A restaurant in the city of London has come up with a unique way of celebrating the centenary of one of Britain's most famous expeditions and it involves eating an awful lot of fattening food.

Diners at the Green Door Bar and Grill are being treated to a meal worth 6,000 calories – if they can handle it! The feast pays homage to the failed expedition to the South Pole led by Sir Ernest Shackleton by replicating the type of food Shackleton and his men ate on each day of their journey to keep their strength up.

Shackleton had hopes of becoming the first man to reach the South Pole but due to terrible weather conditions, the men were forced to turn back on 9th January, 1909, when they were 97 miles from the pole.

Following in their footsteps
Today, six descendants of Shackleton and his crew are planning on making the very same trip to the pole. Starting on 29th October 2008, the men will be covering the 900 mile route in 80 days as was chosen for Shackleton's 1908/09 Nimrod expedition. A seventh team member is currently being chosen through a selection process which will culminate in gruelling endurance training in northern Wales.

On hearing about the impending expedition, Alexa Reid, the managing director of Green Door said: 'I've always been a huge fan of Shackleton, and when I heard about the expedition, I thought that this would be a great way to get involved.'

For every meal sold, the restaurant is donating £10 to the Shackleton Foundation, a charity set up to fund adventurous projects.

Not for the faint-hearted
Also, anyone who can finish the meal will apparently be rewarded. Army Lt Colonel Henry Worsley – a descendant of one of Shackleton's skippers in a later sea voyage – said:
"Obviously this isn't a meal for the faint-hearted, but I'm sure there are a few people in the City who'll be up for the challenge. There will, of course, be honour and recognition in the case of success."

The menu shapes up as follows...
Appetiser
Pork scratchings with sweet chilli dip (1,030 calories)
Bottle of beer (242 calories)
Starter
Hoosh - a stew originally prepared by Ernest Shackleton over a methylated spirit burner and consisting of goose (as a substitute for penguin), corned beef, oats, potato and seasoning (1,030 calories)
Bottle of beer (242 calories)
Main course
20oz Aberdeen Angus ribeye steak on the bone (1,040 calories)
Cauliflower gratin (300 calories)
Mushrooms and creamed spinach (300 calories)
French fries (200 calories)
250 ml glass of red wine (160 calories)
Cola (150 calories)
Dessert
Chocolate fondant with two scoops of vanilla ice cream (1,000 calories)
Coconut vanilla ice cream shake (500 calories)