David Beckham once ate 32 escargots over the course of a four hour meal in France.
The retired soccer superstar loved to dine at French restaurant Chez L'Ami - which was founded by the late chef Antoine Magnin in 1924 and is known as "the world's most famous bistro" - when he lived and played at Paris Saint-Germain.
David, 46, couldn't get enough of the traditional French cuisine at the Paris eatery, and was worried that his appetite for snails and other delicacies would slow him up on the pitch, so he always made sure he trained extra hard after a visit to Chez L'Ami.
Speaking on the 'River Cafe Table 4' podcast, he said: "My record of eating escargots is 32 at one dinner. They're big. They come in trays of six or nine. I was in there with Victoria once and we were in there for about four hours and had the most amazing wine.
"I used to go in there once a week. I shouldn't have done, because I was a professional athlete and I try to watch what I eat, but I made sure I ran harder the next day.
"They used to let me come in at seven, the first service was at 7.30 but no one would come in then. I used to turn up at seven, and by the time the first people were coming in at 7.45 or eight o'clock I was walking out.
"I used to do that once a week on my own. I didn't care that I was on my own. I didn't drink the wine but I sat there eating the most amazing food. They bring a tub of creme fraiche out at the end, and dollop it on the plate with strawberries."
David also lifted the lid on the menus and dietary rules imposed on him by different managers during his playing career.
The former England captain - who played under esteemed coaches such as Fabio Capello, Carlo Ancelotti, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson when he was one of the world's best midfield players - didn't have much appetite for plates of boiled chicken but during his two spells at A.C. Milan he was allowed to eat a variety of traditional Italian dishes which he still loves to this day.
He said: "Certain managers would only want us to eat boiled chicken which is disgusting. No ketchup.
"And then you have the opposite when I was living in Milan. I was kind of thinking, 'How am I going to be fitness wise because I'm going to be eating a lot of pasta, a lot of olive oil, whatever.' But it was actually the fittest I've ever been."
Despite his travels educating his palate and his cast wealth, David admits his comfort food is a baked beans toastie and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps.
In Part 2 of his interview on the 'River Cafe Table 4' podcast, he spilled: "After talking about all of this great food and all of these great restaurants I go to, my comfort food is a packet of salt and vinegar Discos. And maybe a toastie made in the Breville toaster with baked beans.
"I put the bread in, Hovis, a little bit of butter on the outside so it doesn't stick, I put the baked beans in, toast it for four or five minutes, and open it up. No cheese.
"That and a packet of Discos. I'm more of a crisp man than a chocolate."
