Competitive eater Joey Chestnut was booted from the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Thursday because of his ties to another brand, and was nowhere to be seen in New York’s Coney Island.
A few days before the competition, with the fence still damaged, Chestnut took his talents to Fort Bliss, Texas, for the Fourth of July celebration and competed against Army soldiers.
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Joey Chestnut is congratulated after winning first place at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in the Brooklyn neighborhood of New York on July 4, 2023. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
He showed no signs of rust.
Chestnut ate 57 hot dogs and buns in total, beating his four competitors who ate 49 total.
Chestnut’s record, which took just five minutes, nearly beat the record set by Pat Bertoletti, who won the famous mustard belt in New York on Thursday. The new Nathan’s champion downed 58 hot dogs, but fell far short of the record of 76 set by “Jaws” Chestnut in 2021.
Chestnut was initially barred from competing due to his sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a company that specializes in plant-based alternatives to meat products. Major League Eating later lifted the ban, but Chestnut decided to go to Fort Bliss.
A sign was spotted Thursday supporting Joey Chestnut at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, held every Fourth of July in New York’s Coney Island. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Pat Bertoletti crowned hot dog eating champion in Joey Chestnut’s absence
Major League Eating CEO Rich See praised Chestnut during the ESPN broadcast of the Coney Island contest.
“He’s just a great competitor, a great person, a grown man, a man who chose not to be here today,” Shea said. “But fortunately for us, there are tens of thousands of people gathered around Nathan’s Famous. It’s an annual pilgrimage. This is not a paying Hollywood audience. This is excitement.”
Hundreds of fans gathered in Texas to support Chestnut.
“I love you all,” he said, thanking his father, grandfather and brothers for their military service. “You all pushed me so hard. Thank you so much.”
Joey Chestnut sits with the trophy and belt after winning the popular Nathan’s hot dog eating contest by eating 63 hot dogs in 10 minutes on July 4, 2022 at Coney Island in New York. (Kenna Betancourt/Getty Images)
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The Fort Bliss event was sponsored by Impossible Foods, but no vegan products were used in the competition. Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness presented a check for $106,000 to Operation Homefront, a charity that supports military families.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
