10 Food Eating Challenges No One Ever Beat

When "Man v. Food" first premiered on the Travel Channel in 2008, it fueled a cultural phenomenon. Audiences were captivated by host Adam Richman's simple quest of traveling the country in search of eateries that offer outrageous food challenges. With its combination of gluttony, fascination, and disgust, the show helped the Travel Channel earn record-breaking ratings with its first season. However, the concept of restaurant food challenges dates back long before the show's debut. 

By this point, spectacles of excessive food consumption have become even more solidified in our culture, as evidenced by the huge following for the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, as well as the many popular food videos on YouTube, including mukbangs that capture someone eating a large volume of food while providing narration for the camera. We cannot speculate as to why people subject themselves to devouring amounts of food that test the human anatomy, or if the recognition is worth it. Nonetheless, the popularity of food challenges persists, and everyone is welcome to take them on at varied restaurants worldwide. 

Every restaurant that offers a food challenge has its own set of rules, but they're all pretty similar — the goal is to down an extraordinarily oversized meal in a set time period, attracting both professional competitive eaters and average folks alike. At some eateries, this feat is regularly achieved by especially ravenous customers ... but the following restaurant food challenges remain undefeated. 

Anyone who takes on the Thors Hammer Challenge should be ready to finish about five pounds of food within an hour. The Bearded Ginger Bar and Grill in Spokane, Washington offers this $85 meal, consisting of a large portion of macaroni and cheese, chicken wings, coleslaw, BBQ beans, mozzarella sticks, garlic toast, and french fries — all topped with a mammoth bone-in beef shank. 

If an individual contestant completes the challenge, they will receive the meal for free and earn a commemorative shirt. According to a server that we reached on the phone, only five people have attempted this daunting challenge solo, and none have been successful. However, several groups have polished off the four-person dinner version of Thors Hammer, which features about eight pounds of food and costs $150.  

While Thors Hammer is the only food challenge offered at the Bearded Ginger, the eatery has an extensive menu of hearty dishes like ribeye steaks, a BBQ chimichanga, and a PB&J burger. Many diners have mentioned that all kinds of menu items are served in generous quantities here. "The portions of these appetizers were massive," said one reviewer on Yelp, who also mentioned regretting not having an empty stomach upon arrival. 

beardedgingerspokane.com

(509) 928-8600

8125 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley, WA 99212

Located in the quaint waterfront town of Newport, Rhode Island, Wally's Wieners began as a hot dog cart in 2019, and with its growing success came a brick-and-mortar location and its very own eating challenge. Originally, The Wally Challenge allotted diners 15 minutes to finish an order of fries topped with bacon, peppers, and onions, along with a quadruple Wynter Burger (consisting of four 3.5-ounce patties enhanced with bacon-onion jam on a grilled cheese bun), two quarter-pound hot dogs loaded with bacon, one spicy Barkin' Bun fried chicken sandwich, and a chocolate shake.

According to the Newport Daily News, this challenge wasn't difficult enough, with the fastest eater polishing it all off in seven minutes — so Wally's namesake challenge was revamped. The new gauntlet featured a traditional smash burger with American cheese, four of Wally's signature hot dogs, a chicken sandwich with Buffalo sauce, and a milkshake — and it all still had to be devoured within 15 minutes. When we called Wally's in early 2025, a server confirmed that this challenge was never beaten, but the offer is no longer on the table. However, everyone is still welcome to stuff themselves at Wally's just as quickly as they can.

wallyswieners.com

(401) 236-1760

464 Thames St, Newport, RI 02840 

Residents of Columbia, Missouri flock to Stadium Grill, a casual hangout for sports fans. While this eatery is renowned for its wings, it once also offered a burger that was kind of a big deal ... or at least it was big. The Hail Mary Challenge has not been offered for several years now, according to a restaurant representative that we spoke with — but back in its heyday, nobody ever claimed victory when taking on this gargantuan cheeseburger.

