Grease is the word

6:21pm Tuesday 1st July 2008

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It is the mother of all breakfasts.

A 4,500 calorie behemoth containing a packet of bacon, two jumbo sausages, two eggs, tins of beans, mushrooms and tomatoes and a fried slice.

“A lot of people come to eat the Blowout but very little succeed. The bravado soon wears off when the bell rings and they see the waitress struggling under the weight of the huge breakfast.”

Farouk Hassanein

The Blowout - although perhaps more suitably nicknamed heart-attack-on-a-plate - is the brainchild of Farouk Hassanein, owner of the Fat Boys cafe in Thornton Heath.

For £7.75, customers are treated to possibly one of the biggest breakfasts in London.

And if you clear your plate you don't pay the bill.

Thornton Heath's gut-busting breakfast draws in roughly 100 customers a week trying to brave the mountain of food that is cooked for them.

According to Mr Hassanein, of the 100 people who try to conquer the Blowout, no more than two a week actually do.

Mr Hassanein said: "A lot of people come to eat the Blowout but very little succeed. The bravado soon wears off when the bell rings and they see the waitress struggling under the weight of the huge breakfast."

The 42-year-old trained accountant started the business 12 years ago and has now expanded to other areas around London and other lines of work.

He said: "A lot of our customers are either local or repeat customers so over the years we have tried hard to get the whole community involved in the cafe. We feed everyone, doctors, nurses, accountants, builders and children, but it's the bigger lads and the builders who go for the Blowout.

"I like to think of the cafe as a hub of the community so a lot of our offers are geared around the family.

As part of the chain's expansion, Mr Hassanein is shortly taking stock of a new line of t-shirts with "I Beat the Blowout" printed on them.

Watch Harry tuck in

Fat's your lot: Harry Miller tells of his attempt to Beat the Blowout

Many men would cower at the thought of devouring what has to be one of London's biggest breakfasts - and rightly so.

Fatboy's Cafe owner Farouk Hassanein admits there is a only a certain breed who can take on the Blowout.

I thought I was that breed.

When my editor asked me to take on the challenge, I was so confident I could do it, I cockily volunteered to eat two.

Then I saw the plateful.

Mountains of artery-hardening fried bacon, eggs, sausages piled on to a 15 inch plateful of chips surrounded by tinfuls of beans, mushrooms and tomatoes. The fried slice garnish was overkill, at best.

I admit I was worried and sought advice from colleagues. "Eat quickly, your stomach won't know it's full" or "eat the vegetables first, it's the only way" came their responses.

Things took a turn for the worse though when I came face-to-face with the platter of food I would have to put away.

After mentally preparing myself for a huge amount of food a bell sounded in the back kitchen to announce that the Blowout was ready.

The massive plate of fried food was brought to me by a waitress who looked like she might buckle under its weight. My fellow diners, including a group of builders, laughed heartily at the sight of my slight frame about to devour the monster portions.

As the plate was laid before me the reality of what I was about to do finally hit me.

I started with the sausage and tried to cram as much in as possible.

Lunging at the food as if I hadn't eaten in a month, a voice in my head, reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi, said: "Eat it fast Harry, just keep going."

I soldiered through the chips and the bacon until 10 minutes in I started to dramatically slow down.

Worried I wasn't eating enough in the time I had been advised, I tried to quicken my pace.

My guts began to lurch and, after two eggs, two sausages, beans, chips, four rashers of bacon and a few mouthfuls of the fried slice, I was on the brink of seeing my breakfast again.

I was forced to take deep breaths and sips of water as I sat staring at my plate which still looked as if I had barely touched it.

When I could barely take a nibble from the edge of the fried slice I knew I had been defeated.

Mr Hassanein consoled me. "I never thought you were going to eat it but you made a very good attempt," he commiserated.

I had been beaten by a worthy adversary and I admitted defeat with dignity and grace. Mr Hassanein declared himself the winner and happily accepted my money.

I slunk out of the cafe bloated and deflated at the same time.

I will never live this down...