Do meals come any bigger than this?

The Bridgwater Steak House in Penel Orlieu is serving up a dish offering 44 ounces of meat on a single plate.

It includes a full rack of barbecue ribs, an 8oz rump steak, an 8oz gammon steak, two lamb chops, two pork loin chops, four homemade sausages, two eggs, two pineapple rings, four onion rings, four mushrooms, a grilled tomato, coleslaw and chips.

Anybody who finishes the dish will receive an extra large t-shirt, and a free dessert, but Mercury reporters Rory McKeown and David Hemming, and photographer Jeff Searle, had to team up to polish off their plate when they were invited to be the first to try it.

Although the meal contains roughly double the recommended daily calorie intake for an average man, restaurant owner Andrew Danniells insisted it was all about having fun.

He said: “I smoke but could that cause a heart attack? They say red wine is bad for you too. Red meat is good for you and if someone wants to eat all that, it is going to be a big bloke anyway.”

Here's what reporters Rory and David made of the mammoth meal.

David Hemming

I LOVE a good steak as much as the next man - unless the next man is a vegetarian.

But when I heard about the local steakhouse's monster meat challenge I wondered if I would be man enough to tackle it.

Still, there was only one way to find out and that was by heading down there and looking the giant platter straight in the eye, oh, and bring two Mercury colleagues along to help.

Having eaten nothing for at least four whole hours hunger was kicking in, and when the almighty feast was brought out to our table the old adage 'your eyes are bigger than your belly' could not have been more appropriate.

Unfortunately in my case my eyes aren't particularly small, but nor is my belly.

Anyway the three of us tucked in and after a few chips, a couple of scoops of coleslaw, and a sample of the various meats on show - with some healthy pineapple thrown in - I was spent.

Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious but as for beating the meat…it will take a better man than me.

Rory McKeown

MY heart sank when I caught a glimpse of manager Andrew Danniells ushering his way to our table with the gargantuan Meat Feast. It is truly a sight to behold.

Luckily, I had my sidekicks David Hemming and Jeff Searle with me to tuck in to the mammoth meal after deciding we're not brave enough to eat it on our own.

I love my food and I can eat a lot in one sitting but even I had to admit defeat just by looking at it.

As a three, we just about managed to scoff the lot. It was delicious but I don't think even two people could successfully tackle it.”

Calorie Counter: A rough guide

full rack of barbecue ribs - 1467 8oz rump steak - 304 8oz gammon steak - 320 two lamb chops - 246 two pork loin chops - 360 four homemade sausages - 600 two eggs - 210 two pineapple rings - 300 four onion rings - 200 four mushrooms -160 a grilled tomato - 32 coleslaw - 147 portion of chips - 956 Total - 5,302 (more than double daily recommended allowance for the average man)