Dad who ate 124 kebabs for charity names ‘best ever’ takeaway in Greater Manchester

A fast food fanatic Manchester dad has consumed a staggering 250,000 calories in a month after eating a whopping 124 kebabs at different restaurants - in just 31 days. Des Breakey, 36, who scoffed four meat wraps each evening as part of his “Kebabathon”, said the challenge had hurt him both “psychologically” and “physically”.

But the dad-of-two said he had felt a huge sense of “accomplishment” when he wolfed down his final kebab on Saturday - after raising over £1,000 so far for charity. The engineer, who even went without a roast dinner this Christmas to make space for kebabs, previously consumed 60 of the Middle Eastern dishes during a month in 2020.

And while Des now plans to “retire” from extreme eating challenges, he says he hasn’t become sick of kebabs and is planning to scoff more next weekend. He said: “It’s very much an accomplishment. I appreciate the support. But I’m not doing it again. This is my final dance. I’m now retiring.

“I have enjoyed it, but it’s hurt me physically. I’ve felt like crap. I’m not getting any fruit, no vegetables, and no nutrition. I couldn’t eat anything else. It was a breeze for the first two weeks. But the last two weeks it got a bit messy, not just physically but psychologically as well. There was pressure on getting there – I had to do it. I couldn’t let them down.

“But to be honest, I’m already planning to go out with my mates next week. I’ll never stop eating kebabs.”

Des began the epic eating challenge on 1 December, and travelled to different kebab shops each day in search of the wrapped meat dishes. He then tucked into four kebabs every evening - and even gave up his turkey roast over Christmas so he had space for the chilli-soaked rotisserie meat.

He said: “I was starving myself all day at work. I would finish at 5pm, and then I would be eating four kebabs. Sometimes I would be eating them in my mate’s car, some on the fly. The quickest I did it in was an hour and a half.”

He added: “I had kebabs for Christmas. I went to my mum’s. I love prawn cocktails as a starter, so I was gutted. But I didn’t want to give in. I was always going to do it.”

Des, who rotated between lamb, donor, chicken and mixed meats, said his favourite kebabs came from two different shops located in Oldham and Bolton.

He said: “It’s not an easy question, but Simply Fresh in Oldham is great. Basically, it’s in the name – simply fresh. They literally have an ‘OG’ charcoal grill. Literally, it’s just fire.

“They do everything, but the lamb is grand, but everything there is amazing. He added: “I had the best shawarma of my life the other day at Istanbul Shawarma in Bolton. It’s absolutely next level. It blew my socks off.”

Des said that he had spent hundreds of pounds of his own money on the kebabs, which ranged from £5 to £15, with others donated to him along the way. But the dad, who normally eats three kebabs a week, said the challenge hadn’t put him off the food and he was ready to get stuck into another bap the following weekend.

• Des is still collecting money for Francis House Children’s Hospice, with donations accepted here.