Food Challenges Even Adam Richman Couldn't Beat

Some men are born to fly rocket ships. Other men are born to write code for software companies.

Adam Richman was born to eat food. The original host of the Travel Channel's iconic Man v. Food television show, Richman traveled the country taking on some of the most famous and formidable food challenges. Like a hairy, ever-ballooning superhero, he boldly tackled towers of oysters and 30-pound pizzas. He gobbled down atomic hot wings and slurped fiery chili. He polished off massive sandwiches, guzzled monstrous milkshakes, and ate donuts the size of car tires. From humble origins as a mild-mannered, bit-part actor, Adam grew into a true king among competitive eaters over the course of four seasons — even though he was never a competitive eater before being on the show. Not only did he conquer some of the most monstrous and heat-packed dishes known to man, he did it all with humor, intelligence, enthusiasm, and style. The fact that he always had a huge crowd cheering him on probably didn't hurt either.

But just as Superman has been bested by his fair share of super villains over the years, Adam Richman didn't triumph over every one of his competitive eating contests. Here, we've listed some of the more insane food challenges that even Adam Richman — the mighty man of Man v. Food himself — couldn't beat. Could you?

Down in the central Texas town of Austin, Richman faced the Don Juan Challenge on season one, episode five. The tex-mex trial took place at Juan in a Million, an unassuming Mexican eatery that has been a eastside breakfast go-to since the '80s. The Mexican restaurant is renowned for its Don Juan El Taco Grande, a hearty, one-pound pile of potato, egg, bacon, and cheese wrapped in a warm, six-inch flour tortilla.

To beat the Don Juan Challenge, Richman had to break the record held by the previous champion, Christopher "Hong Kong Hero" Huang. Huang, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, had devoured a whopping seven tacos in one sitting.

In attempt to consume a record-breaking eight tacos, Adam took advantage of the fact that the competition had no time limit and took a lengthy siesta after his fourth taco. He started on taco number five two hours into the competition, and eventually realized he wouldn't be able to finish it in time for closing. Not wanting to keep any of the staff late, Richman nobly ceded the competition. The owner's son, Juan Jr. Meza, graciously awarded Richman "Celebrity Host Champion" for his valiant efforts. Currently, the record for the Don Juan Challenge is nine tacos for men, five for women, and four for celebrity hosts.

With many food challenges, the prize is comprised of having your picture posted on the wall of fame and perhaps a free T-shirt. With the Big Badass Burrito (B3) Challenge at the now-closed NASCAR Cafe in the former Hotel Sahara, the stakes were a little higher: The prize entailed a lifetime pass to the Sahara rollercoaster, Speed: The Ride... in addition to a wall of fame photo. 

To conquer the B3 Challenge, participants must finish off a two foot-long, six-pound burrito in under 90 minutes. The beefy burrito wraps four flour tortillas around shredded beef, beans, onions, and is topped with nacho cheese, enchilada sauce, and huge scoops of sour cream and guac. The burrito clocks in at over 5,000 calories and gets announced over the loudspeaker once it leaves the kitchen, like a fighter entering an arena.

When Richman attempted the challenge in season two, episode two, only two people out of more than 200 had successfully shovelled down the burrito in the allotted time. Richman demolished nearly two-thirds of the burrito within the first 15 minutes. About 35 minutes in, however, Adam hit "the dreaded wall." Adam is ultimately unable to finish off the final pound of the burrito and gets awarded a pink "certified weenie" T-shirt, which he dons with pride.

Later on in season three, our hungry hero journeyed to New Brunswick, New Jersey to take on the Fat Sandwich Challenge. The challenge was dreamed up by RU Hungry, one of Rutgers University's iconic grease trucks. The mobile eatery is known for their Fat Cat sandwiches, which are packed with hearty fillings like mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and beef salami.

To beat the Fat Sandwich Challenge, contestants must finish five (for males) or three (for females) Fat sandwiches of their choosing within 45 minutes. When Richman took a shot at the challenge, around 100 Rutgers students skipped class to witness the food titan in action. For his sandwich, Richman chose the Chicken Fat Cat, Veggie Fat Cat, Fat Romano, and two Fat Kokos, which all together weighed over seven pounds. But even with an audience of college truants on his side, Richman was unable to finish the five sandwiches in time. By the time his 45 minutes was up, the celeb had only finished four sandwiches.

For the sixth episode of season three, Richman journeyed to Arizona to to battle it out with giant sliders at Chompie's, a time-honored New York-inspired deli. At the restaurant's Tempe location, the champ took on the Ultimate Jewish Challenge. To win, participants have to eat a dozen of Chompie's Jewish sliders and a heap of fried onion strings in under 30 minutes.  The sliders pack challah buns with lean brisket, mini potato pancakes, and jack cheese and are paired with brown gravy for dunking. With the pound of onion strings included, the challenge totals five pounds of food.

During Richman's stab at the challenge, he annihilates all but one of his sliders before running out of time. In the Q&A session after the challenge, Richman laments the fact that he started out slowly, trying to savor the delicious sliders without keeping an eye on the clock. Since the Man v. Food attempt, a handful of customers have gone on to beat the Slider Challenge.

In the 10th episode of the third season, Richman visits Papa Bob's Barbecue in Kansas City to give the Ultimate Destroyer Challenge a go. The meaty challenge entails consuming a 12-inch hoagie stacked with the following: a half-pound of pulled pork, a half-pound of hickory-smoked sliced pork, two slices of bread, a half-pound of hickory smoked ham, a half-pound of hickory smoked turkey breast, two more slices of bread, three half half-pound hickory smoked hamburgers, a half-pound of hickory smoked brisket, and a half pound of lean, hickory smoked sausage. The whole thing is doused in Papa Bob's signature sauce, and paired with one and a half pounds of fries and four dill pickles or jalapeno peppers. To triumph over this mammoth pile of meat, contestants have to finish the whole meal within 45 minutes without bathroom breaks or dipping the food in drinks.

If it sounds like an impossible endeavor, it was — at least for our intrepid host. Richman managed to get down a little more than half the meal before the time ran out

For our last competitive eating tale, let's go back to season two, episode seven, to Richman's most controversial challenge — the Fire in Your Hole challenge at Munchies 420 Cafe in Sarasota. Before Richman, the challenge had a 95 percent failure rate.

So perilous was this food feat, the staff refused to tell Richman or the crew what the contest entailed beforehand. Once the camera was rolling, the challenge was revealed to be ten ultra-hot wings slathered in ghost chili sauce. The ghost chili pepper is among the hottest in the world, and over 100 times spicier than the average jalapeno.

Richman valiantly finishes two wings before forfeiting the competition, saying he is "on the verge of passing out." Even after taking a surrendering sip of milk, the foodie remains visibly in pain, his eyes watering and his lips red.

As it turns out, Richman may have been a victim of foul play. The crew had miked the employees, who revealed they'd poured an entire bottle of Jet Black Ghost Chili extract in the sauce in order to ensure he would lose.

Richman said later in an interview with Hot Ones on First We Feast that he wasn't upset because he lost. "It's that it's cavalier and very dangerous. They weaponize ghost chili extract in police grenades in India."

Richman has a pretty successful track record with spicy challenges, another factor that likely made the loss extra disappointing. His only other heat challenge loss was the Suicide Six Wing Challenge, which he later rectified in a rematch.