WATCH: Wolverhampton hot wings food challenge completed for first time
Twenty people had tried and failed before reporter James Vukmirovic took on Rodeos' Seven Deadly Wings challenge.
I've just finished the first wing and realised the scale of the challenge I'm doing as the burn begins.
I like spicy food, having a Naga chicken curry or hot and spicy squid when ordering takeway food and adding chilli pickle to most of the dishes I eat, but what I am taking on at Rodeos is another level.
The Seven Deadly Wings Challenge I am taking on is one of five challenges presented to diners at the Wolverhampton venue.
The American-style BBQ restaurant and bar has built a reputation since opening in March of providing favourites including pork belly, brisket and a Tomahawk steak so big it needs to be pre-ordered to give it time to be cooked.
It also has food challenges, which include an eight-steak burger challenge topped with bacon, cheese and onions; a metre-long hot dog covered in pulled pork, onions and bacon with a mountain of fries and two very large challenges with meat and ice cream.
The challenge I was set to take on involved eating seven chicken wings covered in homemade BBQ sauce and a pin prick of the hottest hot sauce in the world.
WATCH James take on the challenge here:
Rodeos owner Simon Parton explained: "We've got gloves ready as we need to make sure you're protected and, above all, don't touch your face or your eyes as they've certainly got a kick.
"I will say this, the people watching it will enjoy this challenge a lot more than you will.
"To date, we've had 20 people attempt it and no one has completed it, although one girl got close as she got past six wings before the time ran out."
The first indication of the severity of the task ahead for me is the disclaimer I am asked to sign which warns me of the extreme degree of heat I will be eating, as well as ensuring I know I am doing this at my own risk.
The document lists the rules, which include remaining seated throughout, not wiping the sauce off the chicken or drinking during the challenge and, if I complete the seven wings inside seven minutes, sitting for five minutes "burn time" before having a glass of milk.
Feeling a little weak at the knees, but determined to power through, I sign the document and take my seat as the wings are prepared, donning a cowboy hat and reading the ingredients on the hot sauce being used on the chicken wings.
Entitled "Hell Unleashed" and described as the world's hottest sauce, my mouth goes dry as I read that it is made of 9 Million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) Chilli Extract, Trinidad Scorpion Chillies and 13 Million SHU Chilli Extract.
Measured against the hottest chilli in the world, the Carolina Reaper, the sauce measures more than 5.3 million SHU, compared to 1.5 million SHU for the chilli, the sort of chilli used in police pepper sprays.
I can actually feel the wings being brought to the table, such is the heat coming off them, but there's no turning back now and I am determined to be the first person to complete the task, so I don the protective gloves and steel myself.
Simon told me the best strategy was to just go for it, so as soon as he begins the timer, I tear into the first wing and begin eating as quickly as I can.
The heat doesn't begin to kick in until after the second wing, starting as a tingle, but becoming more defined as I plough on, with hiccups beginning as I begin the fourth wing.
It's apparent why this challenge has been such a struggle for people as the heat from the sauce begins to make my lips burn, but I have come too far to give up now and decide to keep going.
It takes me four and a half minutes to eat the seven wings, strip the bones and then lick my fingers, but the challenge doesn't end there as I then have to sit and let my lips burn for five agonisingly long minutes before being allowed a glass of milk.
The pain is very real and very vivid as I sit and suffer, looking over the seven wings and pieces of chilli that I have just devoured and doing anything to avoid thinking about it, including singing and shadow boxing.
Finally, the burn time ends and I gratefully take a long swig of the white nectar in front of me, taking in the applause of the staff at Rodeos as the first person to complete the Seven Deadly Wings Challenge.
Owner Simon said the inspiration for the food challenges such as the wings challenge had come from watching the TV show Man vs Food.
He said: "We'd be watching Man vs Food and seeing Adam Richman take on these enormous American food dishes, so we decided to do the same thing and put our own spin on them.
"A lot of people have enquired about them and travelled from as far as Stoke and Nottingham to take the challenges, so they are proving popular."
Mr Parton detailed what each challenge involved, saying each needed to be booked in advance due to the size of the challenges on offer.
He said: "The chicken wings is one for people who want to show their friends they're the best to take it on, and it's nice to see them come in with their chest puffed out, but certainly not leave the same way.
"The burger challenge sees the burger standing piled up high, which makes it difficult to stay standing, while the hot dog challenge is just large and a lot of people don't manage half of it, so take it home for the family.
"The meat challenge is a good selection of everything we serve and we've seen groups of seven or eight attempt it and still have some left, while the dessert challenge is putting a sweet twist on it for people to try."
