DES Breakey describes himself as a ‘philanthropic kebab eater’ and true to his word, he munched through 124 kebabs during the month of December to raise funds for Francis House Children’s Hospice.
Des, 36, began his epic eating challenge on December 1, travelling across Greater Manchester to a different kebab shop every day as part of his ‘Kebabathon’ challenge.
For 31 days, the dad-of-two from Manchester, ate four of the seasoned meat wraps each evening and even forgoed his Christmas dinner to leave room for his kebabs before finally tucking into his last meaty meal on New Year’s Eve.
Des said he felt a huge sense of ‘accomplishment’ after raising more than £1,800 for the Didsbury-based children’s hospice. He said:
“Francis House is a Manchester charity and I love Manchester – it’s my home town. I have a massive space in my heart for the welfare of children whether they are poorly or not. I would love nothing more than to be able to help towards their respite care and the final days that they can spend at the hospice with their loving families. I appreciate the support from everyone who has sponsored me.”
In 2020, Des consumed 60 kebabs in a month, a mere two a day, raising almost £5,000 for Nerve Tumours UK. He has been dining on doners for decades and although he plans to ‘retire’ from extreme eating challenges, he says he hasn’t become sick of kebabs.
Kate Puc, fundraising officer at Francis House met Des at a hospice public open day before he started his challenge. She said:
“In 27 years of fundraising, this is a new one for me and anyone who wants to raise money for Francis House is music to my ears but I actually thought he was quite mad!
“All I can say is that Des must have an amazing constitution and remarkable tenacity as he woke each day knowing I’ll kebab my way today. In our eyes Des is kebabtastic.”
Des set up a fundraising page and is still collecting donations at https://www.gofundme.com/f/keb
