A CHEF has thrown down the gauntlet with a 10,500-calorie burger challenge.

Ben Purkiss, 31, has created the monster meal at The Lord Nelson, Trafalgar Street, Brighton.

Reporter Gareth Davies was the tenth person to take it on and got through about three-quarters of the beast.

Dubbed Nelson’s Column, it contains three 8oz beefburgers, five giant onion rings, lashings of BBQ sauce, 12 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, six slices of mature cheddar, two brioche buns smothered in home-made mayonnaise, an iceberg lettuce, a giant beef tomato, a pound of chips, four gherkins and 500g of coleslaw.

Challengers have an hour to finish the burger along with the sides, but there was still a quarter of the meal left on the plate when the buzzer sounded for Gareth. He was second best at the challenge, with no one having completed it.

Mr Purkiss said: “At one stage I was worried. About half the burger was gone and I thought the record was going to go. But the same thing happens – everyone hits that wall.”

Popularity has gone through the roof, according to the head chef, and he has a string of hungry customers lined up.

If diners complete the meal in time, they get their £30 back.

Mr Purkiss said: “Loads of people are talking about it and the hype was crazy on Facebook.

“Every time I bring one down the pub just stops and people take pictures of it.”

The idea stemmed from his previous job at an American diner, where foodies were treated to spicy chicken wing challenges.

After a number of requests, the 31-year-old is now working on a vegetarian option.

Profits from the challenge go to charity.

Gareth Davies writes...

ONCE again, I’ve failed.

When I saw this challenge, I really thought I could do it, and with 20 minutes gone chef Ben Purkiss was so worried I was going to be the first to complete the beast he got a congratulatory T-shirt for me.

He needn’t have bothered, because I spent the other 40 minutes battling stomach pains and trying not to be sick.

I’d read somewhere that you have 20 minutes until your stomach tells your brain it is full, so the plan was to eat as much as possible in that time and just fight through the rest.

I did the first bit OK as I managed about three-quarters of the burger, but the second bit was embarrassing.

After it took me ten minutes to eat one piece of burger, I knew I was in trouble – my body was having no more of it.

The worst part was the fact that two hours after the final whistle blew – I had rugby training.

The recipe

Three 8oz beefburgers

Five giant-sized onion rings

Lashings of BBQ sauce

Twelve rashers of streaky bacon

Six slices of mature cheddar

Two brioche buns smothered in home-made mayonnaise

One iceberg lettuce

One giant beef tomato

One pound of chips

Four gherkins 500g of coleslaw