The unbeaten challenge required intrepid diners to finish a huge burger loaded with five pounds of meat (including beef patties, bacon, and pulled pork), three types of cheese, onion straws, and fried eggs — along with a full pound of fries — in under an hour. A writer for Vox Magazine who took on this behemoth of a burger later lamented that "it was pure ignorance on my part to see the description of the Hail Mary Challenge at Stadium Grill and think I would be able to finish it."

Many attempts were made to conquer the Hail Mary — including a valiant effort by competitive eater Randy Santel — but ultimately, nobody crossed the goal line to claim the prize of receiving the burger for free, along with a $50 monthly food and beverage credit for a year. Had someone achieved that belly-busting feat, they would've earned eternal renown by having the multi-pound burger named in their honor.

stadiumgrillcolumbia.com

(573) 777-9292

1219 Fellows Pl, Columbia, MO 65201 

In 2019, British competitive eater Adam Moran attempted to take on the never-conquered Bangers and Mash Challenge — and this proved to be a bridge too far for the hirsute "Beard Meats Food" host. Offered at The Brown Cow eatery in the U.K. city of Ackworth, this wild challenge of classic British fare featured 30 sausages, mashed potatoes, a whole cauliflower, carrots, and gravy — all to be finished in just 20 minutes. 

Moran arrived at the Brown Cow feeling confident and excited to take on his traditional comfort food. However, he initially thought that he would have an hour to devour the feast, and the short time limit proved to be the challenge's biggest hurdle. Moran tried to eat as quickly as possible, shoveling fistfuls of piping hot mashed potatoes into his mouth as gravy dripped down his beard. The YouTube star ended up tapping out with the head of cauliflower left uneaten and just a minute left.

Though the challenge has not been offered for five years now, according to a server we contacted at the Brown Cow, nobody was ever able to dominate this massive portion of U.K. specialties. The good news is that you can still visit the restaurant and enjoy other delicious menu offerings like homemade steak or chicken pie, fish and chips, beef lasagna, or mushroom risotto, all with a pint of beer to wash it down.

thebrown.godaddysites.com

Pontefract Rd, Akworth, Pontefract, WF7 7EL, United Kingdom 

The undefeated That Burger Challenge — offered by the now-defunct That Bar in Danville, California — featured a colossus of a burger that measured about a foot in diameter and weighed around five pounds. This mammoth entree consisted of two oversized Angus beef patties, an entire grilled cheese sandwich, plenty of bacon, four types of cheese, shoestring fries, and a slathering of barbecue sauce, all served on a huge bun. The challenge required contenders to finish every bite of this burger in less than an hour — along with a quarter pound of fries and a quarter pound of onion rings.

There were occasions when That Burger was ordered by a group to share, but by the time That Bar ceased operations in 2013, it seems that this challenge never produced an individual winner. Had some famished customer managed to force That Burger down, they could reportedly expect a souvenir T-shirt — along with inevitable meat sweats. 

The time limit was pretty generous for the Full o' Bull Challenge at Cowtown Diner in Fort Worth, Texas — patrons could begin eating right after the restaurant opened, and take until closing time to finish. Nonetheless, this challenge was never defeated, primarily because its centerpiece was believed to be the world's most enormous slab of chicken fried steak, comprised of some four pounds of breaded beef. 

The now-shuttered eatery welcomed contestants anytime from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. — but considering the logistics of preparing a 64-ounce chicken fried steak, Cowtown Diner required at least 24 hours of advance notice before every attempt. Naturally, the dish was topped with white gravy that added to the challenge ... along with four pounds of mashed potatoes and 10 pieces of Texas toast, reportedly bringing the total meal to a whopping 10,000 calories. This Texas-sized feast was priced at just under $70, and any individual who could finish it in one long sitting would receive it for free. While such a victory apparently never came to pass, groups of college kids were known to share the beefy specialty from time to time.

