when it comes to competitive eating, I listen to him, pushing the messily sliced sweet brioche bun to one side and concentrating on the meat and chips.
Mid-challenge, the three journalists attempt to pick through the rubble of their 5lb enormo-burgers
'Don't drink water, or the bread will swell inside your stomach,' he warns as I reach for the glass. 'Chew on a tomato instead if you're thirsty.'
The ludicrousness of this situation is not lost on me, but, never one to resist a or a dare, I press on, gobbling forkfuls of burger and lettuce, dipping every other bite in ketchup, mayonnaise or hot sauce to reduce the 'very real problem of flavour fatigue'.
(This is when the same old flavour, bite after bite, makes you want to hurl yourself out of the chair and onto the floor, wailing 'Defeat! Defeat! I admit defeat! No more! Take it away!' until the people in white coats do just that.)
Three journalists, three burgers, three massive stomachaches
I don't finish the burger. None of us do. But I do pretty well (or so he says, patting me on the back and draping a damp tea towel over my shoulders 'to cool me down').
And when 30 minutes rolls up I feel, to be frank, lucky to still be alive. Richman has ensured the world he is in 'good health' but I fear no doctor in the world would advise doing what he does day after day after day.
He says he brings a skipping rope with him wherever he goes, hopping away for hours before each challenge to speed up his metabolism and make room for the extra calories.
And as I roll myself, hiccuping, back to the office I'm beginning to wish I'd asked to borrow it.
Adam Richman and Martha in front of the enormo-burger
Watch Adam Richman in Man v Food Nation weekdays at 21:30 on Food Network UK (Channel Freeview 48 and Sky 262/263 ) – visit www.foodnetwork.co.uk for more information
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2235268/Man-Vs-Food-Adam-Richman-teaches-Martha-Lacey-eat-5lb-burger-30-minutes.html#ixzz2ECZbhUKP
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