The myth of "metabolic stoking" through multiple meals every couple of hours has been firmly debunked by science. The research on the topic has grown over the years.

Bellisle et al. found that when measuring 24-hour energy expenditure, there was no difference between frequent small meals or infrequent large meals.
from a recent article on t-nation.... to loose fat it seems either meal approach will work as long as the calories are where they need to be. now to gain a lot of muscle i guess that would depend on if you could get all the calories in a very few meals... might be tough?