One of the best things about traveling is trying out the local food, but for popular British YouTuber Adam Moran, it’s more of a quest. 

Each week, more than six million followers of Beard Meats Food can watch him attempt to conquer various food challenges from around the globe. Everything from whole pizzas to gallons of ice cream are gulped down in a matter of minutes with restaurant workers, customers, and social media followers cheering him on. But was he a match for the places he visited on his recent trips through the Beehive State?

The answer is yes. Yes he was. Moran worked his way from Logan to St. George, one bite at a time. Heading north from Las Vegas, he dropped into John G’s Pizzeria in St. George where he ate a 28” pizza in less than 28 minutes. According to Gabriel Graham, a shift leader at the pizzeria who was working that day, Moran made it look easy. 

“He came in and did it solo, in an incredibly quick time — I want to say it was around 15 minutes. He just came in, was all about his business, set up his camera, did his thing, ate the pizza, said ‘Thanks,’ and that was it.”

His stop at Provo’s Sensuous Sandwich was also like a quick snack as his video showed him downing a 24″ sub with at least one meat and one cheese in a third of the 30-minute time frame — something more than 1000 people have attempted since 1980. While Moran is good at making it look easy, there is one type of food that tends to be harder than others: ice cream.

Jamie Brooker, co-owner of the Revolutionary War themed Brooker’s Founding Flavors in Riverton, knows that what seems like just a giant treat usually ends up being a giant battle. The “Liberty Bell Monumental Sundae,” for example, served in a smaller replica of the Liberty Bell, consists of 13 scoops of ice cream (one for each of the 13 original colonies), a variety of eight toppings, not including cherries and tons of whipped cream. Moran devoured it within the allotted time of 18 minutes and 16 seconds. 

“My honest opinion, because I’ve seen it 500 times, is that it is so much fun for the first three bites, and then it hits you,” she said. “There’s so much hype, you’re so excited, everyone’s excited, and then after the third bite, you’re like, okay, I’ve got work to do.”

Each food challenge in Utah gained an average of 4 million views so with that kind of international visibility, was there a residual effect for these local businesses? Of the five places featured on Beard Meats Food so far this year, four responded that they had noticed an initial wave of guests mentioning that they had seen their restaurant on the show. 

While specific data linking an uptick in sales or customers taking on the challenge wasn’t available, owners and managers believed the show’s notoriety had sparked additional local interest, occasional visitors from out of town, and even another YouTube food challenge celebrity from the show, FreakEating. But for the most part, business was back to usual. 

Ty Ashton, owner of Ashton’s Burger Barn in Delta explained, “I would say we probably get a couple [of  challenges] a week. Some weeks are busier than others, but especially after [Moran] came, we’ve done a few more.” 

While the video on Beard Meats Food recorded that he completed the “Meathead Burger Challenge,” with a time of 11:03, Ashton shared that for the last minute, Moran filled up his drink and talked with the staff. “He would have had it done in like nine minutes and 30 seconds,” says Ashton. That’s eight quarter-pound patties (or a two-pound burger) each with cheddar cheese on it, and a pound of fries to be consumed in 30 minutes or less. “I feel like ours probably wasn’t as challenging as I wanted it to be, but he still said it was pretty hard,” said Ashton.

While there is no time limit to the “Clean-the-Sink Challenge,” at Angie’s Restaurant in Logan, Moran managed to finish the task in under 21 minutes, which is impressive when you consider the size of this mammoth dessert. Manager Richard Jimenez says, “It’s honestly just a big ice cream sundae in a way. You get almost a gallon of ice cream, and you get two bananas, your choice of three toppings, and it comes with whipped cream, cherries, and a nut if you want.” 

For the past 25 years, locals and visitors alike have visited the college town to share the ice cream sink with friends, making it even more impressive that Moran finished it solo. 

Overall, the Beard Meats Food star earned three t-shirts, one hat, three free meals, one bumper sticker, one spot on a wall of fame, and one new record as well as the inevitable millions of new views on his channel. But what did the restaurants themselves gain? 

“I had 6 million people, or whatever, have an opportunity to watch my restaurant be put on YouTube and put on the map — and I think that’s super cool,” said Ashton.

“I think actually, for us, the biggest benefit mainly was with our employees,” said Graham. “Our employees really loved to see the different kinds of people that were coming in, and someone that you know has a big name on YouTube. They already were excited to work at a good pizza shop with good food, and then that was just the cherry on top for them.”

The places Moran chose weren’t popular tourist destinations, though some, like Angie’s Restaurant and Provo’s Sensuous Sandwich, have been fan favorites for decades. Ashton’s Burger Barn, which didn’t even start as a restaurant, now has two locations offering the Meathead Burger Challenge. Others like John G’s Pizzeria are celebrating their first year in business, and Brooker’s Founding Flavors is bursting with new franchise momentum. 

But they were all doing what they do best: offering great food to loyal customers whose praise and word-of-mouth caught the attention of a famous YouTuber passing through their town and making stops that ended up proving they’re worth the trip.

Feature Image illustration by Michael Lindsay.