King of Donairs: Breaking his own record, man eats 24 of the Halifax delicacy in one sitting
Joel Hansen loves to push his body to the limits with a strict workout routine and competitive eating.
“Similar to if you want to be a marathon runner, you want to run a long-distance, you got to run, if you want to eat a lot of food, you got to eat," the professional eater explains.
"So a lot of training goes into it, believe it or not.”
In his most recent visit to Halifax, Hansen challenged himself to eat the most donairs ever in one sitting.
He wanted to break his previous unofficial world record of 19. which he completed in 2019.
“No one has ever eaten 24 King of Donairs or Halifax donairs, at all, of any donair in one sitting,” he says.
Nicholas Nahas owns King of Donair. On Tuesday night, he watched Hansen eat two dozen donairs at his Quinpool Road location – a new and impressive record.
"The amount of food he puts in, is not human," Nahas says.
"You know, I kind of thought since he was game on trying to break the record that he wouldn’t eat more than 19, but to go five over that, yeah, it was crazy.”
Like many, Nahas wonders how Hansen prepares for food challenges.
“I think exercise is very, very, important,” Hansen explains. “I try to be active every day whether it be going to the gym or going for a run. Diet is definitely … key, outside of these competitions, these videos, I eat very healthy. You know, fruits, vegetables, lean meats.”
On average, he’ll eat competitively about once a month, and he’s had the opportunity to travel around North America doing what he loves.
“If you’re going to have a Halifax donair, I decided to have 24 of them, I don’t recommend anyone ever try to eat that much,” he says. “But hey, when in Rome, and when in Halifax.”
And while Joel is arguably the King of Donairs, he isn’t done challenging himself with this Halifax delicacy.
He says he will be back to try and break his record.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.