Say ‘Cheese!’: celebrate Grilled Cheese Day with giant sandwiches and epic cheese-pulls
Whether it’s within a sandwich, or right on its own… if you’re like us, when it comes to cheese – the bigger, the better.
Here at Guinness World Records, we see our fair share of gigantic food titles, yet we never get tired of looking at the best culinary concoctions that people dream up.
So in honour of National Grilled Cheese Day on 12 April, we’ve assembled some of the most finger-licking cheese records for you to devour – just make sure you’re not too hungry before you read!
Largest grilled cheese sandwich
The largest grilled cheese sandwich ever came from a surprisingly small source – kid influencers Exodus and Iggy Chaudhry (both USA).
After seeing a video of the world’s largest pizza, Exodus and Iggy (then aged 11 and 10) started craving a colossal version of the classic sandwich, which they wanted to feature on their YouTube channel, “The Exodus and Iggy Show.”
So on a rainy October afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the boys brought a giant griddle – along with over 88 lbs (40 kg) of cheese – to make a grilled cheese fit for a king!
In all, their finished grilled cheese came out as 6 ft 2.4 in (1.9 m) wide, 10 ft 10.7 in (3.3 m) long, and 2.75 in (7 cm) thick – and weighing an impressive 418 lbs 11 oz (189.9 kg).
After sampling a bite, and passing out sandwiches to the hungry crowd, the boys donated the rest of the food to local food banks – ensuring that everyone in the area could have a taste of their delicious creation.
Read more stories about massive meals in our dedicated Food and Drink section!
Largest cheese platter/board
Charcuterie boards are a big trend at parties nowadays… but have you ever seen one that weighs over two tons?
Enter the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (USA), who made this massive board in Madison, Wisconsin, on 1 August 2018.
Containing 145 varieties of cheese from local producers in Wisconsin, this cheese platter weighed an incredible 4,437 lbs 9.92 oz (2,012.85 kg), and stretched over 35 ft (10.6 m). One wheel of cheese on the board – a Mammoth Cheddar – even weighed in at 2,064 lbs (936.2 kg) on its own!
The dairy farmers wanted to show off the talents of local cheesemakers, as well as Wisconsin’s reputation as the cheese capital of the United States.
Yet fittingly, they also chose to donate proceeds to the Great American Milk Drive, which provides milk to Second Harvest Foodbank and Feeding America.
Largest sandwich
Some sandwiches go down easy… and some go down in the record books.
That’s the case for the largest sandwich in the world, a 2005 creation by Wild Woody’s Chill and Grill, in Roseville, Michigan that has yet to be topped.
Measuring a massive 12 ft (3.6 m) long and 12 ft (3.6 m) wide, the entire sandwich weighed a whopping 5,440 lbs (2,467.5 kg), and could barely fit on the table.
Over 3,500 lbs (1,587 kg) of bread were stuffed with 150 lbs (68 kg) of mustard, 1,032 lbs (468.1 kg) of corned beef, 260 lbs (117.9 kg) of cheese, and 530 lbs (240.4 kg) of lettuce – and the entire thing was 17.5 in (0.44 m) thick.
That’s the equivalent of eating a sandwich the size of a rhinoceros!
Largest cheese sculpture
Speaking of animals – yes, that’s an alligator frying a turkey carved into a block of cheese.
Naturally, this cheesy creation comes from Covington, Louisiana – when Erik Acquistapace, Kerry Henning, and sculptor Sarah Kaufmann (all USA) decided to test their carving skills on a giant block of cheddar.
To celebrate the weekend of the Cheese Extravaganza at Acquistapace's Covington Supermarket in November 2018, Sarah spent hours carving the comical image into a 4,013 lbs (1,820 kg) brick of cheese.
Once completed, the entire sculpture weighed 3,121 lbs (1,415.662 kg) – and it was photographed and celebrated before being cut down into smaller pieces for the rest of the cheese-loving public.