They say the best things in life are free. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to sometimes work for them. “All-you-can-eat” challenges can be a fun way to score a cheap, or even free meal. They can go either way though. So you’ll probably want to be quite confident in your ability to gobble up a great deal of food before deciding to take part.

One man considered himself the master of a certain food challenge. He’d been taking part at the same diner for years. And had a reputation for consuming crazy amounts of the same dish. So when he visited the restaurant with a big group of friends, he was certain he’d be able to get their entire bill on the house. He wasn’t prepared to be catfished during the challenge, and took to an online community to share his story. Bored Panda caught up with him to find out more.

The man said he went to the restaurant often, and had even become friends with the owner

Image credits: zlotz / reddit (not the actual photo)

The owner had watched him eat his way through dozens of dishes of fish and chips, and knew what to expect when he walked through the door

Image credits: Drazen Zigic / freepik (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Tough-Painting6400

Food challenges have gained popularity in recent years with everything from big burgers to spicy chicken wings being consumed

The man had clocked up quite a record taking part in the restaurant’s catfish challenge. So we were curious to know whether he considered himself a competitive eater. And if he’d ever done similar stints at other eateries. “That is the one and only ‘all you can eat’ event I have ever done,” he told Bored Panda.

The customer’s story is set twenty years ago, but food challenges have been around since long before that. As Time reports, “the Edda, a collection of 13th-century Norse myths, tells of an eating contest between the god Loki and his servant (the servant won by eating the plate).” The American version of the face-stuffing “sport” is said to have began in 1916, at the first Fourth of July hotdog-eating contest in Coney Island.

These days, food contests are literally in a league of their own. There’s even a governing body called Major League Eating that oversee rules, regulations and safety when it comes to professional competitions. But of course, not everyone is a pro, and some amateurs also want a slice of the pie. That said, there’s no shortage of food challenge videos going viral on social media. And it seems the man is a fan of watching a few”There are some interesting food challenges on YouTube, like ‘Beard Meets Food’, that are very entertaining,” the man told  Those guys are impressive!

While eating challenges can be fun to take part in, or watch, there is a darker side many might not be aware of

Image credits: Artem Podrez / pexels (not the actual photo)

Humans are not actually meant to consume crazy amounts of food in a single sitting. Doing so could put you at risk. The man’s food-gobbling escapades were for fun and games. And fortunately, they never had a negative impact on his health or life. But not everyone has been that lucky. The Eat Feats database has dozens of cases of people dying during or after food challenges. From choking, to food allergies, food poisoning, and other unexpected causes, the dangers are clear.

In July, a Chinese influencer passed away while live-streaming her latest attempt to eat copious amounts of food. Pan Xiaoting was known for eating up to 22 pounds of food in non-stop sessions that could even last 10 hours. According to her autopsy, loads of undigested food was found in the 24-year-old’s stomach.

Malicious compliance cases often involve a bit of spite, and rarely see both parties smiling in the end

The Oxford Dictionary defines malicious as “having or showing a desire to harm somebody or hurt their feelings, caused by a feeling of hate.” While compliance means “the practice of obeying rules or requests made by people in authority.” Put together, malicious compliance is understood as following the rules perfectly, even though you know they’re going to have a negative outcome. Often, your intention is to teach the person in authority a cruel lesson.

But this story was quite different. The man told Bored Panda that most malicious compliance posts he’d come across involved a dark twist, and lacked grace. He was inspired to share his story to spread some love and kindness. “None of the malicious compliance stories I read were not hurtful to someone. I just thought my friend Pete had the perfect MC story,” he told Bored Panda during our chat.

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The man said he genuinely missed Pete the owner and chef, adding that “he was a great guy”

Image credits: Rene Terp / pexels (not the actual photo)

“The marina was a little on the shabby and rundown side but the food was excellent and the portions were more than adequate. Everyone who kept their boat at this marina helped out when things got busy,” he told us, as he reminisced on his time spent there. “Bus tables, pump gas, clean spills it did not matter, you just helped Pete whenever needed.”

He added that Pete sold the marina “somewhere around 1980 to a guy who was less than friendly and approachable”. And said that “most of the regulars either moved to another marina or, like me, sold their boat.” We asked him what the status of the diner is these days. “The restaurant has been closed for at least 20 years,” he replied rather sadly. “Several attempts by others have failed to revive it.”

The man said he remained in contact with Pete, even after he sold the place. “Pete opened a restaurant in a nearby town and retired in early 2000’s. I was a regular at his restaurant and was invited to all three of his daughter’s weddings.”

People loved this story and said as much in the comments

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