Salad dodger lost 4,500 calorie meal challenge because he didn’t eat his greens

A man’s refusal to eat his greens has resulted in him missing out on a £50 prize for completing a 4,500-calorie mixed grill challenge.

Food lover Dan came so close, yet so far at Cattlemans Steakhouse in Paignton, Devon, where he devoured a 20oz rump steak, 12oz of gammon, four sausages, three chicken wings, a chicken breast and a 6oz cheeseburger as part of a competition that gives contenders one hour to clear their plates.

He managed to polish off the lot, but his dislike of salad leaves and cucumber – easily the least calorific items on the plate – saw him disqualified.

Furious TikTok users slammed the restaurant for ‘taking the p**’ by denying his prize.

But others said Dan, who did not wish to share his surname, should simply ‘grow up’ and eat his greens.

A viewer named Liam Rose wrote: ‘For the sake of 50 quid you should have just grown up and ate it!’

But a user named Conor hit back: ‘So you’re telling me he munched all of that but when it got the salad he tapped out? Yeah, get a grip.’

The backlash has been such that Cattlemans has now invited Dan back to have another go at the monster meal, which also contains eggs, chips, onion rings, and fried mushrooms.

By not eating the entire smorgasbord, Dan not only missed out on the £50 prize -he also had to pay £50 for the meal. 

But the restaurant claims he was aware of the terms and ‘happy with the outcome’.

Owner Gary King said Dan could have swapped salad for extra chips if he had wanted, but he didn’t pipe up.

Mr King added that only eight of the 80 people to have attempted the challenge have been successful since Cattlemans added it to the menu 10 months ago.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘Dan was happy to pay as he knew he had failed the challenge.

‘But the press have twisted it and saying we refused to pay. We didn’t refuse, Dan was happy with the outcome. Now we are calling it Saladgate.’

He added that 45 million look at the steakhouse’s Facebook page every week and that a film crew was sent in from China to attempt another steak challenge.

‘We’ll broadcast the challenge on Facebook,’ he added. ‘Dan has been a bit dispirited but he has agreed to come back and try again… next time without salad.’