He may be the king of food challenges, but Adam Richman didn't triumph over every one
of his competitive eating contests.
Here are some of the more insane food challenges that even Richman — the mighty man of Man
Versus Food himself — couldn't beat.
Adam Richman's first on-air defeat went down on season one, episode two in Memphis, Tennessee,
and we're guessing that first loss hurt worse than the others.
Richman attempted to beat a burger challenge at The Big Foot Lodge, a lively local burger
joint that was famous for its big portions.
The Big Foot Challenge involves polishing off a whopping 7.5-pound burger in under 60
minutes.
Before Richman, 1,300 hopeful eaters had attempted the challenge and only four had succeeded.
He started out strong, gleefully gobbling half of the burger within the first 20 minutes.
"I'm going to cut it into six portions.
I'm going to try to do one portion every ten minutes."
Within another 20 minutes, however, the fearless foodie had slowed down.
Richman stood up to catch his breath before throwing in the towel with about a quarter
of the burger still on the plate.
Since the episode aired, more than 4,000 have attempted the challenge, and only 23 have
finished it.
Down in the central Texas town of Austin, Richman faced the Don Juan Challenge on season
one, episode five.
The tex-mex trial took place at Juan in a Million, an unassuming Mexican eatery that
has been a eastside breakfast go-to since the '80s.
The Mexican restaurant is renowned for its Don Juan El Taco Grande, a hearty, three-quarter-pound
pile of potato, egg, bacon, and cheese wrapped in a warm, six-inch flour tortilla.
To beat the Don Juan Challenge, Richman had to break the record held by the previous champion,
who had devoured a whopping seven tacos in one sitting.
"Adam!
You can do it …”
“Thank you."
In his attempt to consume eight tacos, Adam took advantage of the fact that the competition
had no time limit and took a lengthy siesta after his fourth taco.
He started on taco number five two hours into the competition, and eventually realized he
wouldn't be able to finish it in time for closing.
Not wanting to keep any of the staff late, Richman nobly ceded the competition.
"I surrender.
Eight against Juan.
I didn't have a shot."
Still, the owner's son, Juan Meza Jr. graciously awarded Richman "Celebrity Host Champion"
for his valiant efforts.
While most visitors to Hawaii head straight to the beaches, Richman made a beeline for
its kitchens when he visited Honolulu in season two, episode six.
After sampling local burgers and traditional Hawaiian cuisine, Richman got down to business.
For his Honolulu challenge, Richman was to try his hand at the Mac Daddy Pancake Challenge
at MAC 24/7.
Located inside the Hilton, the 24-hour pancake joint is famous for its jumbo pancakes.
The challenge entails finishing a 14-inch, four-pound tower of pancakes and toppings
in 90 minutes without leaving the table for any reason.
“Pray for me.”
It's worth noting that Adam has been on record as naming "starchy challenges" as the toughest
kind," and that only four people had successfully completed the Mac Daddy challenge out of nearly
400 hopefuls.
During Adam's crack at the contest, he wolfed down nearly three pounds of fluffy, pancakes
and gooey blueberries before his time ran out.
"In the battle of man versus pancake, today, sadly, food won."
Just outside Atlanta, Georgia, Richman went head to head with the Carnivore Challenge
at Big Pie in the Sky.
The New York-style pizzeria challenges two-person teams to scarf down a 30-inch, 11-pound meat-covered
pizza in under an hour.
At the time of the taping, the challenge had never been bested by a duo before.
For his partner, Richman enlisted the aid of a contest veteran Drew Middlebrooks.
Richman devoured a good portion of his half of the pizza within a half an hour, with Drew
turning pale and lagging behind.
Drew eventually went outside behind the building to throw up, officially disqualifying their
team.
"I've been informed that the pizza has exited Drew.
At 44 minutes the competition is over."
Richman congratulated his partner for his courageous attempt, and declared,
"I left it all on the battlefield, as did my partner… he also left some behind the
building."
Since Richman's attempt in episode seven, season one, the Carnivore Challenge has been
defeated by seven teams.
For the Big Badass Burrito — or the "B3" — Challenge at the now-closed NASCAR Cafe
in the former Hotel Sahara, the prize included a lifetime pass to ride the Sahara roller
coaster, Speed: The Ride — in addition to a wall of fame photo.
To conquer the B3 Challenge, participants must finish off a two foot-long, six-pound
burrito in under 90 minutes.
The beefy burrito wraps four flour tortillas around shredded beef, beans, onions, and is
topped with nacho cheese, enchilada sauce, and huge scoops of sour cream and guac.
It clocks in at over 5,000 calories.
When Richman attempted the challenge in season two, episode two, only two people out of more
than 200 had successfully shovelled down the burrito in the allotted time.
Richman demolished nearly two-thirds of the burrito within the first 30 minutes.
"But then, just after the 35 minute mark, I hit the dreaded wall."
Adam is ultimately unable to finish off the final pound of the burrito and gets awarded
a pink "certified weenie" T-shirt, which he wears with pride.
For the sixth episode of season three, Richman journeyed to Arizona to battle it out with
giant sliders at Chompie's, a time-honored New York-inspired deli.
"This is like a little piece of New York right here in Arizona, it's phenomenal."
