Champion hot dog eater excluded from Coney Island contest over veggie franks
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Mr Joey Chestnut had reached a deal to represent Impossible Foods, which recently introduced beef-substitute hot dogs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK CITY - Mr Joey Chestnut, defending champion of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating competition on New York City’s Coney Island, is excluded from this year’s event because he is representing an all-veggie frankfurter of another brand, organisers said on June 11.
In a statement posted on its X social media account, Major League Eating (MLE), which oversees Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, said it was “devastated” by Mr Chestnut’s decision to switch commercial fealty to a rival frank.
The statement did not specify the rival brand except that it “sells plant-based hot dogs”.
The New York Post, which broke the story, reported that Mr Chestnut, 40, had reached a deal to represent Impossible Foods, which recently introduced beef-substitute hot dogs made from soya protein and other plant-based products.
Calling Mr Chestnut “an American hero”, Nathan’s contest organisers said they had already gone to “great lengths” to accommodate him by agreeing to an appearance fee and allowing him to compete in another “unbranded” hot dog eating contest on Labour Day.
“However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritised a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship,” the statement said. “We hope that he returns when he is not representing a rival brand”.
Mr Chestnut, a construction engineer by trade and native of Indiana, said in his statement on X that he was “gutted” to learn that he was being “banned” from the famous contest after 19 years.
“To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathan’s and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with,” he wrote.
Scarfing down 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2023, Mr Chestnut clinched his 16th career triumph in the annual gorge-fest, but fell short of his 76-frank world record, achieved in 2021.
The traditional 10-minute Nathan’s contest, a carnival-like spectacle broadcasted on ESPN, began in 1980 when the winning hot dog eaters tied with just nine franks each. Mr Chestnut, by comparison, can typically gobble nine dogs in less than one minute.
“To my fans, I love you and appreciate you,” he wrote on X on June 11. “Rest assured that you’ll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!” REUTERS
