By now, you may have read that the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest held on Tuesday in New York City was won for the 10th (burp) time by Joey “Jaws” Chestnut. In just 10 minutes, Chestnut somehow consumed 72 hot dogs (buns included) to win the mustard yellow belt championship. You have to feel sorry for the 150 pound runner-up, Chris Carmine, who downed 68 franks to finish a close second. The ladies’ champ was 20-year old Miki Sudo, who consumed 41 hot dogs in the allotted 10 minutes. The two winners picked-up a check for $10,000 while Carmine won $5,000 for his second place finish.
Joey Chestnut is listed in Wikipedia as a “professional eater”. Standing 6′ 1″ and weighing 230 pounds (before or after eating???), the 33-year old hot dog-eating legend said that he trains by fasting and stretching his stomach with milk, water, and protein supplements.
What you may not know is that Joey “Jaws” Chestnut also holds several other eating records as part of an organization known as Major League Eating. In 1997, two enterprising brothers named George and Richard Shea decided to found the International Federation of Competitive Eating, Inc. to organize and sanction competitive eating contests and help generate publicity. And, hopefully, to earn some profits along the way. The group was renamed “Major League Eating” in the early 2000’s and continues to stage events around North America to pit courageous gluttons for fame and prize money.
For his part, Joey Chestnut is more than just the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating champion. He is currently ranked as the #1 professional eater in Major League Eating.
Here are some of his current records:
Apple Pie – 4.375 apple pies (3-pounds each) in ate (I mean, 8) minutes
Burritos – 14.5 pounds of Illegal Pete’s Burritos in 10 minutes
Chicken Wings – 7.61 pounds of Buffalo Wings in 12 minutes
Chili – 2.25 gallons in 6 minutes
Corned Beef Sandwiches – 20 8-oz sandwiches in 10 minutes
Glazed Donuts – 55 in 8 minutes
Hard-boiled Eggs – 141 in 8 minutes
Krystal Hamburgers – 103 in 8 minutes
Ice Cream Sandwiches – 25.25 in just 6 minutes
Jalapeno Peppers – 118 in 10 minutes
Pork Ribs – 13.76 pounds in 12 minutes
Shrimp Cocktail – 15 pounds in 8 minutes
Twinkies – 121 in 6 minutes
OK, enough is enough, right? Just the thought of trying to consume this much food in such a short-time is causing me a little nausea, but you have to give this glutton of a man his professional due.
It Tums as no surprise that Joey Chestnut is, indeed, one very accomplished eater!