A group of intrepid third-years at Hertford College this term completed what they dubbed the ‘Chicken Challenge’, to establish whether they would be able to eat a chicken a day for a whole week.
The boys were confident in their ability to complete the challenge, with Japanologist Lawson Lancaster stating, “I occasionally eat the ready cooked whole chicken from Tesco after going to the gym some days so I didn’t think it would be that difficult.”
However, third-year medic Patrick Burke noted that only three of the original four participants made it to the end of the challenge, saying, “It was a shame that Jamie Beacom [an original member of the team] lost his head and chickened out. But the rest of us were – unlike our gastronomic exploits –game, and we got to the other side of the metaphorical road.”
Burke fully embraced the spirit of the challenge, telling Cherwell, “When people heard of our ideas to begin with, there was a resounding cry of ‘what the cluck?’. Maybe it wasn’t the breast idea. But with no poultry effort, and with the help of our friends egging us on, the idea really took (barbecue) wings.”
In order to complete the challenge, the boys consumed roast chicken in a variety of ways, incorporating curries, houmous, sandwiches, oranges and barbecue sauce.
Mathematician Dave Cheek noted, “Patrick was one of the more flamboyant challengers, putting a variety of fruit up each chickens’ arse.”
Despite the excess of chicken, Lancaster proclaimed his continued love of the meat. “I love chicken, we have a special romance. The chicken challenge was like going away with your partner on a holiday where you spend every waking moment with them, and you have a few arguments but once you get home you want to see them again the next day.”
Indeed, he ate chicken for dinner the day after the challenge was complete.
However, Burke also sounded a note of caution. Though he dubbed the challenge “memorable” and “entertaining,” he pointed out the negative effects of subsisting on whole chickens for a week: “I think the challenge was a bit of a silly thing to do really. It was quite expensive, time consuming and definitely bad for our health.
“A constant smell of chicken surrounded me and I was quite ill and drained for most of the week. Cooking, preparing and eating chicken takes all day long. You don’t get very much done on a chicken day.”
The challenge also offered the opportunity for philosophical reflection. In his video diary, Burke opines, “I can’t help but think about life. Isn’t life just like the chicken challenge? Some people might say, ‘Isn’t what you’re doing pointless? Why are you doing that?’ And to them I say, that may be true. But I’m going to do it anyway.”
