Hungry Zimbabweans eat 12 tonnes of meat at Biggest braai

ZIMBABWE is right on track to breaking a Guinness World Record as history was made on Saturday when Delta Beverages' quest of braaing 10 tonnes of meat was surpassed with a total of 12 463kgs braaid.

The country's Biggest Braai Day party held at Alex Sports Club was oversubscribed­­ as people kept trickling into the venue to contribute to the 10 tonnes. The quest was pretty simple – consume 10 000kgs of meat in one day, have the longest braai stands of up to 200m and have the biggest crowd to attend a single braai event.

It was easy to tell the record was going to be broken as cars were spotted parked kilometres away from the venue – something which motivated more people to throng the venue as no one wanted to be left out in breaking a Guinness World Record.

Suppliers of meat, Colcom, Irvines and Montana Meats definitely outdid themselves as they delivered fresh meat, as if it had been slaughtered at the party venue. Cold rooms were brought to the venue to ensure that the meat was well stored.

However, buying meat from the stalls was a terrible nightmare for many as the stalls were clearly too few, especially considering the magnitude of the event. As if that was not enough, the braai masters soon got overwhelmed leaving many to braai for themselves or otherwise wait for a couple of hours for the braai gurus to be free. Fortunately, considering the freshness of the meat, braaing for oneself was a walk in the park as not much effort was required – especially if one identified a braai stand with the perfect fire.

It was more fun braaing for oneself as new friends were made as people hopped from one braai stand to another looking for a perfect spot to lay their meat. More special about the party was the spirit of togetherness as people were seen offering those they had shared braai stands with drinks and meat – in the event that others did not have a certain type.

And as people were busy on braai stands, artistes Ammara Brown and sister Chengeto, Oliver Mtukudzi, Killer T and DJs Chucknosis, Stavo and Elroy took turns to entertain people. Some ended up burning their meat after paying more attention to the stage.

Yesterday, people were already missing the party as they tweeted asking if there was an after party for the braai. The party was also trending on Twitter with the #ZimBiggestBraai hash tag.

A Delta Beverages spokesperson said they did not expect to break the record. "When we set the target, we didn't think 10 000kgs would be eaten but Zimbabweans showed us they were serious eaters of meat," said the spokesperson.

As promised, Delta Beverages is expected to donate an equivalent amount of the 12 tonnes braaid to hospitals – Mpilo General and Harare to ensure that patients have meat this festive season.