Hamish, our waiter, seated me and gave me a set of the rules, making sure that this was going to be a fair fight. By far the toughest part of this contest is the 10-minute time limit and the mac and cheese loaded fries, which means you can’t just scoff your face with potato goodness.
You know that you’ve made the right choices in life when you receive a call on a Friday Afternoon asking if you could take on a burger challenge over the weekend.
After seeing the many challengers take down the Ainslie Football and Social Club’s Monster Burger Challenge 1.0, I was extremely keen to take down the revamped 2.0 version (and no it had nothing to do with indulging at Capital Brewing Co’s event on Saturday).
Let me set the scene here, the challenge I took on was a 360g Chicken Schnitzel cut in half served in a milk bun with lettuce, double bacon, double cheese, battered onion rings, fried egg, pineapple, aioli & BBQ sauce served with a bowl of mac & cheese loaded fries & a pint of Carlton United Breweries beer! (I picked Carlton Dry, I have to watch my carbs).
If chicken isn’t your thing, there is also a beef option.
Gavin Newland the Senior Marketing and Communications Coordinator of the Ainslie Group said the revamped challenge is the club listening to the people.
“We heard that the burger wasn’t big enough, so we made it bigger!” Newland said.
“We heard the time wasn’t tough enough, so we made it tougher.”
I walked into the Ainslie Football Club on Sunday night pumped up after watching Canberra United’s win over Melbourne City at McKellar Park.
You’ll be asked what beer you want to down as part of the challenge, and they are all Carlton United Brewery brands – an option of Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Carlton Dry and Great Northern.
Then comes the food and it’s go time, as Nick Cummins would say I was going to be ‘busier than a one-armed bricklayer in Baghdad’. My one bit of advice for the challenge would be to take a moment to compose yourself, let the food cool down a touch because this isn’t any ordinary burger, it’s a double loaded beast.
I won’t give away the secret to how I attacked the challenge, but I managed to get the burger, loaded fries and pint of beer down in 6:50.94. Making me the first person to not only complete the new challenge but give everyone who takes on the challenge something to chase (I also scored the cool t-shirt).
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the food was the burger, when devoured, can lose its flavour and become less enjoyable. It wasn’t the case with this burger, with the bacon cooked to perfection, the onion rings adding something extra and the aioli complimenting the beautiful Schnitzel.
For those thinking about taking down my record, I say bring it on.
Ainslie Football Club Monster Burger Challenge
Where: Ainslie Football and Social Club
When: The competition runs until Sunday, November 25th
Cost: $25
If you Beat the Burger: You will receive a Limited Edition Monster Burger Challenge T-Shirt, your victory photo on the Wall of Fame, and priceless bragging rights. Plus whoever destroys the burger in the fastest time by the end of the competition will win a $50 Ainslie Dining Voucher.
