So you think you can eat? Meet the meat challenge

Meat. That quintessential ingredient of all meals. The point of any fare. Or so I’ve been told. I love food; lunch, brunch, pudding, tea, tapas and amuse-bouche are all held in fond regard. I could however easily forgo meat. I’m not a vegetarian. I would definitely not want to be part of that fringe group, though they have my sympathies. Having seen the abuse my sister puts up with from all you rabid animals, I wouldn’t tarnish myself with that brush.

I love a good roast chicken and apple and pork sausages are a favourite but red meat generally holds no candle to the allure of an aubergine melanzane or a good cheese board. This I often find is hard for people (and when I say people, I mean boys) to appreciate. Resisting the smell of bacon or the juiciness of a medium rare steak was never hard.

Weirdly I do find people enjoying their carnivorous meal fascinating though. The choice of cuts, how it’s cooked, and the sauces are endless seem to add to the theatre a good meal should have. The sheer enthusiasm of people who love meat is overwhelming and the ability to appreciate the wonders of flesh has never seemed so important than at Rodizco Rico in Westbourne Grove.

Brazilians adore their meat and if you ever get a chance to visit, you can order your meat by the kilo in restaurants. This place is as close as you can get around these parts. It’s not cheap at £23 a head but it is an all-you-can-eat meat feast and I have never seen a group of guys quite so enthusiastic about forking out so much money for food. The basis of the meal is barbecued meat where the meat is rotated on giant skewers and servers walk around the room cutting off pieces to serve to customers. The sheer drama of waving around metal stakes is thrilling and though not somewhere I would encourage non-meat eaters to visit and for those of us who enjoy a bit of drama, it’s fun to watch.

For the rest of you who love meat it is the best value for money you could imagine. Rump steak, fillet steak, sausage, chorizo, chicken wings, chicken hearts, lamb shank; the choice is crazy and this doesn’t even allow for the fact that the meat is tender, soft and never-ending. There is no gimmick at work here and a friend who rocked up with only 15 minutes to spare at the end of our two hour table reservation was served with a towering pillar of meat that reminded me of some kind of renaissance feast. Definitely for all you cavemen out there.

Rodizco Rico, 111 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UW.