An Ice Cream Sundae Bigger Than Your Head? One Midwestern Creamery Is Up For The Challenge

After years of watching Adam Richman tackle monstrous meals on "Man V Food" each week on TV, many find themselves morbidly curious about whether they can defeat a large serving of food for a free meal, a t-shirt, and a whole lot of glory. Midwesterners who fancy themselves ice cream fanatics and are looking for a challenge are in luck. Kearsley Kone, a shop located in Genesee Township, Michigan, offers a gargantuan 6.5-pound sundae to anyone willing to take it on. The task, fittingly titled the "Extreme Sundae Challenge," demands that participants complete the entirety of the dessert in less than 30 minutes in order to claim victory.

While 6.5 pounds of ice cream on its own would be difficult to finish in the allotted time, Kearsley Kone makes things even more challenging by loading the dish up with as many toppings as you could imagine. Alongside the 13 total scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream comes Snickers, M&M's, Kit Kats, and Reese's, chocolate, caramel, and strawberry sauce, cookies, peanut butter wafers, whipped cream, a cherry, and a waffle cone with an additional scoop of ice cream in it all on top of a large Belgian waffle. The Michigan shop's challenging dessert should be among the most over-the-top sundaes you'll ever see.

Finishing the entire dessert in just one sitting — let alone in under 30 minutes — is no easy task, but it's not impossible. Unlike the handful of food challenges that were able to go undefeated for an incredibly long time, it took merely two years after the Extreme Sundae Challenge's 2023 debut for someone to beat it. Competitive eater and YouTuber, Jacob Williams, also known as JAWsome Eats, was able to defeat the gargantuan sundae in 29 minutes and 44 seconds, becoming the first person to ever complete the challenge — although he was only able to do so after previous attempts resulted in failure. 

Beyond bragging rights, winners of the competition also receive a free t-shirt and their name on the shop's challenge wall. They also get their finished sundae free of charge. The last benefit is especially noteworthy, as Kearsley's extreme dessert costs $25 — down from $30 in previous years — if you can't finish it in time, thus making your failure all the more disappointing. Unfortunately, if you were planning on visiting the Michigan ice cream shop in the fall or winter to attempt the challenge, you're likely out of luck. Kearsley Kone closes its doors for the summer at the end of September each year, meaning your next opportunity to experience the Extreme Sundae Challenge won't be until the shop reopens the following spring.