World’s heaviest red cabbage crowned at giant vegetable championship in UK

ABC
Sep 26, 2016, updated Sep 26, 2016

David Thomas said the red cabbage took hours of work. Photo: Twitter: Three Counties

A UK man has broken a 91-year-old record for the world’s heaviest red cabbage.

David Thomas said he was “very proud” of his 23.2-kilogram entry to the UK’s National Giant Vegetables Championship at the Malvern Autumn Show.

He has been growing vegetables competitively for more than 15 years, and said the cabbage took “hours of work”.

Mr Thomas already holds the official world records for the heaviest parsnip (7.85kg) and heaviest cucumber (12.9kg) – both also broken at the same show in previous years.

“There’s no big secret to growing giant veg. You just need the right seeds to start with, plenty of room, good soil and a bit of luck,” he said.

“I couldn’t be happier, it makes all the work even more worthwhile when you’re awarded a world record.

“I can’t wait to get cracking on next year’s crop and see what that might bring.”

The previous world record was set by Mr R Straw in 1925, whose red cabbage weighed 19.05kg. Mr Thomas’ record is yet to be verified by Guinness World Records.

Three other vegetables from the championship are also waiting for Guinness World Record verification – a 6.245-metre-long carrot, a 7.9-metre beetroot and a 5.023-metre parsnip, all cultivated by veteran grower Joe Atherton.

Joe Atherton’s lengthy vegetables are also waiting for Guinness verification. Photo: Twitter: Three Counties

Meanwhile, Dale Toten settled for third place in the heaviest cabbage category after a chef used some of his prized vegetable for a confit.

Mr Toten, who works at a UK country house hotel, said when he discovered what had happened to his nearly 38kg cabbage he “might have lost [his] temper”.

“I looked in the chef’s pantry and it was right there in front of me – he had used it for a confit,” he told the BBC.