In order for the champ to win the Ultimate Jewish Challenge, he'd have to eat a dozen
of Chompie's Jewish sliders and a heap of fried onion strings in under 30 minutes.
The sliders pack challah buns with lean brisket, mini potato pancakes, and jack cheese and
are paired with brown gravy for dunking.
With the pound of onion strings included, the challenge totals five pounds of food.
"I don't know if I can do it, but you know what, I'm going to head to the dining room
and I'm going to find out."
“Yes!”
During Richman's stab at the challenge, he annihilates all but one of his sliders before
running out of time.
In the Q&A session after the challenge, Richman laments the fact that he started out slowly,
trying to savor the delicious sliders without keeping an eye on the clock.
Immediately after Chompie's, Richman faces another defeat: this time, in Puerto Rico.
The culinary conqueror ventured up into the mountains to La Vaca Brava in order to take
on the Vaca Acostada — or the "sleeping cow" — challenge.
The Vaca Acostada is a nine-pound pile of sirloin steak, french fries, cheese, and mushroom
sauce with bacon, onions, and chorizo.
When Richman undertook the feat, only three out of 100 contestants had successfully taken
down the Vaca Acostada within the allotted 40 minutes.
"But this is more food than I've ever faced before."
As always, Richman started with gusto, cracking jokes, clapping with the crowd, and washing
the meal back with wine.
Less than third of the way in, however, our man is hit by the "meat sweats" and begins
perspiring profusely.
The timer runs out with only a few pieces of steak and around half the fries left on
Richman's plate.
"If I've ever given any thought to becoming a vegetarian, now is definitely one of those
times."
In the 10th episode of the third season, Richman visits Papa Bob's Barbecue in Kansas City
to give the Ultimate Destroyer Challenge a go.
The meaty challenge includes consuming a 12-inch hoagie stacked with a half-pound of pulled
pork, a half-pound of hickory-smoked sliced pork, two slices of bread, a half-pound of
hickory smoked ham, a half-pound of hickory smoked turkey breast, two more slices of bread,
three half-pound hickory smoked hamburgers, a half-pound of hickory smoked brisket, and
a half pound of lean, hickory smoked sausage.
The whole thing is doused in Papa Bob's signature sauce, and paired with one and a half pounds
of fries and four dill pickles or jalapeno peppers.
"It looks like a San Francisco cable car."
To triumph over this mammoth pile of meat, contestants have to finish the whole meal
within 45 minutes without bathroom breaks or dipping the food in drinks.
“None have succeeded.”
“Not one?”
“Not one.”
“Bad day in Man vs Foodville.”
If it sounds like an impossible endeavor, it was — at least for our intrepid host.
Richman managed to get down a little more than half the meal before the time ran out.
Up north in Niagara Falls, Richman dropped by Mick & Angelo's Kitchen & Bar to try his
luck at the Italian Challenge.
Started by the Mediterranean eatery over 15 years ago, the challenge involves consuming
seven pounds of Italian food in under 90 minutes without leaving the table.
The feast includes practically every classic Italian-American dish you can imagine, plus
an apple crisp with ice cream for dessert — because who can forget dessert?
Every dish comes showered in sauce, cheese, or both.
At the time of filming, 300 people had attempted the Italian challenge, and only 20 had succeeded.
When Richman took on the 10-course Italian dinner in season three, episode 15, he started
out by combining different dishes to accelerate the eating process.
"I'm going to turn this loaf of bread, a loaf, mind you, into a chicken Parmesan hero."
At the 40 minute mark, however, the courageous competitor hit a wall and switched to the
apple crisp dessert.
He was able to finish the dessert before realizing he couldn't still finish the spaghetti, when
he was 65 minutes in.
“Andy you're a kind man and a good chef, you make wonderful food and I'm sorry I chose
to eat all of it in one night."
With a heavy heart, Richman admitted defeat and hung his photo on the wall of shame.
Let's go to season two, episode seven, to Richman's most controversial challenge — the
Fire in Your Hole challenge at Munchies 420 Cafe in Sarasota.
Before Richman, the challenge had a 95 percent failure rate.
The staff refused to tell Richman or the crew what the contest entailed beforehand.
"Will I face off against the nearly 10 pound Super Fat Daddy?
Or perhaps the mac n cheese filled Fat Sandy?"
Once the camera was rolling, the challenge was revealed to be five ultra-hot wings slathered
in ghost chili sauce.
The ghost chili pepper is among the hottest in the world, and over 100 times spicier than
the average jalapeno.
"Oh wow, oh wow you breathe it in and it's like you have a sea urchin lodged like right
here."
Shortly after he started, Richman was forced to forfeit the competition.
"Only two wings in and I'm on the verge of passing out."
Even after taking a surrendering sip of milk, the foodie remains visibly in pain, his eyes
watering and his lips red.
As it turns out, Richman may have been a victim of foul play.
The crew had miked the restaurant employees, who revealed they'd poured an entire bottle
of Jet Black Ghost Chili extract in the sauce in order to, quote, "blow him out."
"The reason why I'm especially mad, it's not because of my record, I don't give a s--t
about that.
It's that it's cavalier and very dangerous."
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