Canadian Chef Breaks World’s Biggest Burger Record

O Canada! Move over, Jim Carrey.  Step aside, Barenaked Ladies.  Time’s up, Wayne Gretzky.  There’s a new “biggest thing ever” to come out of the Great White North.  And it’s got a hundred-pound bun.

That’s the new World’s Biggest Burger, or at least that’s the title it’s expected to claim when the Guinness folks get done adding up the totals.  The 590-pound cheeseburger was cooked up in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square last week by Canadian barbecue chef and “food entertainer” Ted Reader.

Reader, the man that GQ has dubbed “the crazy Canuck barbecue kingpin,” started the 300-pound beef patty at 4am on Thursday and had the behemoth burg ready by noon.  It was cooked on a specially-designed grill that took manufacturer (and Ted Reader sponsor) Napoleon Gourmet Grills over 3 months to construct.  The “Monster Grilling Machine” even featured a hydraulics-enhanced forklift mechanism to flip the burger midway during cooking.  “I’m amazed that we got it out of the grill and onto the bun,” Reader said.  “That was the whole trickiness to it, but it’s held together.  It’s edible.  It’s delicious.“   Ted, who- according to his website- is known for his “pyrotechnic charm and fearless culinary spirit,” then helped apply over 150 pounds of condiments.

Reader’s 10-member cooking crew went to work next with the toppings.

Over 50 pounds of cheese were used.  Along with 30 pounds of lettuce, 20 pounds of onions, 12 pounds of pickles, and more.

When all was said and done, the burger tipped the scales at more than a quarter of a ton, making the previous record holder, the Absolutely Ridiculous Burger served up by Mallie’s Sports Bar & Grill outside of Detroit, look like a dollar-menu slyder.  “All I want today is to build the world’s biggest burger, and so we’ll try to break the record,” Reader explained.  Putting his monster meat mound into perspective, he said, “The size is more than 300 times the burger we eat every day.”

After a round of photo ops, the super-duper-sized sammie was auctioned off for charity, with proceeds benefitting Camp Bucko, a camp program for kids with burn injuries.  The winning bidder paid $7,500 to go home with the towering takeout order.  (Yikes.  And I thought I knew a little something about overpaying for a burger.)  “All I did is for fun,” added Reader, “…and the burger helped me to find fun.”

Reader is currently touring Canada to promote his new cookbook, Napoleon’s Everyday Gourmet Burgers, and says that the 590-pound cheeseburger will be offered as a regular menu item through his catering company.

*Photos by Patrick Bell/The Canadian Press and Zou Zheng/Xinhua

Share This Page:

•