SYDNEY — The mere thought of eating a six-pound donair would be daunting to all but those with the largest of appetites.
But on Sunday, two big-eaters showed up at Alexandra’s Restaurant in Sydney, where they smashed the existing record for devouring the giant portion of one of Nova Scotia’s favourite foods.
Prince Edward Island resident Joel Hansen, who went into the challenge as the only person to successfully consume the mega-donair in under an hour, and professional eater and bodybuilder Randy Santel went bite for bite as they devoured the tasty food in less than 15 minutes. Hansen, who set the previous record of 28 minutes and 20 seconds, was clocked at 14 minutes and 39 seconds, while Santel was five seconds slower. However, it appeared the Missouri-born Santel, who stands six-foot-five and weighs 296 pounds, may have let up to allow his dining partner to finish first on his home turf.
Both well-toned Hansen and the larger, but equally fit, Santel are extremely health conscious, with the former working on a master’s degree in health and nutrition, and the latter travelling around the world as a competitive eater while operating Atlas and Zeus, a company promoting restaurants, food challenges, health and fitness.
“You have to prepare for an eating challenge — you can’t just sit down and eat huge amounts of food unless you prepare for it,” said Santel, who has now claimed an astonishing 612 eating challenges around the globe.
“We learn to stretch our stomachs so we can accommodate the food and, of course, we drink a lot of water.”
In fact, the day before the donair challenge, the former overweight child and university football player travelled with Hansen to Prince Edward Island, where the two each consumed a 72-ounce steak.
While the pair made short work of the humungous creations cooked up by Alexandra’s staff, those who gathered to watch the challenge could only look on in astonishment as the mountainous donairs, served with the works including the special sauce, were carried in on giant pizza pans.
“I love eating but I don’t think I am quite ready to do what these guys can do,” admitted Glace Bay resident Mike Dunn, who has been following Santel on Facebook for the past six months.
For the record, Dunn correctly predicted that the pair would finish off their donairs within 20 minutes.
Eskasoni resident Austan Johnson attempted the challenge just two weeks ago, but was defeated by the clock.
“Everybody said I only had a couple of bites left and I would have done it, but I couldn’t get it done — it was the fullest I have ever been,” said Johnson, who plans to try the challenge again.
By successfully completing the challenge, Hansen and Santel won a year’s supply of food from Alexandra’s, T-shirts and $500, that they each donated to Sydney’s Loaves and Fishes Society. And, of course, they attained a place on the restaurant’s hall of fame.
For Loaves and Fishes executive director Marco Amati, the $1,000 donation was one of the most interesting he has ever accepted.
“Like always, we are extremely grateful for any donations, but this one was different,” said Amati, who was on hand for the challenge.
“This one is pretty amazing because it involves eating food, lots of food and, of course, we are there to provide food for those who need it — I’ll remember this one for sure.”
Restaurant owner Justin Ayre said events such as the challenge help spice up Sydney’s culinary scene.
“It’s a lot of fun — people love donairs, but most people couldn’t eat one that size,” said Ayre. “It really is something to see these guys eat — that was a lot of food.”
Following Hansen and Santel’s success, another patron known as Magic Mitch sat down to try to break the newly set record. He gave it a valiant attempt, but came in a two-and-a-half minutes late with a time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds.
