A Victorian cafe owner has proved just how hot it can get inside a parked car after claiming he left a raw steak in his vehicle only to find that it had been cooked all the way through on his return.

The owner of Mildura Dockside Cafe posted photos of the well-done meat to Facebook on Wednesday as a warning about how dangerous it is to leave animals and children in the car.

“Yesterday at 11am I put a porterhouse steak in my car which was parked in the shade and left it until 4pm,” the cafe wrote.

“It was very well done upon my return.”

One picture shows the raw steak sitting on a metal tray on the centre console, with another image showing the same steak cooked all the way through.

“With this heatwave please remember never to leave children, elderly or animals in the car,” the post continued.

“Always check on elderly neighbours, ensure your pets have a way to keep cool and cool drinking water.”

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Mildura reached a high of 45.8C on Tuesday but some social media users were dubious it would be hot enough to cook a steak.

“I’m sorry I’m calling bulls**t. A car left IN THE SUN will get up to about 60 to 70 degrees C inside. In the shade? Nope. Not going to get ‘well done’,” one person said.

Others agreed, saying it may be cooked a little, but not all the way through.

However, the cafe owner came to set the record straight and say there is no need to “gang up” on some people for having doubts.

“I also wasn’t sure what would happen when I put it in there either. I was just as shocked at the result as many others have been,” they wrote.

“I also believe we’re straying from my initial reason for doing such a thing, I wanted to remind people how dangerous this heat can be and that as a community we should be looking out for one another.”

They then suggest that maybe people should run the experiment for themselves if they still weren’t convinced.

But there were plenty of people who didn’t need convincing, saying they have experienced for themselves just how hot cars can get.

People claimed they have had pens and navigation devices melt on hot days, with one woman saying she had dough raise while sitting in the car.

“Last week the heat melted my friends dashcam and cracked my windscreen, left long enough it will cook a steak,” one person said.

Another joked: “Should have taken it out earlier, I asked for it to be medium rare not well done.”