Footballer defeated in man v 92oz slab of meat challenge

IT Was an epic battle of Man vs Food – in one corner a professional footballer, in the other a 92oz steak twice the size of his face.

Livingston FC midfielder Keaghan Jacobs took on the challenge of a super cut of beef in the name of charity – but sadly in the end food was 
victorious.

He may have racked up several hundreds of pounds in fundraising, but the 23-year-old South African was left gutted and gut-busted after he failed to devour the meaty feast as part of Steak restaurant’s chomp-heavy challenge.

The restaurant, on Picardy Place, launched the gargantuan eating feat earlier this year, encouraging diners to devour the huge rib-eye steak in an hour, along with five filling size dishes – and no helpers allowed.

Jacobs has so far raised more than £800 for the Macmillan Cancer Care Unit, but despite his impressive effort, almost a third of the steak was left on the plate after an hour-long challenge.

The first 20 minutes of the challenge – the first and only time it has been taken up at Steak so far – were a breeze for the fit footballer, but it quickly became a chomping chore, especially as the chips and other carbs came into play.

Although his brother, teammates and family cheered him on, Jacobs had to loosen his belt after 45 minutes of solid chewing on the rare steak, then lay down across the seats and declared: “Enough.”

Despite banging his knife and fork hungrily on the table at 8pm yesterday, and smiling happily for the cameras as he chomped down on the first bites, he admitted defeat 
eventually and accepted the leftovers in a doggy bag.

He said, showing his gut: “I’m so tired. I’ve got training at 9am tomorrow. I don’t want to eat. I’m going to fall asleep.

“I’m glad I did this but I underestimated the steak. It was huge. I need to sleep.”

The footballer, who is currently injured and so unable to play in Livingston’s match on Saturday, added: “I think they overcooked the steak, that’s why I couldn’t eat it.”

His mum’s partner, Eddie, who organises a golf day every year for the charity, said he was proud of the effort. “I couldn’t do it. It’s a great attempt. He’s skinny but he eats big portions. That steak is something else.”

Steak head chef, Jason Wright, said he had come up with the challenge after watching Adam Richman’s Man v Food TV show. He said: “My tip would be to have the steak medium or well done, because that way it shrinks. I couldn’t do it, but I think it can be done.”

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