Calling this burger ridiculous is an understatement. Weighing in at a staggering 190 pounds, the astonishing brainchild of Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan proved to be a food challenge for the history books.

While the restaurant is now permanently closed, its Absolutely Ridiculous Burger garnered undying fame by appearing in a 2009 "Man v. Food" episode. Host Adam Richman knew he'd met his match when first laying eyes on this 26-inch wide burger, featuring a single patty larger than a car tire. The patty and bottom bun alone already weighed over 140 pounds before being topped with 10 pounds of cheeses and 15 pounds of tomatoes, onions, pickles, and lettuce. It also had four pounds of bacon under a top bun that weighed 20 pounds alone. 

Obviously, Richman could not devour this gargantuan burger alone, so he recruited the help of 40 Detroit-area diners, including firefighters, police officers, and a Kiss tribute band. Despite their best efforts, the team could not finish the burger within the two-hour time limit — though they polished off a respectable 160 pounds of it. Yet this now-famous burger was not the biggest ever made by Mallie's — the eatery later constructed a burger weighing almost 340 pounds, which required a 22-hour cooking process. 

For a long time, Arlene's Truck Stop in Battle Creek, Michigan drew regulars with generous portions of homestyle cooking, along with a variety of all-you-can-eat specials featuring tacos, spaghetti, and fish. In August of 2024, Arlene's closed its doors for renovations and apparently hasn't reopened — but its reputation for oversized meals lives on thanks to its legendary array of food challenges.

According to WBCK, the ongoing food challenges at Arlene's included "The Loaded Big Ass Biscuits and Gravy," "The Big Ass Wet Burrito" weighing in at seven pounds, and "The Mac Truck Challenge" daring diners to consume a loaded burger exceeding five pounds, along with a side of fries. However, "The Freightliner" breakfast challenge was reportedly never defeated — and that's understandable, since it consisted of six eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, and three huge pancakes that barely fit on a large serving tray. It's unclear if there was a time limit for this challenge, but its sheer size still earned The Freightliner plenty of attention. "Those massive pancakes are a challenge in itself," commented one Facebook user, while another was flabbergasted by the entire meal, stating: "Good Lord that's a lot of food!" 

Even the most accomplished competitive eaters struggled when taking on the No Clucking Chance challenge. This one was offered by the now-closed Huckleberry's American Diner, located by the U.K. city of York, and it required diners to consume a 10,000-calorie feast of chicken, waffles, and a whole lot more in only 45 minutes. Apparently, everyone who took a chance on finishing this ginormous repast fell short of the goal — including Adam Moran, in a failed attempt captured by a "Beard Meats Food" episode. 

The challenging meal was a gut-busting platter of eight deep-fried chicken breasts served with cheese and apple slaw, along with eight sweet waffles, plenty of fries, corn on the cob, onion rings, bacon, and a few pickles tossed on top. Many restaurants that offer food challenges only provide the meal itself for no charge as a prize to any victorious eater — but anyone who conquered the No Clucking Chance challenge was promised a cash prize of £500. However, it appears that this considerable award went unclaimed, most likely due to the strict time limit that Moran blamed for his loss. 

The small U.K. town of Hornsea was home to The Breakfast Club, complete with artworks depicting Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and other stars of the eatery's namesake film. This local restaurant is now closed, though its memory lives on thanks to its signature 50 Item Fry Up Challenge. This behemoth breakfast included fried eggs, sausages, Spam, hash browns, mushrooms, and beans, all piled high on multiple plates. One sneaky caveat was that a large bowl of potatoes counted as a single item. The restaurant offered winners a £20 refund on the £25 meal, along with a hat and a keychain. However, these prizes apparently gathered dust, as there is no record of anyone beating this challenge.

When competitive eater Adam Moran attempted this challenge, he knew the 30-minute time limit would be tough. Moran strategically ate through the meats first, but as time dwindled, it was evident that he would not be able to complete the challenge, leaving behind the massive bowl of potatoes.