Joey Chestnut: hot dog champ blocked from Nathan’s contest over vegan sponsor

Competitive eating star Joey “Jaws” Chestnut was told he couldn’t compete in America’s premier hot dog competition after striking a deal with a vegan brand.

His withdrawal from next month’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York came after he accepted sponsorship from Impossible Foods, a vegan hot dog maker that competes with the Nathan’s brand.

“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut chose to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than compete in the popular July 4, 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest,” Nathan’s said Tuesday. Major League Eating (MLE).

MLE added that Mr Chestnut was invited to join the competition, but only if he dropped his vegan sponsorship.

“Joey Chestnut is an American hero. We would love nothing more than to have him in the famous Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest,” the statement said.

“We hope he returns when he is not representing a rival brand.”

Mr. Chestnut is a 16-time winner of the Nathan’s competition, televised in the United States.

The rules of the competition, in which some 40,000 people participate each year, require contestants to eat as many hot dogs (and buns) as possible in the space of 10 minutes.

Mr Chestnut, 40, holds the world record for eating hot dogs, having made 76 during the 2021 competition.

He also holds various other eating records, including 141 hard-boiled eggs in eight minutes, 23 meat pies in 10 minutes, 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes and 25.5 ice cream sandwiches, also known as chocolate ice cream, in six minutes. .

Mr Chestnut said on social media that he was “gutted” when he learned of the ban, adding that he had been “training to defend (his) title”.

“To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules of years past in terms of other partners I can work with,” he said. declared.

MLE said so and Nathan’s “went to great lengths” to accommodate Joey, but it seemed like he and his managers “prioritized a new partnership.”

The Fourth of July contest has been held annually since Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker opened his stand on Coney Island in 1916.

The story goes that on July 4, 1916, the year Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs was founded, four European immigrants were arguing over which of them was the most American. They decided to solve the problem with a hot dog eating contest.