Joey Chestnut, barred last July, returns to Nathan’s hot dog eating contest
Joey Chestnut is back. The legendarily dominant force in competitive hot dog eating will return to the annual Fourth of July competition, seeking his 17th victory after a one-year absence from Coney Island.
Chestnut announced on his @joeyjaws X account he is “thrilled to be returning to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life.”
The competitive eating king and Nathan’s had an unresolved beef last year that ended with Chestnut banned from the competition. He had signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods and, while it did not prohibit him from entering eating competitions including Nathan’s, an agreement binding competitors in Major League Eating events decreed otherwise. MLE is the governing body for the Coney Island event and a number of other competitive eating contests. George Shea, chair and co-founder of MLE, told The Post last year competitors may “not represent a rival hot dog brand.”
That resulted in a contest that, for the first time in 23 years, featured neither Chestnut nor his rival, Takeru Kobayashi, who has been banned since 2010 because of a contract dispute with MLE. The two men squared off in a live Netflix special on Labor Day in an effort to settle a rivalry that dates to 2007. That day, Chestnut unseated Kobayashi, who had won Nathan’s six years in a row; Chestnut went on to win 15 of the next 16 competitions. In their Labor Day special, Chestnut housed 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes to Kobayashi’s 66.
On Monday, all that was behind them, with Shea saying in a statement “the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest stands as an enduring beacon of freedom for our nation and the world. We look forward to watching the greatest eaters as they compete on a celebrated platform for international sports.”
Chestnut occupies a unique space on the Fourth of July.
“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs,” Chestnut wrote. “To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.
“I respect that there were differences in interpretation, but I’m grateful we’ve been able to find common ground. I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands! Stay hungry!”
Chestnut, who last lost at Coney Island in 2015 (to Matthew Stonie), set the Coney Island record by downing 76 pups and buns in 10 minutes in 2021. But last year, he was more than 2,000 miles away, downing 57 hot dogs in five minutes in a competition against four Fort Bliss soldiers.
In Coney Island’s marquee event last year, Patrick Bertoletti won by consuming 58 dogs and buns in 10 minutes. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” Bertoletti laughed as he spoke to ESPN after his victory, “but today I’m getting married. … Always second or third - this is big.”