These 8 Joey Chestnut Eating Records Are Guaranteed to Nauseate
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Joey Chestnut extended his all-time record with a 16th victory in the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. The question every year isn’t so much if Chestnut will win the event—and its coveted Mustard Belt—but how many franks and buns the 39-year-old can stomach.
The answer is a lot. Chestnut, appropriately nicknamed “Jaws,” ate 62 hot dogs in only 10 minutes for his latest victory. Although he won easily, Chestnut was well off his world record total of 76 dogs in the 2021 contest.
The planet’s top ranked glutton isn’t a picky eater. According to Major League Eating, the body that oversees all professional eating contests, Chestnut holds a ridiculous 55 world records in foods such as chicken wings and funnel cake. ESPN even featured him in a “Sport Science” segment explaining the mechanics behind his prolific ability.
In honor of Chestnut’s latest triumph at the original Nathan’s Famous at Coney Island, here’s a list of seven other delicacies he’s conquered in record fashion.
Twinkies
The first-ever eating contest featuring the cream-filled snack cakes was held at Bally’s Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, on October 26, 2013. Chestnut ate 121 of them in only 6 minutes, topping rival Matt Stonie’s 111 and pocketing $5,000 in prize money.
Chestnut isn’t limited to only one Hostess product. He also set a 2018 record with 257 Donettes in 6 minutes.
Philly Cheesesteaks
Chestnut ate 23 6-inch cheesesteaks at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom—an amusement and water park complex in Allentown, Pennsylvania—on May 14, 2011. It was his second straight victory in the event. Hopefully, he didn’t try to ride any of the roller coasters following the 10-minute competition.
Eggo-Style Waffles
Chestnut, originally from San Jose, California, dueled against Stonie in front of hometown fans at a San Jose Barracuda hockey game on November 17, 2019. Chestnut consumed 81 waffles in 8 minutes to Stonie’s 75.
Fun fact: The Dorsa brothers—Tony, Sam, and Frank—invented Eggo frozen waffles in San Jose in 1953.
Turkey
Unable to wait until Thanksgiving, Chestnut more than doubled the previous world record by eating 9.35 pounds of meat off a 20-pound whole turkey on November, 22, 2014, at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. No word on if he needed a nap after ingesting all that tryptophan in only 10 minutes.
Ramen Noodles
With the sports world halted during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Eating and BetOnline combined to form a bracket-style eating challenge in April 2020. Chestnut advanced through three rounds of competition—featuring sliced bologna, Oreo cookies and milk, and baked beans—to reach the final, where he set a championship-winning record by scarfing down 10 cups of Ramen noodles in only 1:50.
Shrimp Cocktail
The St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis, which notably appeared in an episode of the sitcom Parks and Recreation, played host to Chestnut’s shrimp cocktail eating record on December 1, 2018. He consumed 18 pounds and 9.6 ounces of the hors d’oeuvre in only 8 minutes.
Tacos
Chestnut proved he could eat a lot of tacos on a day other than Tuesday when he ate 53 soft shell tacos from Taco Bell on July 29, 2011—a Friday—in only 10 minutes.
One taco record apparently wasn’t enough, either. Chestnut set another mark for traditional 3-inch tortilla tacos five years later, downing 126 in 8 minutes.
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