For some strange reason, eating challenges are becoming immensely popular. Competitive eating challenges initially began at county fairs in America, but there are now numerous eating challenges across the UK, with quite a few based in Edinburgh. If you enjoy partaking in these insane challenges or want to know where you can get the most food your money can buy, then check out these challenges in Edinburgh.

 1. The King of the Seas Supper

This massive fish supper contains a staggering 10,000 calories (women are recommended to eat 2,000 calories a day, and for men, it is 2,500). You can find this challenge at the Apex Hotel on the Grassmarket, and it costs just £20 to attempt, but the dish is free to anyone who is willing to sing for it. As well as your fish and chips the supper comes with tartar sauce, pickled fennel, minty mushy peas and a drink of your choosing. This challenge is so extreme that no one has been able to finish it alone as of yet!

2. Ultimate Burger Challenge

This challenge is based at the American inspired bar and diner City Café on Blair Street and will set you back £35 to attempt. The challenge has to be completed within 45 minutes and consists of eating the entire burger bun, which contains three meat patties and the sides that accompany it. If you manage to eat all that food within the time limit, your meal will be free of charge! We recommended City Café for a visit even if you are not planning on taking part in this challenge because the restaurant offers great burgers and has a great atmosphere.

3. Chilli Challenge

This eating challenge may be the hardest to succeed in out of the whole bunch! You have a total of fifteen minutes to finish the spicy hotdog, burger and chilli cheese fries on your plate, so you will have to be able to handle the heat to finish this meal! To try this challenge at Boozy Cow in Frederick Street will cost you £28.50, but like many other challenges is free of charge if you many to finish it. Unlike the King of the Seas Supper, this challenge has a much higher success rate of 26%, so why not give it a try?

4. Taco Mazama’s Giant Burrito

This is not just any ordinary burrito; this is Taco Mazama’s tripe burrito! If you can finish this massive meal in just ten minutes, you will get your meal for free and your picture up on the restaurant’s wall. At the end of the year, the fastest winner at each Taco Mazama restaurant will compete against each other, and the winner will get a year’s worth of free burritos. Worth a shot if you ask me for only £14.99.

5. Steak’s Man V Steak Challenge

Before you can even begin this challenge, you have to sign a contract saying that you absolve the restaurant of any responsibility if you fall unwell due to attempting the challenge! If you are still willing to go ahead with the challenge, you will get a 90 oz rump steak with five sides and three sauces. There is more incentive to finish this one to get the meal for free, as it costs £160 to attempt.

 6. Kismot Killer Curry

This challenge is most definitely not for the faint-hearted, having hospitalised two people back in 2011, it is perhaps Edinburgh’s scariest eating challenge. One of the participants who was hospitalised, Curie Kim said that “: “It was very painful and felt like I was being chainsawed in the stomach with hot sauce on the chainsaw.” The curry in question consists of seventeen of the world’s spiciest chillies, and you must tell the restaurant a day in advance if you are planning to undertake this challenge. This challenge costs £19.95 but is free if you manage to finish it without being hospitalised.

7. Wing’s ‘Suicide Challenge’

To complete this ‘suicide challenge’ you will need to eat six chicken wings with their spiciest sauces on top of them. This challenge is best suited to those who love everything spicy, for there will be no sour cream to offer your taste buds relief during this difficult challenge!