A Calgary man has undertaken the most Canadian challenge of all food challenges, in celebration of perhaps the most Canadian holiday of all time.
For Poutine Week last month, Kyle MacQuarrie said he would attempt to eat a whopping 49 poutines in seven days. That’s seven different meals of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds, for seven straight days.
If any Canadian could have done it, though, it’s MacQuarrie, who has already earned his reputation as an extreme eater. Not only did he wolf down 30 pizzas during last fall’s Pizza Week, but he also ate an amazing 36 Calgary Stampede breakfasts (which are large pancake breakfasts served during Canada’s largest rodeo) last year over the course of 10 days. This, he said, will be his greatest food challenge yet.
“It’s such a dense food,” MacQuarrie told the Metro. “I have no doubts this is definitely going to be the hardest.”
The density, however, was not the only problem he’d have to deal with. The size of each gravy-covered meal could also prove to be a big challenge. According to a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, portion sizes have increased all over the place between 1977 and 1996. MacQuarrie, it seems, is well aware of this fact.
“Until Saturday, I had no idea what portion sizes would be,” he told the Metro. “If I can get half portions at places, I’m confident I can do it. If I’m having to eat the full-sized portions, it will be very much up in the air.”
While the gastronomic feat of strength might have seemed like just a silly challenge, MacQuarrie’s poutine adventure was not without good cause. Proceeds from each of the poutine meals he bought and ate during Poutine Week went towards buying one free meal for a disadvantages Calgarian, through the charity Mealshare.