(wo)Man v. Food – Greedy Edie and the Smoke BBQ Challenge

I’ve always had a reputation for being able to eat a lot for my size. It was a twice-weekly thing that in first year I’d get home from uni, head to the Edge bar and demolish a Rodeo Ranch Burger with curly fries in around 5 minutes flat. Sadly that’s not even an exaggeration. I have about 8 witnesses who can testify on my behalf.

So small…

So when Sam suggested I go professional and try the Smoke BBQ burger challenge I was pretty excited.

Smoke Barbecue is the newest face on St Paul’s Square. Built into the giant disco cube car park, the restaraunt is decked out like an authentic smokehouse. The smell of hickory smoke smacks you in the face on entering. The kitchen is even open plan and features a glass wall where you can watch the chefs prepare the meat authentically low and slow.

Smokin’.

This challenge, created by bodybuilder and Smoke Barbecue waiter Alex Fodor, consists of a burger with 4 beef patties, brisket, pulled pork, cheese, and onion “strings” (this was actually a latticed onion bajhi). This is served with a side of 500g of twice-cooked chips, a jar of coleslaw and a cornbread muffin. Lastly, you get to wash the whole thing down with 2 pints of your choice of milkshake. It’s the shake that Fodor calls the “killer”.

Here it comes…

Daunted.

Having done my research by watching Man v Food re-runs, I had a surefire plan. I ate virtually nothing throughout the day to keep my stomach elastic and empty.

Dastardly Smoke BBQ.

When it came to the challenge, I removed the bread buns and moved all carb-components to one side while I tackled the protein, chewing properly and taking the odd sip of water to break it all down as much as possible.

Such a supportive team.

Hats off to the team down at Smoke, everything in the burger was tasty. The pulled pork was by far the best I’ve ever had in the UK – juicy and tender but without being bland or mushy. I cleared the plate of meaty items in 12 minutes.

Food porn.

After finishing the meat I was able to move onto the stomach-swelling carbs – the chips, onions and bread. All were delicious, but after the 20 minute mark I needed help from the team to keep the flavours interesting.

Things got pretty saucy…

My time was nearly up but I still wasn’t full. After 28 minutes I’d cleared the plate of 80% of the carbs and all the meat.

The final few minutes got intense…

When I came to the shake I found out why it was the killer. As sweet and refreshing as the banana/honey combo was, the fluid and high fat content filled all the gaps in my stomach. After 1/2 a pint of the milkshake I’d physically ran out of space. I threw in the towel at 36 minutes.

Decimated.

I may not have finished the entire thing this time, but it wasn’t a bad job for a first attempt. As the first female challenger Smoke has seen, I’m already a winner. I look forward to beating my time soon, but until then I’ll stick to the pulled pork on it’s own.