Cafe creates new burger challenge
A Geraldine cafe which received nationwide attention after challenging diners to finish a whopping two-kilogram burger has gone one step further, creating the country’s hottest chilli burger.
Big eaters flocked to the Geraldine Central Licensed Cafe in the hope of finishing The 2kg Gotham burger, after owners Carl and Holly Nicolson launched a challenge in October which saw those who could stomach the entire burger eat free.
Now the cafe has a new offering on its menu.
With meat patties weighing in at 750 grams, 250g less than The Gotham’s hefty 1kg of meat, the much hotter Meet the Reaper challenges diners on another front.
Holly Nicolson said the latest $55 menu addition included chopped pieces of three of the hottest chillies in the world - Reaper, Scorpion Maruga and Ghost.
With the same rules and reward as its predecessor, diners must finish the chilli burger, a side of fiery chicken wings laced with Fire Dragon Sauce and a chocolate chilli milkshake within a strictly enforced 30 minute timeframe, she said.
While the Meet the Reaper burger has less meat than its pre- decessor, the total weight of the food in the challenge is the same.
Nicolson said her husband Carl Nicolson had designed the recipe for the new burger after much research and said he was confident it is the hottest burger challenge in New Zealand.
He imports the chillies Reaper, Maruga Scorpion and Ghost used in the burger, she said.
The Scoville scale which is used for measuring the intensity of chillies has jalapeno at 2500 to 5000 units which is very mild in comparison to the one-two million units each of the chillies used the new burger measure.
Despite its fiery ingredients and ‘Battle of the Burn’ slogan, four customers had managed to finish the burger since the new challenge was launched, she said.
Youth sports coach Ben McCullam scoffed it in 19 minutes and 47 seconds, while Kelvin Woods used a ‘bite big chunks and swallow whole’ technique downing the meal in just 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
‘‘None of them had succeeded with the Gotham Burger challenge,’’ Holly Nicolson said.
And all of them were visiting from Christchurch which Nicolson believes is an advantage.
‘‘We’re country bumpkins and prefer plain food.’’